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H.B. 220
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INITIATIVE PROCESS AMENDMENTS
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2000 GENERAL SESSION
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STATE OF UTAH
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Sponsor: Tammy J. Rowan
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AN ACT RELATING TO INITIATIVES; ESTABLISHING A PROCESS FOR CONSIDERING
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INITIATIVE PETITIONS SUBMITTED TO THE LEGISLATURE; AND MAKING
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TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
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This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
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REPEALS AND REENACTS:
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20A-7-208, as last amended by Chapter 115, Laws of Utah 1999
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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Section 1.
Section
20A-7-208
is repealed and reenacted to read:
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20A-7-208. Legislative process for initiative petitions submitted to the Legislature.
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(1) (a) Upon receipt of a copy of an initiative under Section
20A-7-201
, the Office of
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Legislative Research and General Counsel shall review the petition to identify any technical,
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substantive, or legal issues raised by the petition.
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(b) After completing the review, if the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel
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identifies issues meriting discussion, the office shall:
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(i) inform the sponsors of that fact; and
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(ii) invite the sponsors to schedule a meeting with the office to discuss the issues identified
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and to consider any solutions to those issues.
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(c) If a meeting is held and a majority of the sponsors present at the meeting vote to amend
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the text of the petition, the sponsors shall modify the text of the initiative petition to reflect that
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change.
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(d) If, as a result of the meeting, any changes are made to the initiative petition, the petition
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sponsors shall publish notice at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in Utah that:
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(i) identifies the changes;
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(ii) informs the persons who signed the petition that they may have their signatures
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removed from the petition; and
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(iii) explains the process that signers must follow to have their names removed and the
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date by which they must act.
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(e) (i) Persons who signed an initiative petition and who wish to have their signatures
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removed from the petition shall provide written, signed notice, including the person's name and
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address, to the lieutenant governor before the tenth day of the Legislature's annual general session.
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(ii) On the eleventh day of the Legislature's annual general session, the lieutenant governor
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shall:
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(A) remove from the petition the names of all signers who submitted a valid written and
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signed notice by the deadline;
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(B) determine whether or not the petition still has sufficient signatures to be valid; and
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(C) if the petition does not have sufficient signatures to be valid, send written notice to the
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president of the Senate, the speaker of the House, and the director of the Office of Legislative
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Research and General Counsel by the twelfth day of the Legislature's annual general session that
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the petition has been disqualified.
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(2) (a) Upon receipt of a copy of an initiative under Section
20A-7-201
, the Office of
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Legislative Research and General Counsel shall contact the sponsors of the petition and ask them
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if any legislators have agreed to sponsor the petition.
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(b) If the petition sponsors identify one or more legislative sponsors, the office shall:
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(i) contact the legislators to verify their willingness to be listed as sponsors; and
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(ii) number and file the petition as a bill sponsored by the legislator that will carry the
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petition in the house in which that legislator is a member.
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(c) If the petition does not have a legislative sponsor, the office shall number and file the
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petition as a bill sponsored by "the People of the State of Utah" in the House or Senate as
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designated by the sponsors.
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(d) Before an initiative petition bill is introduced, the Office of Legislative Research and
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General Counsel shall prepare and attach a legislative review note and the Legislative Fiscal
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Analyst shall attach a fiscal note.
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(e) After the initiative petition bill is introduced, the initiative petition bill shall be referred
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to a standing committee.
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(f) The standing committee may amend the initiative petition bill if a majority of the
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initiative petition sponsors approve the amendment.
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(g) The standing committee shall send the bill to the floor with a committee report
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recommending that the initiative petition bill pass or not pass.
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(h) After receiving the standing committee report on the initiative petition bill, the
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initiative petition bill shall be placed on the calendar.
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(i) The body shall debate and vote on the initiative petition bill.
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(j) If the first house passes the bill, the first house shall transmit the bill to the second
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house for its review and action.
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(k) The second house shall follow the procedures established in Subsections (2)(e) through
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(2)(i).
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(l) If the second house has amended the initiative petition bill, it shall transmit the bill to
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the first house for their further action according to legislative rules.
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(m) The initiative petition bill passes only if both houses of the Legislature approve the
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same version of the initiative petition bill.
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(3) If any law proposed by an initiative petition is enacted by the Legislature, it is subject
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to referendum the same as other laws.
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(4) If any law proposed by a petition is not enacted by the Legislature, that proposed law
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shall be submitted to a vote of the people at the next regular general election if:
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(a) sufficient additional signatures to the petition are first obtained to bring the total
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number of signatures up to the number required by Subsection
20A-7-201
(2); and
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(b) those additional signatures are verified, certified by the county clerks, and declared
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sufficient by the lieutenant governor as provided in this part.
Legislative Review Note
as of 11-18-99 12:54 PM
A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.