January 28, 2016

"My proposed budget that I've recommended to the legislature adds another $422 million to education, which would bring us a total of nearly $1.8 billion over these last 5 years." Governor Herbert

 

Announcer: KUED presents "The Governor's Monthly News Conference," an exchange between Utah reporters and Governor Gary Herbert.

GOVERNOR HERBERT: Good morning. Nice to be with you, and thank you very much for attending. Let me just begin by saying we're at that magical time of the year.  The legislature will be in session starting this coming Monday, and it really is the beginning of the 45 most important days of the year, in my opinion, for the state of Utah and for state government. I'm pleased to be able to welcome the legislature back in session for those 45 days, and we'll address a number of issues, and trying to, in fact, address the people's needs and do the people's work 

One of the most important things that they do, if not the most important thing, is really the budget. We are a very fiscally prudent state, and we balance our budget, and we prioritize I think correctly.

As you know, my number one issue is going to be, again, education and the funding of education. Our focus has been on the economy, and we recognize that we're not going to be successful long term unless we have a very educated labor force. That means education. And I appreciate the fact that the legislature has embraced that concept too. It's not just me, it's really all the stakeholders coming together. And I'm pleased that we've seen over the last 4 years about $1.4 billion of new money put into education.

My proposed budget that I've recommended to the legislature adds another $422 million to education, which would bring us a total of nearly $1.8 billion over these last 5 years. That's not an insignificant number. It's not something that we probably need to say, "That's enough," but it's certainly a step in the right direction to give the education folks the resources they need. I also think that sometimes, we talk too much about the input and forget about the outcomes. We're actually getting a very good return on our investment in education here in the state of Utah. The taxpayers should be pleased. We thank our teachers, our principals, our school board members, our parents, students as we see our graduation rate, since I've been governor, have improved by 9%. And that's a significant step forward when it comes to improvement in graduation rates. We see now that we have more people leaving high school and going on to post-high school education, the highest gain of any state in America today.

Our NAEP scores on 8th grade, for example, on math were 16th in the nation. We're tenth when it comes to reading language, arts. We're seventh when it comes to science. And so, again, a thank you to those who are involved in education in any form, and thank you to the legislature for recognizing the important aspect of that.

Last point. What we're going to try to do, I think, this session is come together and more focus on education. As I look at last year, we had about 160 different bills introduced regarding education. It's easy to get distracted by the new, shiny thing out there, and the new idea as opposed to kind of coming together with a united focus and developing a pathway forward. So, our hope is that we're coming together with a 10-year plan that will give us a pathway forward that we can unite and focus on, which I think will give us even better outcomes as we work together.

So, I'm optimistic about this legislative session. Again, it's going to be a great 45 days. Again, the most important 45 days of the year when it comes to state government. With that, I'm happy to take any of your questions.

MICHAEL ORTON, UTAHPOLITICALCAPITOL.COM: Governor, you had indicated previously that you were concerned very much about earmarks and the way that those were working. And we know that you've had discussions prior to the sessions beginning on Monday. Tell us where that's at, and how you're going to get to your budget priorities with all those earmarks still in play.

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  We can do the budget priorities this session without changing earmarks, but we are going to--we're on a collision course of, as we take away the flexibility of the general fund portion of the budget and take it off the table without discussion, we'll find that monies that need to be augmented with the education fund, particularly for higher education, will no longer be available.

And so, when we have 43% of all the new money that goes into the general fund being earmarked, that creates, I think, a problem for us in the future over the next 2 or 3 years. So, I think there's some resonance of that issue with the legislature. There's been some talk about that, and I think some willingness to maybe take a look at earmarks and maybe remove at least some of them.

Last point on the general fund because it's an important topic. Our income tax, because of our healthy economy, is growing quite dramatically. We are the best economy in America today. And it reflects or it should reflect in our sales tax increase. Although it's increasing quite well, it's about $180 million short of what it's producing out there in the marketplace. It's taxes that are owed, but are not collected. It's the remote sales that we do now, more online shopping, more catalog shopping. And it's owed, but not collected. So, we are working with our congressional delegation, Congressman Chaffetz in fact has introduced legislation to in fact alleviate that problem. We would not tolerate anybody cheating on their income taxes. We should not tolerate people cheating on the sales tax portion of their obligation.

