Utah House Majority met with Natalie Cline, USBE votes on punishment
SALT LAKE CITY — The majority party’s leadership in the Utah House of Representatives met with embattled member of the Utah State Board of Education Natalie Cline as they mull a possible punishment for a controversial post that Cline made last week.
The revelation came on Wednesday, the same day that the board planned to vote on whether she faced any discipline from her fellow members.
A Utah House majority spokesperson said the House majority leadership met with Cline last Friday. The spokesperson declined to provide any other details about the nature of that meeting, or the outcome.
#BREAKING: A spokesperson for Utah’s House Speaker @mschultz_12 confirms that he has met with Natalie Cline about possible discipline.
They declined to provide any more information about the nature of that discussion or whether they asked her to resign.@KSL5TV #utpol
— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) February 14, 2024
House Majority leadership consists of House Speaker Mike Schultz, Majority Leader Jefferson Moss, Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee and Assistant Whip Casey Snider.
The USBE is holding a closed-door meeting on Wednesday to discuss Cline’s post and what should happen. They’re scheduled to take a vote on actions after that.
Before the USBE meeting, Cline posted claims of election interference from the USBE on her Facebook profile.
“Has the USBE analyzed whether this investigation is election interference? Has the USBE considered whether voters see any action against me at this time (within 60 days of the Salt Lake County GOP convention) as the USBE endorsing my opponent in the primary race? Can you send me your legal analysis of this issue?” Cline said in a letter to the board.
The board responded to Cline’s claims of interference, saying the law she cited, UCA 63A-14, does not apply to the members of the USBE, and the 60-day time frame that Cline calculated was inaccurate, as the complaints were filed on Feb. 7, not Wednesday.
The board also said that the Salt Lake County Nominating Convention is not considered an election under the Utah Code and does not fall under UCA 63A-14.
Contributing: Michael Houck, KSL TV
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