Utah Democrats welcome veto of bill gutting partisan limits

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gov. Gary Herbert’s veto Friday night of a bill that would have allowed him to pack about two dozen of boards and commissions with Republicans was a welcome surprise to Democrats, who argued it would shut out their voice.

“We’ve got way too much one-party control in Utah as it is,” House Minority Leader Brian King, a Salt Lake City Democrat, said Monday.

The legislation, from Republican Rep. Norm Thurston, would have scrapped a requirement that two dozen state boards and commissions not be dominated by one political party.

Democrats argued it would shut out their voice, and though some Republicans joined them in voting against it, the measure still passed through the GOP-dominated Legislature by large margins.

Read more: http://news.hjnews.com/ap/state/utah-democrats-welcome-veto-of-bill-gutting-partisan-limits/article_49d0316f-d235-5739-be0e-c871d556ec23.html