So, if we could collect that other $180 million, we could probably give a tax cut. We could certainly invest it more into education and address issues that maybe we the people think would be--should be addressed. So, I hope that we address that this year in the congress. And we as a state need to say if they won't do it, we need to find a state solution, which I think is also on the table right now.

LISA RILEY ROCHE, DESERET NEWS: That is being proposed, a sales tax collection bill in the state with the knowledge that, of course, it would be challenged in court. But it might also prompt congressional action. Would you support, would you sign that kind of legislation, knowing it would lead to a lawsuit?

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  Absolutely. We've got to bring this to resolution one way or the other. And to lose that amount of money, owed but not collected, it's not fair for those who are paying their taxes to have those that don't pay their taxes. And we've got mechanisms in place to help the businesses to offset the cost with technology that they may have to do, so we can actually do this with the technology of today in a very simple fashion. I think that the states themselves will take it upon and say if you can't do it, Congress, we'll do it individually by state, by state, by state. It'll be a hodgepodge, it won't be as good as if we had an overall federal solution, but we can no longer afford, it's not right, it's not fair to let that money leave our state, or at least not come back to our state, on purchases that are being made under the current law and remain uncollected. It's not fair.

ROBERT GEHRKE, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: One of--you mentioned--we were talking about earmarks, and Senator Adams released his bill yesterday that would earmark a portion of the money now going for the roads earmarked for water infrastructure. It's not doing away with an earmark. It's, you know, rearranging where the money's going. Is that something you'd be supportive of? Is it time to start putting money into the water infrastructure?

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  You know, I haven't seen the bill, so I don't know and I haven't talked to Senator Adams, who's one of our great legislators. I'm not a big fan of earmarks. I don't know why the legislative body wants to tie their own hands. I think that it takes away the ability to have a debate and discussion as we come year to year to have to prioritize how we spend finite amounts of money. And what might be a priority this year may not be a priority the next year, and so there ought to be an ongoing discussion and debate.

So, I'm a little reluctant to earmark. I certainly think we have too many earmarks now. And to add one more might not be a--even though it's in a different direction, it's probably not necessarily good policy. I do understand, though, the need for us to address water. And water is really the only limiting factor to the expansion and growth of Utah. And so, it is an issue. It's not--hasn't been a big political issue, but it's a significant issue for me because I stay awake nights because of the growth pressures that we have.

We're the third fastest growing state in America today, and we want to make sure we have economic opportunity. We want to make sure we have a great quality of life, and that starts with water. We live in an arid climate. We live in a desert. And so, having water and water resources is an important aspect of what we need to do. And so, I think you're going to find, as we go over the next few years, that water is going to be an increasingly important topic of discussion.

BOB BERNICK, UTAHPOLICY.COM: Governor, let's talk about politics for a second. You're running for reelection this year, of course. You just formally signed up to gather signatures. You need 28,000 signatures. I take it you've hired a firm to take care of that for you. Your opponent, Jonathan Johnson, is not gathering signatures. He's just going to go to the convention, which leads to the obvious belief that he's going to try to use your signature gathering process against you in the convention with delegates. How do you go against that 

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  Well, I support the caucus convention system. I very much intend to go before the delegate body, and have them review my track record and what we've been able to accomplish over these last 5 or 6 years, and also talk about my vision for the future. We've done, I think, a heck of a good job in leading this state out of the Great Recession to the number one economy in America today.

We've raised the bar on education, more infrastructure needs are being taken care of. Virtually in every measurable way, I think we've had great positive success, so I'm happy to defend my track record before the delegates. I don't believe I would be the Governor today if it wasn't for the Caucus Convention system. And so, although we're going to be taking what's allowed under the law to both pathways--in fact, the lieutenant governor's issued a statement that the only way you can assure yourself of being on the ballot is in fact doing both. And so, we're going to take that council from the attorney general's office and lieutenant governor's election office and do both.

But in gathering signatures, it's a matter of really trying to drive participation, to increase participation of Republicans to attend their caucus meetings, to let delegates who represent their neighborhoods and represent the Republican party platform, and the principles and values of republicanism. So, I hope that that's going to help us have a better convention and a bigger convention, and more attendees to the caucus nights to elect delegates that really represent the Republican party throughout this state.

BOB BERNICK, UTAHPOLICY.COM: We just had a poll, UtahPolicy did, where you get 66% favorability rating. Can anybody beat you?

