Latest news with #AmendmentD
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah House speaker seeks to return amendment ballot language role to legislative attorneys
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah's top legislative leaders are backtracking on a law passed last year that made Utah's Senate president and House speaker responsible for writing the ballot summaries of proposed constitutional amendments. Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz (R – Hooper) himself proposed a bill in committee that would return the responsibility of writing the ballot language to non-partisan legislative attorneys. New bill 'goes too far,' says Utah Chief Justice Matthew Durrant in letter to lawmakers While presenting the bill, Schultz said the 'change that was made last year was probably not the right way' and that this bill would revert it to the way it was. '[This bill] takes it back to exactly the way it was before and has the nonpartisan legislative research attorneys write the language that is placed on the ballot for ballot initiatives,' Schultz said. H.B. 563 'Ballot Title Amendments' gives that power to the legislative general counsel, however, the bill states that 'the legislative general counsel performs the duties…as counsel for the presiding officers.' It's unclear exactly how much involvement Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams (R -Kaysville) are allowed to have in future drafting. The bill unanimously passed the House Government Operations Committee with no opposition from either party or the public. The bill will now go before the Utah House for debate amongst representatives. This bill comes months after the Utah Supreme Court voided and and criticized the legislature for what it called misleading language on the ballot. In the court's on Amendment D, Justice Diana Hagan said the summary written by Schultz and Adams did not disclose the 'fundamental change' the amendment was seeking. It ruled that because of the misleading language, among other issues, the amendment was not able to be presented to voters. Schultz did not go into detail on whether or not the Utah Supreme Court's decision influenced his decision to propose a return to legislative attorneys' writing ballot language. However, he did mention that when they first sought to change who wrote the ballot title it 'was well before Amendment D … was even known about.' Lindsay Aerts and Derick Fox contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah GOP leaders backtrack on who should write constitutional amendment ballot questions
When the Utah Supreme Court scrapped the proposed constitutional Amendment D last fall, it did so in part by ruling that top Republican leaders in the Utah Legislature misled voters with the text of the question they were asked. It was the first year the House speaker and Senate president wrote the ballot question instead of legislative attorneys after lawmakers made the seemingly unimportant change earlier in the year. Now, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, is planning to roll back that change and hand the responsibility back to legislative attorneys. The speaker admitted that the change last year may not have been the best move, and his bill, HB563, aims to return the process to the way it was. "We made a mistake in changing that last year," he told reporters Thursday. "Again, we changed it before we even knew about Amendment D, so it had nothing to do with any of that. But going through that process, sometimes you see that it might not have been the best idea. ... I feel like we want to take it back to the way it was before, based on the way it played out over the past year." Asked if his bill will give top lawmakers any say in how the ballot question reads, Schultz said: "No, we're not going to be able to control what is said, so it just takes it back to the way it was before." HB563 is poised to fly through the Legislature before lawmakers adjourn at midnight on March 7, and a House committee unanimously voted to advance the proposal Friday, sending it to the full chamber for a further vote. House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said during the hearing that the bill is the same as one introduced last year by herself and the top Democrat in the Senate, signaling broad, bipartisan support for the measure. "As you all know, I'm the minority leader, and myself and the speaker and the (Senate) president and the other minority leader in the Senate have to write a response to any amendment we have on the ballot," she told the House Government Operations Committee. "I think it's really important that it's a neutral person drafting the language for that so we can address our concerns through our response." Two members of the public spoke in favor of the bill during the short hearing, including Kael Weston, a former diplomat and Democratic congressional and Senate candidate. Weston said he volunteered as a poll worker during the recent election and encountered voters who were "very confused and perhaps misled by the prior language" on Amendment D — which appeared on the ballot even though the Supreme Court ordered that votes for it would not count. "Thank you, Speaker Schultz, for what I think this is a very important bill and reestablishing what is critical in our government trust," Weston said. Adams was asked about the proposal Thursday and said he and Schultz "have the ability to write with valid language, and maybe we could have done a better job last time." Schultz's proposal 'may be a better way to go,' the president added.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Admitting ‘mistake,' lawmakers advance bill to switch authors of ballot questions
House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, is pictured at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) After the courts last year voided a proposed constitutional amendment written by Utah's top Republican legislative leaders — in part because the ballot language was misleading — lawmakers are advancing a bill to revert the duty back to legislative attorneys. After less than five minutes of discussion, the House Government Operations Committee on Friday voted unanimously to advance HB563 to the House floor. House Speaker MIke Schultz, R-Hooper, is running the bill himself. He and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, authored last year's controversial proposed ballot question known as Amendment D. Amendment D ballot language was misleading to voters, Utah Supreme Court affirms That proposed constitutional amendment would have enshrined in the Utah Constitution the Legislature's power to change all ballot initiatives, sidestepping a Utah Supreme Court decision last summer affirming that the Legislature's powers have limits when it comes to changing the substance of government reform initiatives. However, in the question posed to voters on the Nov. 5 ballot, Schultz and Adams characterized Amendment D as one that would 'strengthen' and 'clarify' the ballot initiative process. That prompted critics to sue, claiming Amendment D's language was unconstitutional because it was 'false and misleading.' The courts agreed and voided the question from the ballot. Last year's election was the first time the House speaker and Senate president wrote ballot language for proposed constitutional amendments, after the 2024 Utah Legislature passed SB37, a bill that took the duty away from legislative attorneys and gave it to the Legislature's 'presiding officers.' 