H.B. 143 Enrolled

LEGISLATIVE VOTE REQUIREMENTS ON INITIATIVES
1999 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Tammy J. Rowan
AN ACT RELATING TO INITIATIVES; SPECIFYING THE FORM AND TIMING OF THE
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S SUBMISSION OF INITIATIVES TO THE LEGISLATURE;
AUTHORIZING CERTAIN CORRECTIONS TO INITIATIVES SUBMITTED TO THE
LEGISLATURE; AUTHORIZING LEGISLATIVE REVIEW NOTES AND FISCAL NOTES ON
INITIATIVES SUBMITTED TO THE LEGISLATURE; AND MAKING TECHNICAL
CORRECTIONS.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
20A-7-201, as last amended by Chapter 136, Laws of Utah 1998
20A-7-208, as enacted by Chapter 1, Laws of Utah 1994
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 20A-7-201 is amended to read:
20A-7-201. Statewide initiatives -- Signature requirements -- Submission to the
Legislature or to a vote of the people.
(1) (a) A person seeking to have an initiative submitted to the Legislature for approval or
rejection shall obtain:
(i) legal signatures equal to 5% of the cumulative total of all votes cast for all candidates
for governor at the last regular general election at which a governor was elected; and
(ii) from each of at least 20 counties, legal signatures equal to 5% of the total of all votes
cast in that county for all candidates for governor at the last regular general election at which a
governor was elected.
(b) If, at any time not less than ten days before the beginning of an annual general session
of the Legislature, the lieutenant governor declares sufficient any initiative petition that is signed
by enough voters to meet the requirements of this Subsection (1), the lieutenant governor shall
deliver [that petition to the Legislature as soon as it convenes and organizes.] a copy of the petition

and the cover sheet required by Subsection (1)(c) to the president of the Senate, the speaker of the
House, and the director of the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.
(c) In delivering a copy of the petition, the lieutenant governor shall include a cover sheet
that contains:
(i) the cumulative total of all votes cast for all candidates for governor at the last regular
general election at which a governor was elected;
(ii) the total of all votes cast in each county for all candidates for governor at the last regular
general election at which a governor was elected;
(iii) the total number of certified signatures received for the submitted initiative; and
(iv) the total number of certified signatures received from each county for the submitted
initiative.
(2) (a) A person seeking to have an initiative submitted to a vote of the people for approval
or rejection shall obtain:
(i) legal signatures equal to 10% of the cumulative total of all votes cast for all candidates
for governor at the last regular general election at which a governor was elected; and
(ii) from each of at least 20 counties, legal signatures equal to 10% of the total of all votes
cast in that county for all candidates for governor at the last regular general election at which a
governor was elected.
(b) If, at any time not less than four months before any regular general election, the
lieutenant governor declares sufficient any initiative petition that is signed by enough legal voters
to meet the requirements of this subsection, the lieutenant governor shall submit the proposed law
to a vote of the people at the next regular general election.
(3) The lieutenant governor shall provide the following information from the official canvass
of the last regular general election at which a governor was elected to any interested person:
(a) the cumulative total of all votes cast for all candidates for governor; and
(b) for each county, the total of all votes cast in that county for all candidates for governor.
Section 2. Section 20A-7-208 is amended to read:
20A-7-208. Disposition of initiative petitions by the Legislature.

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(1) (a) [When] Except as provided in Subsection (1)(b), when the lieutenant governor
delivers an initiative petition to the Legislature, the law proposed by that initiative petition shall be
either enacted or rejected without change or amendment by the Legislature.
(b) The speaker of the House and the president of the Senate may direct legislative staff to:
(i) make technical corrections authorized by Section 36-12-12 ; and
(ii) prepare a legislative review note and a legislative fiscal note on the law proposed by the
initiative petition.
[(b)] (c) If any law proposed by an initiative petition is enacted by the Legislature, it is
subject to referendum the same as other laws.
(2) If any law proposed by a petition is not enacted by the Legislature, that proposed law
shall be submitted to a vote of the people at the next regular general election if:
(a) sufficient additional signatures to the petition are first obtained to bring the total number
of signatures up to the number required by Subsection 20A-7-201 (2); and
(b) those additional signatures are verified, certified by the county clerks, and declared
sufficient by the lieutenant governor as provided in this part.

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