A compromise over filling congressional vacancies progressed on February 11, earning passage through the House on a party-line vote.

House Bill 17 seeks to resolve years of dispute that began in 2017 with the resignation of former Rep. Jason Chaffetz. The state law was largely silent on the process for replacing members of Congress.

The legislative and executive branches have continued to disagree on the subject. Gov. Gary Herbert vetoed legislation last year that would have set a process for picking congressional replacements.

The current bill calls for the governor to issue a proclamation to schedule a primary and general election to fill a House vacancy.

Those elections generally would be held on the next municipal general election, a presidential primary or regular primary, or general election.

House Bill 17 is now in the Senate for consideration.

Gov. Gary Herbert called a special session of the Utah Legislature for December 12 to consider a massive tax reform plan.

The special session comes a day after a divided legislative panel voted to advance a significant tax cut for Utah residents.

In addition to the tax reform, the special session will include discussion of funding for behavioral health programs.