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  Well, you know, that's why you have elections. You know, there's certainly the possibility, you know, and--an election, and I feel very good about the approval ratings that we have, and they're all positive. They're over 66% to 77%, so I feel good about that. I think what we've done resonates with the people of Utah, particularly the Republican side of the legislature--or of the ledger. And so, I feel good about that, but I certainly don't rest on my laurels. I don't really follow the polls that much. I try to govern as best I can, and bring people together, and get solutions to the challenging problems of the day. And I'm going to continue to do that.

My focus really is on governance. And there will come a time--you know, we don't file until March. and we'll see what happens then. And we'll be kicking off campaigns, and we'll do what we need to do to get to the convention and get delegates. And if we have a primary, we'll appeal to the Republicans of the state and hope for the best. I think we have a great message that's resonating with the people, but that's why you have elections every year. We're just not anointed. We have to go out there and campaign and compete.

LISA RILEY ROCHE, DESERET NEWS:  Governor, the Republican party was originally going to work with the state to get answers to questions about the signature gathering process that had been raised. But now the party has gone back to federal court, another lawsuit. Are you frustrated with this as a candidate and as pretty much the head of the party in this state?

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  Well, there's a lot of confusion out there, and I think there is some uncertainty that's been caused because of the back and forth. And I know I spent 5 hours and 20 minutes of the state central committee meeting where I thought we'd come together on what our process was going forward in more of a friendly fashion, and say, "Let's lock arms, let's go to the courts, let the courts clarify," rather than just arguing back and forth about who's right or who's wrong on the interpretation of the law, and let the courts make that decision. That's what courts are for. And so, I still think that's probably the right way forward.

The party itself has concerns, and I think some of them are legitimate, and we need to have clarification. That probably will only happen in a court process. It's a little late in the season to actually get it done for this election cycle, but I think there's an attempt by the attorney general's office the lieutenant governor's elections office, the state party to come together. And hopefully that'll happen. You know, I'm just kind of keeping my head focused on governing the state of Utah. Whatever happens over here on the election law process, you know, I'll have to deal with as a candidate. But you know, I think there's more ado about nothing. I think there's legitimate issues out there, and hopefully, you know, common sense will prevail at the end of the day.

BRIAN GRIMMETT, KUER 90.1: Governor, one of your budget recommendations was to provide some money to do some air quality research. How confident are you that legislators will in fact appropriate that money?

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  I'm very confident. I think we've got a very rational and reasonable budget proposal out there that I think is responsible for the times that we face. And I think that the legislature are reasonable, and rational, and responsible people. So, I think they'll fit together air quality is certainly one that we all recognize is a challenge, uniquely so here along the Wasatch Front because of our inversions, our meteorology, our topography that create a unique situation.

We actually pollute less per person, per capita here in the Salt Lake Valley area than many other major cities around the country. But they don't have the inversion problem. So, we can't use that as an excuse. We need to find out what can we do in spite of that to clean up the air. We just had our first annual UCARE dinner, where we recognized private sector, and sponsors, and people that are participating to help us in fact improve the air quality here. And the good news is it's working. We've improved over the last 10 years our reduction of pollutants by 35%. And that's at the same time we have about 350,000 new people that live on the Wasatch Front. So, we're making headway. It's not enough, but we're in the right direction, and I think we're going to accomplish even more.

Our desire to put money into the budget to help us with good data, good research. You've got to know what the facts are. Can't be just anecdotal stories, and myth, and conjecture out there. Let's get good science that'll help us, direct us in the pathway forward as far as what we can do to improve the air quality. And the good news is we're on trajectory. We'll meet the federal requirements.

We're cleaning up the air. It's going to be cleaner next year than it is this year. And I think the legislature understands that this is not just a quality of life issue, and just to be able to see the mountains better, but it's a health issue. It hurts members of our society that are susceptible because of dirty air. And Intermountain Healthcare has put out a brochure now to help us understand those harmful health effects. We also--for me, it's an economic development issue. People are not going to want to come set up their business here and expand economically if we have gunky air out there.

