This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Correction: Lawmakers already approved a 26 percent pay increase for Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, to take effect July 1. Due to an editing error, a story and graphic in Tuesday's Tribune incorrectly said that raise would be up for a vote in today's special session.
Delivering on a promise, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. placed partial restoration of Medicaid dental benefits at the top of a busy agenda for this week's special legislative session.
The governor, who alone has the power to call the Legislature back into action, issued a call for the special session to begin Wednesday at 2 p.m. following an address to the House and Senate by Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Along with considering whether to scrape together money to cover emergency dental care for elderly, blind and disabled Utahns, lawmakers plan to clean up a handful of budget items and allow legislative and Governor's Office staff to double-check revenue estimates from the state Tax Commission.
Legislators will consider diverting $15 million from Capitol renovation funding to start building an underground parking garage on Capitol Hill.
And Huntsman is asking lawmakers to approve raises for himself and state executives. In a bill that got bottled up at the end of the 2006 Legislature, the governor's salary would increase from $104,100 to $107,700.
A relief bill for retailers who are struggling to implement a cut in the state grocery tax may stir debate.
But much of the afternoon will likely be spent haggling over a plan to spend $2 million to restore emergency dental service - tooth extractions and possibly fillings, exams and root canals - to about 40,000 elderly, blind and disabled adults.
That's shy of the $4.6 million needed to fully restore the so-called "optional" benefits.
Vision benefits are off the table, and excluded from the governor's proposal are about 25,000 patients on Medicaid who, come July 1, will still lose their dental coverage.
"There were many competing priorities. Our goal is to deal with only those that are truly emergencies. In this case, that's dental care for the most vulnerable Utahns," said Huntsman spokesman Mike Mower.
Senate President John Valentine said many lawmakers were surprised by the small amount the governor requested in Medicaid funding.
"It is a different request," the Orem Republican said. "Most lawmakers are kind of scratching their heads. We're going to give him the benefit of the doubt at this point."
House Speaker Greg Curtis wasn't surprised Huntsman insisted on listing the Medicaid funding on the call. But he said many of his colleagues could be frustrated by the governor's "unilateral" decision to second-guess legislative priority-setting. That could lead to some grumbling and, ultimately, votes against the bill.
Legislative approval could hinge on whether the governor is willing to rob existing health department funds to pay for dental care or pull money out of the general fund. Lawmakers don't like re-opening the budget in a special session, fearing a money grab.
That's "like opening Pandora's box. Nobody wants to do that," said Senate Majority Leader Pete Knudson. The Brigham City Republican is sponsoring a bill that would siphon $2 million in one-time money from the general fund to be matched by $4.8 million in federal dollars.
Knudson couches the bill as a reallocation of existing health department money. But Mower says it's a new appropriation.
The confusion could be over semantics, or political subterfuge. Lawmakers are more likely to sign off on shuffling around health department money than spending more than approved in the budget last March.
"Reshuffling is one thing," said Curtis. "But opening it up is another."
Knudson believes lawmakers will do the right thing, as he sees it. "I see this as a humanitarian effort. I hope we can accomplish this without a lot of heartburn. But I've been in the Legislature long enough to know that what appears to be a simple journey can turn into something else," said Knudson.
Another item on Wednesday's agenda that may create tension between the two houses is legislation sponsored by Rep. Ben Ferry, R-Corinne. Ferry's bill is meant to fix two mistakes in legislation lawmakers approved earlier this year to cut about 40 percent of the state's portion of the sales tax on unprepared food, reducing the statewide rate from 4.75 percent to 2.75 percent. The bill clarifies definitions of "food" and "bundled" food items, such as gift baskets.
While lawmakers in both houses support fixing problems in the original legislation, senators could promote their own agenda: delaying the tax cut for another six months to give small grocery stores time and resources to adjust to the tax formula.
"We really do not want to hurt our retailers," said Valentine. He added that Ferry's bill "may not do enough."
Despite opposition from the House and the Governor's Office, senators could try to amend Ferry's bill, the original legislation or write a new bill.
Curtis said he will "passionately defend" implementing the original tax cut Jan. 1. If senators change Ferry's bill, the House would simply let it die.
And if senators adopt their own bill, Curtis said he would block any attempt to debate it on the House floor.
"I'm hoping we won't spend a lot of time doing that," he said.