'I'll own it. We made a mistake in changing that last year,' Schultz told reporters in a media availability Thursday, though he added, 'we changed it before we even knew about Amendment D. So it had nothing to do with any of that.' 'But going through that process, sometimes, you see that it might not have been the best idea,' Schultz said, adding that he wants to change the law 'back to the way it was before, based off of the way it played out over the past year.' However, Schultz's bill doesn't exactly match previous Utah law, and it specifies that legislative attorneys would write the language 'as counsel for the presiding officers.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Schultz's bill is also crafted differently than other bills that were proposed far earlier in the 2025 session aiming to fix the problem. One bill by the House's top Democrat, House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, sought to ensure future ballot language is unbiased. While Schultz's bill received a committee hearing Friday, Romero's bill never made it out of the House Rules Committee. Romero's bill, HB101, would have required legislative attorneys to write 'an impartial' ballot title and analysis for a proposed constitutional amendment. While Schultz's bill would revert the responsibility from the House speaker and Senate president back to 'legislative general counsel,' his bill also specifies the legislative attorneys write the language 'for the presiding officers.' Schultz's bill does not include a mandate for impartial language, like Romero's would. Schultz, however, told reporters Thursday legislative leaders are not 'going to be able to control what's said.' 'It just takes it back to the way it was before,' he said. Previous state code did not include the provision that explicitly states 'the legislative general counsel performs the duties in this section as counsel for the presiding officers.' However, during Friday's committee hearing, Schultz only received praise and gratitude for sponsoring the bill. 'Thank you very much for closing the gap of trust in our state government,' said one public speaker, Kael Weston, a Democrat who ran for Utah's 2nd Congressional District in 2020. Utah legislative leaders express regret over Amendment D's 'misleading' ballot language Romero did make a note of pointing out it's similar to her bill that was never prioritized for consideration. However, she voted in favor of Schultz's bill. 'It's really important that it's a neutral person drafting the language,' she said. Before Schultz's bill becomes law, it still needs to wind its way through the rest of the legislative process, and only one week remains of the 2025 session, which must adjourn before midnight on March 7. When asked whether he's supportive of the way Schultz has drafted the bill, Adams told reporters Thursday, 'I am.' But at the same time, Adams said he believes legislative leaders 'have the ability to write good ballot language.' 'Maybe we could have done a better job last time,' he said, adding 'I'm not sure what the word 'strengthen' was about, but we used that word last time. It may have been improper use of the word, but I actually think we can write good language. But I think the bill will probably allow, maybe, some attorneys to write it. I think that may be a better way to go.' Both Schultz and Adams expressed regret over the misleading language of Amendment D in November, acknowledging mistakes and vowing 'to work together to find better ways.' 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Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah House speaker proposes bill to change authors of ballot questions, but may maintain influence
Ballots await processing at the Davis County Administrative Building in Farmington on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) After being the author of the controversial language of Amendment D last year, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, is pushing to change who gets to write the initiative questions appearing in ballots — however, he and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, may still have influence on it. Currently, the task of preparing ballot titles and analysis belongs to the House speaker and the Senate president, a change made by the legislature last year. But, if the Legislature approves HB563, sponsored by Schultz, the job would move back to a more neutral party — legislative attorneys, part of a nonpartisan body. But, they would perform that duty 'as counsel for the presiding officers.' Utah Legislature could explore switching authors of ballot initiatives The bill was introduced on Wednesday afternoon and is waiting for a committee assignment. Two Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, and House Minority Whip Jennifer Dailey-Provost, introduced similar bills this session without that provision. However, none of them ever left the rules committee. Democratic representatives hadn't reviewed the bill when it went public on Wednesday, but when Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Sandy, was asked about that part of the bill, he said, 'anything handing it back to the (Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel) is better than what we have.' The change comes after the anti-gerrymandering group Better Boundaries filed a successful legal challenge against Amendment D, a constitutional amendment proposition that would have allowed the Legislature to repeal or substantially modify approved ballot initiatives. However, the language printed on ballots didn't reflect that, detractors said. The ballot language for Amendment D read: Should the Utah Constitution be changed to strengthen the initiative process by: Prohibiting foreign influence on ballot initiatives and referendums. Clarifying the voters and legislative bodies' ability to amend laws. If approved, state law would also be changed to: Allow Utah citizens 50% more time to gather signatures for a statewide referendum. Establish requirements for the legislature to follow the intent of a ballot initiative. Ultimately, what rendered the question void by the courts was the state's failure to comply with constitutional publication requirements. But, later, the Utah Supreme Court affirmed the language was misleading. 'Amendment D would alter that balance and give the Legislature unfettered constitutional authority to amend or repeal any initiative, including those that reform the government. But the ballot title does not disclose this fundamental change,' Justice Diana Hagen wrote in the unanimous opinion posted last October. After that decision was published, Schultz and Adams, expressed regret over the vague language of Amendment D in November, acknowledging mistakes and vowing 'to work together to find better ways.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
