SALT LAKE CITY — Leaders of the Utah state legislature are defending the decision to call lawmakers into a special session Wednesday to propose a constitutional amendment that would change a Utah Supreme Court ruling on citizen initiatives.
“This is not a power struggle on my part or on the part of any other politician, President Adams or any other member of Congress,” said House Speaker Mike Schulz (R-Hooper). “But we recognize how important this is and the long-term devastation this can cause for the state of Utah. And that’s why we’re so concerned about it.”
Schulz also gave further details on what MPs will vote on Wednesday, outlining the wording that will be put to voters. The amendment will ask voters to approve parliament’s reform initiatives and, if passed, will ease the hurdles for repealing laws through referendums.
At the time of publication, the draft law amending the minimum threshold for referendums was public; the text of the constitutional amendment was announced later.
NEW: The proposed text of the constitutional amendment, which will be voted on in a special session tomorrow, is now public. It adds the words “through the legislative process” to Utah’s constitution – thus removing the ability of voters to change and reform their government “through the legislative process”… pic.twitter.com/bl509MT9Qa
— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) 21 August 2024
The wording appears to give the legislature the ability to “amend, adopt or repeal” any citizen initiative – not just those aimed at government reform.
Additionally, the Constitution contains a retroactive clause that means this version of the Constitution could be applied to any previous initiatives. This would likely impact the current redistricting case and prevent previous ballot measures from being considered in future court cases.
“We will ask the question whether the legislature can change initiatives and whether the people can also change initiatives. Basically, it’s about making things the way they were before the Supreme Court’s decision and bringing more clarity to the matter. And it will be a yes or no question, it’s as simple as that,” Schulz said.
When asked whether lawmakers had the authority to repeal the laws, Shultz said, “I don’t think they will be repealed, but yes, they will be changed.”
Schultz argued that relaxing the signature requirement for referendums would make it easier for citizens to repeal laws.
“I want to make this very clear. We are not taking away initiatives. We are not making it more difficult for initiatives. That is what we believe in. We think that the initiative procedure is important so that people can ask their politicians to make necessary changes to the law. But there must also be a certain amount of flexibility in this,” he said.
A Republican does not want the session or changes
But not all Republicans are on board. Marsha Judkins, R-West Provo, said she opposes both rushing the session and amending Utah’s constitution in general.
“The Constitution clearly states that the people of Utah have the right to change and reform the government. And I think that’s a really important right. If we take it away from them, we have to be very careful,” she said.
And she doesn’t like the plan to approve something only if voters approve the constitutional amendment.
“I can’t stand to see the legislature do this,” she said. “We tied vouchers to teacher pay raises, we tied the elimination of the education grant to the elimination of the sales tax on groceries, and now we’re trying this change. Each of these issues should have been considered separately.”
Shultz said it was not a tactic but rather a “win-win situation” in which each side gets a little something.
Ultimately, the speaker argues that introducing a new law, if implemented incorrectly, could cost the state millions or cause a major political shift. He cited voters’ vote on medical marijuana in 2018 as an example. Shultz said that because there were no enforcement measures in that measure, voters had – in theory – approved marijuana for recreational use without knowing it.
“We would essentially have recreational marijuana in the state of Utah if we hadn’t been able to make these changes.”
A campaign against the referendum proposal
The executive director of the group suing the state over its congressional boundaries, Better Boundaries, isn’t mincing his words about the decision.
“This is an unprecedented power struggle where the legislature, with a two-thirds majority, is calling itself into session, a power it has taken away from the government, to override a unanimous decision by the Utah Supreme Court. To me, this feels like a consolidation of power, and that is deeply troubling,” said Katie Wright.
She said if the measure is implemented, they will campaign against it until November.
“Over 2,500 Utah residents have signed a letter saying this is an unprecedented power struggle that they don’t like and want lawmakers to stop.”
It seems there are not enough votes to make this possible.
“Those who are against it are afraid to let the voters decide,” said Schulz. “We want the voters to be able to decide.”
