SALT LAKE CITY -- Gov. Gary Herbert has signed a bill that will likely result in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the federal government and kick off Utah's multipronged attack on the federal government.
"There are times when the state needs to push back against continued encroachment from the federal government. Sending the message that we will stand up for a proper balance between the state and federal government is a good thing," Herbert said in a statement. "But in these challenging economic times, when Utah families continue to struggle and our Legislature must account for every dollar it spends, we must also be thoughtful about the cost of that message."
More than 700 calls, e-mails and letters have come in this week alone to the Governor's Office about Senate Bill 11, which would exempt Utah gun and ammunition makers from federal regulation if their products are bought in the state.
The bill has been flagged as "highly likely to be held to be unconstitutional" by legislative analysts, which is just fine with Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, who is one of the many Utah legislators picking a fight with the federal government this year over states' rights.
Dayton compared her bill to the ice balls thrown during the 1770 Boston Massacre.
"Naysayers can look at what we are doing as nothing more than lobbing ill-formed balls of ice and snow, but we cannot ignore the significance of those ice balls that were thrown 240 years ago," she said.
Herbert said he has the confidence of the state Attorney General's Office in signing the legislation.
"The attorney general has assured me that, should a legal challenge be filed against the state, his office can take a variety of actions to ensure the defense of this legislation will have a minimal cost to the people of Utah," he said.
Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, who has announced he's running against Herbert, criticized the governor's signature on the bill.
"The governor had the right idea to add the Montana trigger provision, but that didn't happen," Corroon said in a news release. "As governor, I would have actively sought to add that provision to the bill. I'm for sending a message, but not when we have to choose between paying up to $10 million in attorney's fees or funding education, especially when we have a $700 million budget deficit."
There are a number of other bills and resolutions trumpeting states' rights that range from full-blown lawsuits with the federal government over land to simply decrying any interference in health care reform.
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