March 25, 2004

I almost wish this year that the governor had the power to fix some bills after we discovered some problems, and in one case even a sponsor agreed that it was probably better to veto a bill because of a last-minute amendment.

Reporters (in order of appearance):

KEN VERDOIA, KUED
DAN BAMMES, KUER
RICH PIATT, KSL-TV
MAX ROTH, FOX 13 NEWS
TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS
REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
JOSH LOFTIN, DESERET MORNING NEWS

Transcript:

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor Walker, thanks for joining us today. Whenever a governor exercises their veto authority there's a dependable response. And it usually takes the form of a single executive has undermined the will of the public as expressed through their elected representatives in the state legislature. The many decide and then the single veto. Is there, although we may discuss the individual cases at hand, is there a general philosophical principle, a litmus test that you apply when you exercise the veto authority as you did this week?

G0VERNOR WALKER: I pondered every bill carefully. We had our cabinet members look at every bill, we had the office of budget and planning analyze every bill, we pulled out bills that we had problems with. I almost wish this year that the governor had the power to fix some bills after we discovered some problems, and in one case even a sponsor agreed that it was probably better to veto a bill because of a last-minute amendment. But the truth of the matter is, it gives a good checks and balances, because it gives us an opportunity to look at any problems that might exist, and determine the consequence of some bills, and by many experienced eyes, and so I think philosophically, it's a good system. Out of the 419 bills, we vetoed very few. There were some line items that we vetoed that were mistakenly left in, and so we could correct that error. There are other issues that I felt had some serious problems, and we tried to find solutions. Referring to the Carson-Smith bill that we've gotten a Constitutional concern from the AG's office on part of the funding, and we felt that we had found a better solution to meet the needs of children with developmental disabilities. So we worked on them very carefully.

DAN BAMMES, KUER: Governor, the Carson-Smith bill specifically could become the subject of a veto override session, and Senator Mansell in particular is questioning your approach in dealing with the funding of that bill. You vetoed the bill itself but the funding is still in the budget, but Senator Mansell is wondering how you can appropriate that when that's the legislature's job?

GOVERNOR WALKER: I'm very aware it would take authorization of the legislature. At the time we had differing opinions on it, but as we've researched it more, I would feel more comfortable with getting authorization from the legislature.

DAN BAMMES, KUER: How do you plan to implement that? Would you make that a subject of a special session if one comes up?

GOVERNOR WALKER: If one is necessary, yes. Otherwise we'll have to see how we can work it out. There's already some money in the budget that can accommodate, already at the state school boards, some of the more pressing situations for those kids with developmental disability. But we'll have to wait and see. Actually the funding wouldn't have gone into place until the school year, '05 school year. And the budget doesn't go into effect until July 1. So we have some time to work through that problem.

RICH PIATT, KSL-TV: Governor, the veto of that Carson-Smith bill has raised some resentment, I think you could even say some anger among some of the more conservative members of the Republican party, and they're already talking about taking action at the convention against you. Does this kind of talk, based on a veto that you've done, intimidate you? Do you think it's right as far as the process goes? How do you view that?

GOVERNOR WALKER: I think you have to look at every bill. I worked hard on it and tried to find what I thought was a better solution, and you have to have that kind of leadership, even though you have political consequences. I was very aware of certain segments of the Republican party that felt that this was the way to get tuition tax credits, and that will be an issue. But I felt that the solution that we found to resolve the problem was better than the one proposed. It erased the Constitutional question of part of the funding, and it worked in the direction that could be funded ongoing, perhaps more easily than what was presented in the Carson-Smith bill. So I felt it was a reasonable resolution.

RICH PIATT, KSL-TV: Are you feeling a lot of pressure about that already? Still?

GOVERNOR WALKER: Oh, of course you feel pressure. But I think the important thing is to try and do the right thing, and try to resolve problems. And sometimes you have to say, even though there's political consequences, you try to resolve the problem that's best for the majority of the citizens in the state of Utah.

DAN BAMMES, KUER: Do you feel that your vetoes have perhaps positioned you now more toward the political center than some of your opponents?

