According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Gov. Gary Herbert of Utah rejected the notion of spending $800,000 of tax money for a sound wall near a site that is expected to host 77 homes. Bryson Garbett, the home builder used to be a legislator and worked with House Speaker-turned-lobbyist Greg Curtis to get the deal considered. Things went sideways when the bill funding the wall had the wrong address listed for the wall's location.
“The Legislature intends that the Department of Transportation use $800,000 from the Transportation Fund to construct a sound barrier along Mountain View Corridor at 8157 South Mapleleaf Way, West Jordan.”
Actually, the wording contained an error. The property borders Bangerter Highway, not the Mountain View Corridor — a possible sign of haste in passing the directive. Herbert used that mistake to justify his line-item veto.
In a written message to the Legislature, Herbert said he wiped out the directive because “the intent language is for a sound barrier at an address that does not exist along Mountain View Corridor.” The Legislature could override the line-item veto with a two-thirds vote by both the House and Senate.
SB3 was the final bill signed by Herbert as deadlines arrived for his action on legislation passed this year. The governor also used his power for line-item vetoes to erase funding in SB3 for two bills that had failed to pass the Legislature. He signed 539 pieces of legislation from this year’s legislative session, vetoed one bill and allowed three to become law without his signature.
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