As expected, Gov. Gary Herbert on Friday called a special session of the Legislature for Wednesday to handle several minor items — and avoided more controversial issues such as changes to Utah’s open-records law and a push to repeal Utah’s immigrant guest-worker program.

“The items on the call are generally minor housekeeping items, some of which are time-sensitive,” Herbert said.

The items he included for consideration include tinkering with health insurance rates, liquor commission guidelines, judicial evaluations, and adopting another resolution supporting a federal balanced budget amendment.

Other items include tweaking the makeup of a board created to study the relocation of the Draper prison and legislation about issuing bonds by special service districts.

The one-day session will cost little to nothing extra because it will piggyback on already-scheduled monthly interim meetings.

While the Utah Republican Party passed a resolution last month calling for the repeal of HB116, which would create a guest-worker law, the governor did not include it among items for the special session.

Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, said recently he doesn’t like taking on complicated matters such as HB116 during special sessions. “The bill doesn’t go into effect — if ever — until 2013, so I don’t see a huge rush to repeal.”

Also, no changes are expected to Utah’s open-meetings law. Although a task force has been contemplating changes to the law — after lawmakers were pressured into repealing revisions they passed this year — Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, has said those revisions won’t be ready in time for the special session. He wants the bill to have several public hearings.

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