GOVERNOR WALKER: I don't know. Perhaps that's the case, but there are other issues that I ended up signing, that my criteria was if it doesn't do any harm, if it does more good than harm, sign it. Or if it does more harm than good, veto it. There are certain bills that coincided with my political philosophy, but has very little effect in what will happen in the state of Utah. And so I signed those bills. But where I felt there was a better solution, in the case of the Carson-Smith, I was willing to step up and say there's a better solution, and here it is.

MAX ROTH, FOX 13 NEWS: Does your veto on the Carson-Smith bill signal a larger position on the issue of tuition tax credits?

GOVERNOR WALKER: I think that's an issue that we've got to study a little more. I think every bill that I've seen presented thus far has some negatives on the short-term funding for the education in the state of Utah, and the fact that it did not, the major tax tuition, tax credit bill did not pass the legislature makes a statement that perhaps many of those legislators felt that there were some short-term consequences to public education. So I don't know that this is a step in either direction. It's trying to get common sense solutions to problems.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, there were a number of bills during the legislative session that were applied to young people. Carson-Smith is one. There were a number of bills known as Parker Jensen bills which sought to redefine the state's relationships with families when decisions were made on medical care. One of those bills was passed, did make it to your desk, did not cut the mustard with you, and you vetoed it. Tell me why you felt it was appropriate to not let that bill go forward.

GOVERNOR WALKER: Because it brought into play a whole new definition, mature minor. And most of the other states where that is used, it is used in connection with abortion rights. This did not limit the mature minor to any age. And it left it up to the judges to make a determination of who a mature minor might be. It could have been someone eight, ten, eleven, as well as 16, 17. With no guidelines, really, in defining what a mature minor happened to be. So I think it was poor law, that didn't give clear definitions on even categories. You know, I can understand, perhaps, in some cases where you might have a mature minor that was near the age of 18 that was living independent. So there's some room for exploring that concept. But when it was left wide open, with no definitions of what a mature minor is, other than a judge determining it, I have questions.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: The late-term abortion ban is guaranteed to draw a, probably, extensive federal lawsuit. Is that worth it?

GOVERNOR WALKER: Well, part of it was we got an opinion from the attorney general's office that if it were to pass it would be taken, probably a court appeal would be made, but there would probably be a stay until the federal court decision was made, and that could easily be handled within attorney general's office. So because of that factor I did sign it because I believe in the sanctity of life. And since I felt that it did no harm, I did sign it.

MAX ROTH, FOX 13 NEWS: You did, you seem to indicate that you had some questions about the public funding for abortion bill and the language of indirect funding and whether that would harm the University Hospital.

GOVERNOR WALKER: Right, and I talked to the hospitals, they seemed to feel that it didn't have any direct effect on them, that they could live with it, so that's the reason I signed that bill also.

REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: Governor, are you worried about a backlash on the asset forfeitures bill?

GOVERNOR WALKER: Of course. I always am concerned about it. I think people have their opinion. I hope they read the bill that was passed, certainly it was passed by the majority of the legislators, and I think that it corrects many things that existed prior to initiative B, and the law certainly allows for the legislature to act on initiatives that are passed. I think the majority of what was in initiative B is in the current law. So I know that there will be some that have some strong feelings, but I hope that they'll read the law that was passed, and we concluded that it was a benefit. Certainly it improves our public safety, and I think every Utah family is concerned about public safety and law enforcement, and getting drug dealers off the roads. So all of this benefits that endeavor, and corrects some of the injustices that existed prior to initiative B.

JOSH LOFTIN, DESERET MORNING NEWS: Governor, were there any bills that did not pass the legislature--there were some high profile one, you mentioned tuition tax credits, the immigration bills, and others that didn't pass--were there any that didn't pass that you would have liked to sign?

GOVERNOR WALKER: I was so busy on trying to work with the legislature to implement sound, positive laws, that I didn't concentrate in the same degree on those that didn't pass. So I felt very comfortable in looking at the bills that did pass. And I did focus on getting some bills through. Obviously, my reading initiative, I focused on getting that through. And there were a few other bills, but the majority of our time was spent working with legislators on trying to perfect bills that they were carrying.

