The suit suit filed contesting the constitutionality of Senate Bill 2 (2nd Substitute) has been in the news and come up in the bloghive. I haven’t seen anyone post a copy of the complaint—I happen to have one, so here it is.

• Complaint [pdf]

The two constitutional sections at play are Article VI Section 22 and Article X Section 3.

Complainants

The news media hasn’t listed all 37 38 of the complainants (the Trib reported there were 38 [UPDATE: The Trib called me on it---their count was correct, the paragraphs were numbered oddly]), which has allowed some defenders of the bill to claim this is a partisan action. Feel free to grab the complaint and read about each of them; I think you’ll find the complaint is a bipartisan effort.

The numbers below don’t add up to 37 38, as some people fall into multiple categories (e.g. Kim Burningham is both a current USBE member and a former Republican legislator).

• 7 former Republican members of the Utah House of Representatives, including a former Speaker of the Utah House, and a former majority leader of the Utah House
• 5 current members of the Utah House (4-D, 1-R)
• 1 current and 1 former member the Utah Senate (both Democrats)
• a former Chief Clerk of the House
• 6 current and 2 former members of the State Board of Education
• a former State Superintendent of Public Education
• 7 current or former members (not including members of USBE) of the Utah School Boards Association, a group comprised of local school board members
• 2 members of the PTA (a former president, and a former legislative vice-president)
• 3 current or former members of the UEA former (including a former president)
• a former member of Office of Legislative Research and General Council
• 1 person listed as a “community advocate” for education issues
• a former district superintendent and a former school administrator

Editorials

Reader’s should note the following editorials which oppose the omnibus approach and support the suit:

• SLTrib, 2008-04-19, “Power and politics: Court should throw light on omnibus”
• SLTrib, 2008-05-30, “Forcing the issue: SB2 must not be allowed to set precedent”
• DesNews, 2008-04-19, “Omnibus bill tips power”
• Standard Examiner, 2008-06-01, “Legislative grab-bagging”
• Standard Examiner, 2008-03-09, “2008 legislative report card”

The Herald also put out an editorial (2008-06-01, “Let Omnibus Roll Along”); they’re the only media outlet I’ve seen so far to oppose the suit. I found the editorial poorly written, ignoring facts (like the Utah constitution), and willfully exaggerating in an attempt to make the suit seem ridiculous.

The next closest thing to a media outlet defending the omnibus bill was yesterday’s point/counter-point in the Davis County Clipper

Posted in Education, Utah Politics