Out of 582 bills passed this year, Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed six. At the time, he said he decided to sign two bills “with the understanding that we will have a special session to make modifications.”
And that time is drawing near. During his April news conference with reporters, the governor said he would call the Legislature together in May.
While it’s unclear what’s on the agenda, Cox wants lawmakers to deal with HB263, which made significant changes to the way county clerks conduct elections in the name of transparency. The governor said in a March 27 letter to lawmakers that the bill “had many veto requests from our county clerks and the Utah Association of Counties,” but he believes its intent is beneficial. Rep. Norman Thurston, he said, had struck a deal on changes that clerks and others agreed with.
Cox also wants lawmakers to make changes to HB356. It sought to replace at-large county council seats with districts. Cox believes “the final version of the bill creates some unintended consequences.”
Lastly, he mentioned reappropriating the $3.5 million set aside for the Sundance Film Festival, now that it will leave the state after 2026.
Some lawmakers, including Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, are pushing for the Legislature to take up another elections bill that deals with cleaning up the voter rolls and requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. The legislation didn’t pass during the general session.
“I think that they would have to get legislative leadership in the House and the Senate on board,” Republican Sen. Todd Weiler said, “because I don't think that that's something that the governor's planning to do on an emergency basis.”
While Cox foreshadowed that a special session is coming soon, no date or proclamation has been issued. For now, anything is on the table for the Legislature to cover. But since it’s taking place outside of the annual 45-day session that ended in March, there are parameters around what lawmakers can and can’t do.
When a special session can be called
Weiler, who is also the Senate Parliamentarian, is well-versed in the rules of the Legislature.
“On very rare occasions, I act like a referee on the Senate floor when there's a dispute that breaks out over rules,” he said. “But more importantly, people will come to me in the Senate and they'll say, ‘Hey, how do I make this motion? Or, hey, is this in order?’”
There are four kinds of special sessions lawmakers can be roped into – and Weiler has experienced them all.
The governor calls a special session
The Utah Constitution states the governor can call for a special session “on extraordinary occasions.” While this can be in the case of an emergency, Weiler said there are also “some items that are so urgent” that the governor doesn’t feel like the issue can wait until the next 45-day session.
The governor has to issue a proclamation outlining what the special session will cover.
The Legislature calls a special session
Until 2018, the governor was essentially the only person who could call a special session. During the 2018 midterm election, the majority of Utah voters approved a constitutional amendment that allowed lawmakers to convene themselves if two-thirds of the body agreed. They, like the governor, must issue a proclamation outlining the business they plan to address.
Since then, the Legislature has called a special session a handful of times.
“We're supposed to be limited to emergencies,” Weiler said. “We've kind of tested those boundaries in the past year or two, but that's what the law says.”
An example of those tested boundaries is when the Legislature called a special session right before the 2024 general election. They placed a last-minute constitutional amendment on the ballot that sought to give the Legislature the power to drastically alter voter-approved ballot initiatives. The Utah Supreme Court blocked the amendment from the ballot over improper constitutional notifications and misleading language.
The Legislature has never been legally challenged over the way it uses the special session power. Adam Brown, a political scientist at Brigham Young University, said it would be difficult because the constitutional language is carefully crafted.
“I'm not sure there's any meaningful bound on the conditions under which the Legislature can call themselves into session. I don't think there's a justiciable boundary,” he said. “In short, anything the Legislature deems an emergency in the affairs of state, that's sufficient.”
An extraordinary session
This session only requires the Senate. It’s when the 29 senators meet to confirm appointments made by the governor, like for judges. Weiler said extraordinary sessions usually happen once a month from April to November.
A veto override session
That’s when both chambers come together to dismiss a veto issued by the governor. After the general session ends, lawmakers have 60 days to issue an override. This year, they must do so by May 6. A veto override needs support from two-thirds of the Legislature.
There have been discussions about an upcoming veto override session, although it is unclear which of the six vetoes they would try to overturn.
Additionally, all of the different types of special sessions can take place on the same day. Lawmakers would need to adjourn one session before beginning the next.
What is covered during a special session
There are different rules during special sessions. Lawmakers can only cover what is issued in the proclamations. If it’s not listed in the proclamation, it’s supposed to be off-limits.
“So as a legislator, I can't show up at a special session and say, ‘Motion to open a bill file’ and just kind of hijack it,” Weiler said.
The proclamation agenda can’t be changed less than 24 hours before the session because the public has a right to know what lawmakers will be discussing. The hope is that it prevents any big surprises.
But Brown said the proclamations can be open-ended. Not all of them state the exact bill that must be addressed, nor do they state how the bill should be fixed. Instead, most of them contain topic areas.
“If the governor's proclamation says we want to consider bills dealing with this pandemic, that is wide open for how the Legislature approaches that and what bills they would actually consider,” Brown said.