DAN BAMMES, KUER: Governor, in your state of the state address you mentioned that the one economic disaster that you could not allow as governor is for Hill Air Force Base to close. As we approach the next potential round of base closings, do you think the state is prepared to defend Hill Air Force Base?

GOVERNOR WALKER: Yes, we're working very hard. We're working with the defense alliance that's set up to work on preserving Hill, we're working very heavily in Washington to make certain that Hill can survive that committee action, and we will put a top priority on continuing to work with action to keep Hill in place. We're working with the counties, as well as the communities to get strong community support. And I will admit that, while I don't generally like resolutions, we pushed for two or three resolutions letting the world know how important Hill is to the state of Utah.

RICH PIATT, KSL-TV: Governor, as you learn more about Utah's participation in the Matrix program, which basically takes information from the department of public safety and gives it to the federal government in the name of homeland security, do you have concerns about Utah's participation, and should citizens be concerned about information that could concern them getting out and being used for some unknown purpose?

GOVERNOR WALKER: Even as we speak, the Matrix committee is meeting. This will be their second major meeting. I'm waiting for their conclusions, but my inclination at this time is to say that I think that the participation in Matrix is ended. I think a greater question has to be how we give the information that law enforcement needs to protect, not only against crime, but against terrorists, and yet protect the people's privacy. I think we've got to look at similar operations, and I also think we've got to look at the GRAMA laws, because all the information that Matrix had was available under the GRAMA laws, and currently under the law enforcement. So I'm seeing this as a much broader problem than just the Matrix issue.

REBECCA WALSH, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: Do you think that the GRAMA law should be limited?

GOVERNOR WALKER: I don't know to what degree. I feel that the public needs information, I think that the press needs access to information, but I think that there are certain areas of individual information that maybe we should have the right to protect under privacy laws. So it's a question that is involved in the last few years because of the technology we have, and certainly I think both the state, and I understand the federal government is also looking at those issues, and we need to really clarify where that balance is.

RICH PIATT, KSL-TV: The day of your inauguration you mentioned in kind of a joking, light-hearted manner that you were doing your best to handle the drought, because it happened to be raining that day. Or snowing.

GOVERNOR WALKER: Snow, right.

RICH PIATT, KSL-TV: It was snowing. I can't remember myself. But since then we've gotten a lot of snow, it seems to have evaporated a lot, there's concerns about the drought this summer again. And I'm wondering at what point do you feel you or someone from the state takes a leadership role in urging water conservation and water policy, and revisions of those?

GOVERNOR WALKER: We certainly took a major role, the governor did, last summer, and in the years preceding that, five years of drought. I am a little concerned, because of our heavy snowfall and moisture during December, January, and February, that people think the drought is over. But certainly the month of March was more like April or May, and we're losing a lot of that snow pack very rapidly. So I think we will still have grave concerns about the drought. We will work with the different municipalities, and counties to urge them to put in place conservation. As a state we will look at conserving water, and I think we're going to have to look at valuing those yellow lawns a little more than we have in the past.

RICH PIATT, KSL-TV: But do you think, is there a problem with the state getting involved as far as local authority goes? As far as saying, "If you don't conserve water you're going to have to pay more, you're going to face fines"? In the past the state has left that up to the municipalities, and I'm wondering if you think at some point the state is going to have to jump in and unify everyone and say, "This is what's going to have to happen, we need to conserve." Will that happen, do you think?

GOVERNOR WALKER: I hope the state never has to do that. I think that the local water districts and the municipalities certainly have the expertise and the knowledge to put in place things that will benefit their local districts and communities. I think that the state should be at the bully pulpit, educating people, working on programs to better give information and knowledge to those local districts, and encourage people to conserve water and to use it wisely, because we are a state that uses more water than any other state per capita. But I'm certainly going to leave those local decisions to local entities.

MAX ROTH, FOX 13 NEWS: Governor Leavitt had suggested that the state oversubsidized water, and to the point that it was a little too cheap and people didn't value it enough. Do you hold that same position, and would you suggest taking away some subsidies?

