Weber's next crisis came when, in 1949, Governor J. Bracken Lee vetoed Weber's attempt to become a four-year college. Lee then attempted to give Weber, Snow, and Dixie Colleges back to the LDS Church. In late 1953, Lee succeeded in convincing legislators at a special session to discontinue funding for those colleges. Although the LDS Church did not back the bill, it did promise to maintain the colleges if the state returned them.