Education Omnibus Moves Forward

Mar 05, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) A controversial omnibus bill incorporating 12 different education proposals, representing more than 50 percent of the state's budget, survived its first and only hearing in the Senate on Tuesday. It is widely criticized in the education community because some of the bills it includes never passed out of the House or garnered committee support. And lawmakers, such as Salt Lake County Senator Scott McCoy, worry the process of creating the omnibus sets a bad precedent.

"Under the logic that's been offered, in defense of putting together an omnibus bill, we might as well, from now on, have omnibus committee bills. And we don't do bills individually anymore, we get things through committee, and if they make it through committee, we just glom them all together into one big, fat bill and we try that on the floor. And sometimes you're going to agree with all of it, and sometimes you're not," McCoy says. "But it's just easier if we just lump it all together and do it at once."

The bill's sponsor, Draper Senator Howard Stephenson, argued in favor of combining the 12 education bills because it makes it easier to get them through the process. He says it cuts down on the amount of coordinating language needed to integrate the new education reforms and compensation packages into current education code. However, even Stephenson admits he has problems with some of the bills included in the education omnibus.

"For the ease of our staff, rolling them into the same bill has made it easier for them to present the legislation to us, and for us to follow it," Stephenson says. "I have to admit, however, there are a couple of bills in here I probably wouldn't have voted yes for, but taken as a whole I can accept the package."

Only one Senate Republican, Weber County Senator Jon Greiner joined the seven Senate Democrats in voting against the bill. Under full suspension of the rules, the Senate passed the omnibus, Senate Bill 2, for the second and third time with a single vote. The bill now heads to the House for consideration.

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