GOVERNOR WALKER: My position was quite clear in the budget when I said we need to maybe stop putting general fund money into the water, because there is available, because of the $700 million in the loan fund, there is available to the small municipalities and the small water district sufficient funds to allocate to them. I think that there was roughly $45 million available this year to allocate for those needs. I think it's an area we need to continually explore. But we have great water needs, and only the basic resources that are left to us is the remainder of our allocation in the Colorado River and our allocation in the Bear River. And at some point we're going to have to look at how we're going to utilize that allocation before we lose it. So I think water is a serious problem in Utah. We've got to use it more wisely, we've got to look at developing secondary systems in many of our municipalities, at least where I live, live now, we use pristine drinking water on our lawns. So we've got to review technology that will allow us to develop secondary water systems with recycled water. The future of Utah, I think, will ultimately be determined by our water supply. That's a long ways in the future, but we've got to start and look at it now.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, a few minutes earlier in this news conference you made reference to your personal belief on the importance of the unborn child, the rights of the unborn child. And Utah now finds itself once again in the national headlines with a case that turns on those issues of the rights of the unborn child. A woman, pregnant, apparently refuses to have a Cesarean section, ultimately she does, a stillborn child is involved, she is charged in the death of that stillborn child. The other child is born reportedly with drugs and alcohol in the child's system. This is a very, very complex area, and a number of national organizations are saying this is an important test case. Can you speak to the state's interests on what is appropriate for intervention in the well-being of an unborn child?

GOVERNOR WALKER: I can say the state has to have some interest in educating women and their citizens about health care and appropriate action in cases of medical cases. I really can't go into a lot of details on this case, because it's still pending, and I think there are a lot of details related to it that the public doesn't know, and I don't know. So I hesitate to comment on that particular case while it's in process. I do know that the state has done a great deal in partnering with different groups, the health department and others, in programs such as Baby Your Baby, encouraging women to get prenatal care, encouraging citizens to have better fitness and healthy lifestyles. And I think that's the major role of the state.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: Governor, on the role of women, you see yourself as a stepping stone, perhaps, for women in government. When it became apparent that you were going to be governor, there seemed to be some resistance to the idea of you, as lieutenant governor, but also as sort of an urge to say, "Well, it's a woman coming in to run the state." Sort of as if in the legislature there were some people who had kind of a boy's club with a sign out in front that said "No girls allowed." But you obviously overcame that. Do you think that part of that sense, and part of your image at the moment is perhaps representing a sort of an accidental, or maybe subliminal challenge, to the whole idea of a male hierarchy such as we have reflected in the church, but also just in the sort of the tone in society in the state?

GOVERNOR WALKER: I think that I've been treated very fairly. There was an interpretation of the Constitution that could be taken differently than our attorney general took, and we took, about whether a lieutenant governor stepping up as governor had the full rights and powers of governor, rather than an acting governor. I think these were legal questions that would have developed, whether I was a male or a female. I think, I hope that I have become a good stepping stone for other women and young girls to say, "Hey, we can be policy makers, too. We have the opportunity to become governor or a legislator or a senator," and so I do view it as a stepping stone in that sense. But I do think that the legal questions that were brought up prior to my becoming governor were based on legitimate legal concerns that hopefully have been answered and may take a Constitutional revision effort to clarify for future time.

DAN BAMMES, KUER: Governor, after five months in the job, how does it feel to you? More frustrating or more fulfilling?

GOVERNOR WALKER: It's very fulfilling. I must admit the last 20 days, prior to yesterday, was the time where I spent a lot of time pondering a lot of difficult issues. From the people that were assisting these perspectives, they all felt that we had more difficult problems in the bills that came through this legislature than any previous legislature that they had ever worked on. So I did spend sleepless nights trying to come up with the best solutions I could on certain bills, and trying to make determinations whether I signed or didn't sign bills. There were many bills that I signed that I wrote letters about that probably hasn't surfaced yet, that I felt needed additional attention. The gun bill was one of those. I got a commitment that the sponsor would work on issues that had special concern to our university campuses and our college campuses, and we will work to resolve them.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor Walker: Thanks for your time. A reminder that a transcript of this and every Governors News Conference is available on line, www.uen.org courtesy of the Utah Education Network. Good night.

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