We only have about average 18 days of the year, but that's 18 days too many. So, I think that you'll find that's embraced by the legislature. It's certainly all of us coming together as stakeholders. And by the way, all of us have a responsibility in helping to clean up the air. Half of the air pollution that we see out there in gunky days comes out of our tailpipes of our automobiles. Those are areas that we can improve. Working with our refineries, we're trying to encourage them to bring in Tier 3 fuels, automobile industry to bring in Tier 3 automobiles. That'll be a major change once that happens. And Tesoro, for example, one of our refineries has agreed to do that. So, we're making headway, and I think our future's bright when it comes to cleaning up the air and making the environment better here 

MICHELLE PRICE, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Governor, there's two bills for the session that will deal with medical cannabis, Senator Madsen's proposal from last year and then more conservative approach from Representative Daw and Senator Vickers that kind of carefully expanding our cannabidoil bill that we already have. Are you more inclined to favor that limited approach than Senator Madsen's--  

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  You know, I haven't read the bills, and I don't know the differences specifically between the two. The concept, though, of having medical marijuana is one I think most people think, "That makes some sense." If there's a medicine out there that will help alleviate pain and conditions and health concerns for people, if there's a medicine out there that will do that, we ought to see if we can embrace it. There's a right way to do that. There's a process we need to go through.

We need to make sure it's based on science, that we understand that the--we can control the substance and it's dispension--disperse it to the public. And not only in the quantity, but in the quality. And so, you know, that's why we have an FDA, you know, to make sure those things are happening. I'm concerned about the lack of federal involvement really. I don't think it's good policy for us to have laws in the different states that allow the use of marijuana, and whether it's medical or recreational use, and then have the federal government turn a blind eye to the violation of federal law. I think they need to in fact be engaged if there's a time to change the law. Particularly if we really want to have research being done and find out if there's really a good medical purpose for marijuana, the federal government needs to change the law 

So, we need to work with our congressional delegation, others to change the federal law, and then I think allow the state to go forward in with research and other nonprofit organizations and universities so we can get the good science. But the concept of having medical marijuana and a use to help people alleviate medical problems as a controlled substance I think is one that ought to be discussed and debated, and I think we'll have a good discussion on that this coming legislative session.

BOB BERNICK, UTAHPOLICY.COM: Governor, you just mentioned good science, and there's a couple of international organizations which have just come out to say that 2015 was the hottest year on record on the earth. And if I remember right, you said that you believed that the global warming is taking place, but you're not so sure that humans are causing it. But all these organizations also say that humans are causing global warming. What do you say to that

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  Well, I say that I believe in climate change and I believe in global warming. I think the earth has gone through cycles that would seem to be, as we look at history, that we've seen it's been hotter, it's been colder. And the ups and downs of that cycle certainly are evident--evidence of the historical aspect of this.

How much human activity causes global warming, particularly cataclysmic global warming, where the ocean rise, you know, 6 or 7 feet, I'm a little uncertain on that aspect of it. But I certainly do believe that mankind has impact on its environment. We do pollute the air, we do pollute the streams. The impact of carbon into our air and the greenhouse gases that we have probably has some impact. How much? I'm uncertain, I'm not the scientist. I think science ought to have the healthy debate. I think there's at least some evidence that science has not had the healthy debate, and one side's trying to keep the other side out of the discussion, in fact have been punitive in their efforts to keep the other side from having opportunity.

So, I welcome the healthy scientific debate. I think science will win out over time, and we will in fact reflect that with the policies that we decide to have. That being said, in the meantime, we all support let's clean up our air. Let's make sure we don't pollute. We're certainly transitioning more to more greener fuel, so called. We're the largest user now of wind power in the Intermountain West. We're transitioning to natural gas as a fuel, and less coal and more natural gas.

The new technology of hydraulic fracturing has been a godsend to us to help us. We see the energy crisis dropping out there because we've produced more energy domestically. So again, I know what the public wants. They want to have sustainable energy, they want to have affordable energy, and they want to have cleaner energy. I support both--all three of those goals, and I think that Utah in fact is leading on that very effort.

ROBERT GERHKE, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: Can I go back to the medical marijuana issue? You said the feds need to address this issue, and then the state can look at it. Is that right? You want to see the federal government take action before the state?

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  I think it's--I think it can be a parallel track. But I guess I'm a little bit frustrated by the fact we keep talking about states, and we have states that are doing their own thing, and then we have an executive branch of government that says, "I'll pick and choose which laws I want to enforce." I don't think that's good policy. If there's a problem with the law, and there certainly seems to be with the federal law, that ought to be addressed too. It ought not to be just the states kind of doing their own thing. We need to get this inhibiter, this law that's in the way to helping us do better research and find out what the truth is about medical marijuana, and that should be a parallel track. Let's put some pressure on the federal government too.

