20A-7-209. Short title and summary of initiative — Duties of lieutenant governor and Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.
(1)
On or before June 5 before the regular general election, the lieutenant governor shall deliver a copy of all of the proposed laws that have qualified for the ballot to the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.
Terms Used In Utah Code 20A-7-209
Ballot: means the storage medium, including a paper, mechanical, or electronic storage medium, that records an individual voter's vote. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Ballot proposition: means a question, issue, or proposal that is submitted to voters on the ballot for their approval or rejection including:
(a)
an opinion question specifically authorized by the Legislature;
(b)
a constitutional amendment;
(c)
an initiative;
(d)
a referendum;
(e)
a bond proposition;
(f)
a judicial retention question;
(g)
an incorporation of a city or town; or
(h)
any other ballot question specifically authorized by the Legislature. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Election: means a regular general election, a municipal general election, a statewide special election, a local special election, a regular primary election, a municipal primary election, and a special district election. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Election officer: means :
(a)
the lieutenant governor, for all statewide ballots and elections;
qualified: means to take the oath of office and begin performing the duties of the position for which the individual was elected. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Referendum: means a process by which a law passed by the Legislature or by a local legislative body is submitted or referred to the voters for their approval or rejection. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
Sponsors: means the legal voters who support the initiative or referendum and who sign the initiative application or referendum application. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall:
(i)
entitle each statewide initiative that has qualified for the ballot “Proposition Number __” and give it a number as assigned under Section 20A-6-107;
(ii)
prepare for each initiative:
(A)
an impartial short title, not exceeding 25 words, that generally describes the subject of the initiative; and
(B)
an impartial summary of the contents of the initiative, not exceeding 125 words; and
(iii)
provide each short title, and summary to the lieutenant governor on or before June 26.
(b)
The short title and summary may be distinct from the title of the proposed law.
(c)
If the initiative proposes a tax increase, the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall include the following statement, in bold, in the summary: “This initiative seeks to increase the current (insert name of tax) rate by (insert the tax percentage difference) percent, resulting in a(n) (insert the tax percentage increase) percent increase in the current tax rate.”.
(d)
Subject to Subsection (4), for each statewide initiative, the official ballot shall show, in the following order:
(i)
the number of the initiative, determined in accordance with Section 20A-6-107;
(ii)
the short title;
(iii)
except as provided in Subsection (2)(e):
(A)
the summary;
(B)
the text of the proposed law; and
(C)
a link to a location on the lieutenant governor’s website where a voter may review additional information relating to each initiative, including the information described in Subsection 20A-7-202(2), the initial fiscal impact statement described in Section 20A-7-202.5, as updated under Section 20A-7-204.1, and the arguments relating to the initiative that are included in the voter information pamphlet; and
(iv)
the initial fiscal impact statement prepared under Section 20A-7-202.5, as updated under Section 20A-7-204.1.
(e)
Unless the information described in Subsection (2)(d)(iii) is shown on the official ballot, the election officer shall include with the ballot a separate ballot proposition insert that includes the short title and summary for each initiative on the ballot and a link to a location on the lieutenant governor’s website where a voter may review the additional information described in Subsection (2)(d)(iii)(C).
(f)
Unless the information described in Subsection (2)(d)(iii) for all initiatives on the ballot, and the information described in Subsection 20A-7-308(2)(c)(iii) for all referenda on the ballot, is printed on the ballot, the ballot shall include the following statement at the beginning of the portion of the ballot that includes ballot measures, “The ballot proposition sheet included with this ballot contains an impartial summary of each initiative and referendum on this ballot, unless the summary is printed directly on the ballot.”
(3)
On or before June 27, the lieutenant governor shall mail a copy of the short title and summary to any sponsor of the petition.
(4)
(a)
(i)
At least three of the sponsors of the petition may, on or before July 6, challenge the wording of the short title and summary prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to the appropriate court.
(ii)
After receipt of the challenge, the court shall direct the lieutenant governor to send notice of the challenge to:
(A)
any person or group that has filed an argument for or against the initiative that is the subject of the challenge; or
(B)
any political issues committee established under Section 20A-11-801 that has filed written or electronic notice with the lieutenant governor that identifies the name, mailing or email address, and telephone number of the individual designated to receive notice about any issues relating to the initiative.
(b)
(i)
There is a presumption that the short title prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel is an impartial description of the contents of the initiative.
(ii)
The court may not revise the wording of the short title unless the plaintiffs rebut the presumption by clearly and convincingly establishing that the short title is false or biased.
(iii)
There is a presumption that the summary prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel is an impartial summary of the contents of the initiative.
(iv)
The court may not revise the wording of the summary unless the plaintiffs rebut the presumption by clearly and convincingly establishing that the summary is false or biased.
(c)
The court shall:
(i)
examine the short title and summary;
(ii)
hear arguments; and
(iii)
enter an order consistent with the requirements of this section.
(d)
The lieutenant governor shall, in accordance with the court’s order, certify the short title and summary to the county clerks for inclusion in the ballot or ballot proposition insert, as required by this section.
Amended by Chapter 45, 2023 General Session, (Coordination Clause) Amended by Chapter 45, 2023 General Session Amended by Chapter 107, 2023 General Session
