Utah Legislative Leaders Deplore ‘Misleading’ Amendment D Ballot Wording

House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, is pictured during a news conference at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (Photo by Spencer Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

House Speaker Mike Schultz (R-Hooper) and Senate President Stuart Adams (R-Layton) told reporters Thursday night they made a mistake when they wrote vague language about proposed Constitutional Amendment D, which was annulled by the courts for being “misleading” to voters.

The courts also struck down both Amendment D (which would have made clear in the Utah Constitution that the Legislature has the power to repeal or replace any type of ballot initiative) and Amendment A (which would have eliminated the state’s constitutional appropriation of income tax revenue). for education) because government officials failed to comply with publication requirements.

“I made some mistakes, and I admit that,” Schultz said when reporters asked him about the lessons learned from Amendments A and D. “We’re going to work together to find better ways.”

The Utah Constitution specifically states that the Legislature “shall cause” the text of proposed constitutional amendments to be “published” in “at least one newspaper in every county of the State in which the newspaper is published, within two months immediately preceding the next general election.”

But that didn’t happen with any of the proposed constitutional amendments that appeared on the Nov. 5 ballot. Amendments A and D proved to be the most controversial, so critics challenged them in court. The district court judge struck down Amendment D for two reasons: because it did not meet publication requirements and because its ballot language was not only too vague, but also imprecise and misleading. The Utah Supreme Court upheld this decision.

Amendment D Ballot Language

Should the Utah Constitution be amended to strengthen the initiative process by:

If approved, state law would also change to:

If Amendment D had remained in place and had voters approved it, it would have effectively circumvented the Utah Supreme Court’s decision. recent interpretation Utah Constitution, which limited the Legislature’s power to repeal and replace government ballot reform initiatives, instead rewriting the constitution to enshrine the power of legislators to repeal any ballot initiative approved by voters.

However, the Nov. 5 ballot text that posed the question to voters, written by top Utah Republican Party legislative leaders Schultz and Adams, did not explain it in plain language, prompting critics to sue as they argued that the language of Amendment D was “false and misleading.”

When asked if he regretted not writing more clearly on the Amendment D ballot, Schultz said, “I probably regret that we used the word ‘enhanced.’ However, he said he “sincerely believes this to be true.”

“It could be a little clearer to explain what the word ‘amplify’ means, but then the language gets too big, so, you know, I think it would probably be better to take the word out,” Schultz said.

Asked whether members of the House Republican caucus were upset with the way Amendment D was being handled, Shultz said, “There’s always heartache.”

When the conversation turned to what they would do differently, Shultz said, “We’ll work with the Senate,” but he noted that lawmakers might consider revising a new law that would give the House Speaker and Senate President the responsibility of writing the ballot. for voting. language for proposed constitutional amendments, not nonpartisan legislators.

He said lawmakers might also try to consider a “notice process” as well as requiring proposed constitutional amendments to be published in newspapers.

Adams, in a separate media release Thursday night, said “we can all do better” when reporters asked if he had similar regrets, although he noted lawmakers would likely try to take up the issue again. Both he and the Speaker characterized the Utah Supreme Court’s decision limiting the Legislature’s control over “government reform” as a decision that “created a new law of initiative power, creating chaos and striking at the very heart of our Republic”

“I think both Speaker Shultz and I would rework the language a little bit,” Adams said. “But we are also very passionate about the republic. So sometimes you walk a little faster. Such mistakes happen.”

However, Adams said the controversy over Amendment D did not affect the Senate majority leadership election as Republicans elected three new members of the body’s legislative leaders.

Asked if he expects lawmakers to make another attempt during the 2025 legislative session to accomplish what they hope to accomplish with Amendment D, Adams said, “I will never give up my passion for the republic.”

Asked whether that meant lawmakers would try to offer Utah voters another constitutional amendment with different wording, Adams did not elaborate.

“We’re working on things like that,” he said. “We need to maintain a little bit of concern. We ask you to stay in touch. But you will see something, I guarantee you. We’re not going to give it up.”

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