ROBERT GERHKE, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: So, you've said you want to see controls in place on the distribution, dispense, cultivation. You want to see science proving that it's effective. If you see those things, do you then--could you envision Utah become the 24th state to have a medical marijuana program regardless of federal action?

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  What you're saying, Robert, is that I support common sense. And thank you very much because I do. This is a common sense thing. If we have a product out there that will help alleviate medical conditions and make people's lives better, improve their condition, then as a controlled substance, just like any other medicine out there that's a controlled substance that's in fact prescribed by a doctor, and the quantity and the quality is being controlled so we know people are doing what they need to do, we ought not to be in the self-medication business, I think there's a pathway for to get that done. And so, the process does count. And again, I think that the discussion is now at hand. The time is nigh to see if we can find a pathway forward on this. But I'm not interested in having doctor feel good out there say, "Yeah, yeah, que pasa, you know. Here's your doobie for the day and you'll feel better." That's probably not where I want to go.

LISA RILEY ROCHE, DESERET NEWS:  Hard to follow that, governor, but let me ask you about Medicaid expansion, another issue that you would put in that common sense category. A lot of money available to the state to expand Medicaid. Utah Republicans in the legislature have said pretty much they don't want to do that, and they're looking at an alternative proposal to expand traditional Medicaid to a very limited number of people, leave that money on the table that you've talked so much about getting. Where are you on that? Are you going to end up supporting what they are able to come up with if it's something? Or do you still want to try to go forward on some kind of real expansion? 

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  Well, everybody knows that I had a proposal called Healthy Utah. I thought it was a good, common sense proposal that utilized the taxpayer’s money to its optimal benefit and helped those who were most vulnerable amongst us in our society to get healthcare. I've tried and tried, and we just have not been able to get the votes. You know, I understand politics. And there's legitimate concerns and questions of sustainability, and whether the federal government will keep its part of the bargain, and those kinds of things. And so, I know this, the issue is not going to go away. We will have discussions about it in this upcoming legislative session, and we need to find a solution. It may be an imperfect solution, may not be what I want.  But as you've kind of alluded to, something is better than nothing. And I've heard leadership in the House and the Senate say, you know, doing nothing is really not an option, and yet that's kind of where we're at. So, I think there's going to be a renewed attempt to do something, and half a loaf is better than no loaf. I'd like to have the full loaf with Healthy Utah, which I think is absolutely better than Medicaid expansion.

The modifications we made are better, and give better outcomes for the people, and respect the taxpayers' dollars. We've tried. That doesn't seem to be gathering enough votes. I expect we'll be working on an alternative to that in the legislative session because the issue is still top of mind, I think, for most of us here in the state of Utah, for the people, and for the legislature. So, I'm optimistic that we'll find a way, and I'm happy to help make sure that that happens.

LISA RILEY ROCHE, DESERET NEWS:  But you're not going to have your own proposal this session. You're letting them see what they can come to agreement on?

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  Well, we've got to get the votes in the legislature so they have a significant role to play. I will have my ideas and suggestions. We'll be meeting. We meet with the legislative leadership, you know, once a week. I know this will be a topic of discussion. And we'll see if we can't craft a way to get something done. That's my hope, and certainly I'm going to play my role as the Governor to see if that can't happen.

ROBERT GERHKE, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: Is this idea from the Obama administration that they might give it an extra few years, they're going to give the full 5 years before the phase out, does that change the calculus on this at all, or you think that's still too tentative?

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  You know, again, it just shows the problems of the Affordable Care Act. It's because it was just so partisan. There's uncertainty out there. That's part of the problem we have here. I can tell you I could get this thing probably approved in a week if I get the Obama administration to just give us the 90/10 split up to 100% of poverty, and let those above the 100% of poverty go to the federal exchange. It covers everybody then with healthcare. It actually saves money, and it doesn't penalize states that don't go to 138%. They're going to be covered under the exchange, so if it's really about people's health--but we've not been able to get the federal government to understand that principle and give us that waiver. So, part of this is really the Federal Government not being able to be as flexible as we need to have as a state. Maybe that will happen with a new Republican president.

ERIK NEILSEN, KUED:Governor, this has been a good news conference. Thank you very much.

GOVERNOR HERBERT:  Thank you, great to be with you.

Announcer: This has been "The Governor's Monthly News Conference." An archive of transcripts, video, and audio is available online. Please visit kued.org. Thanks for joining us.  

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