Representative Fred C. Cox proposes the following substitute bill:


1     
REFERENDUM AMENDMENTS

2     
2016 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Fred C. Cox

5     
Senate Sponsor: Luz Escamilla

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends provisions of the Election Code relating to referenda.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     addresses requirements relating to the referendum process for challenging a state
13     law;
14          ▸     provides that the deadline for filing an application to circulate a referendum petition
15     challenging a state law occurs five days after the later of:
16               •     the last day of the legislative session at which the law passed;
17               •     the day on which the governor signs the law; or
18               •     the day on which the law becomes a law because the governor fails to veto or
19     sign the law;
20          ▸     extends the effective date, under certain circumstances, of a state law challenged by
21     referendum; and
22          ▸     makes technical changes.
23     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
24          None
25     Other Special Clauses:
26          None
27     Utah Code Sections Affected:
28     AMENDS:
29          20A-7-101, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapters 364 and 396
30          20A-7-301, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 17
31          20A-7-302, as last amended by Laws of Utah 1995, Chapter 153
32          20A-7-306, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 17
33          20A-7-307, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 17
34     

35     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
36          Section 1. Section 20A-7-101 is amended to read:
37          20A-7-101. Definitions.
38          As used in this chapter:
39          (1) "Action date" means, in relation to a state law that is the subject of a referendum
40     petition, the later of:
41          (a) the last day of the legislative session at which the law passed;
42          (b) the day on which the governor signs the law; or
43          (c) the day on which the law becomes a law because the governor fails to veto or sign
44     the law, as provided in Utah Constitution Article VII, Section 8, Subsection (2).
45          [(1)] (2) "Budget officer" means:
46          (a) for a county, the person designated as budget officer in Section 17-19a-203;
47          (b) for a city, the person designated as budget officer in Subsection 10-6-106(5); or
48          (c) for a town, the town council.
49          [(2)] (3) "Certified" means that the county clerk has acknowledged a signature as being
50     the signature of a registered voter.
51          [(3)] (4) "Circulation" means the process of submitting an initiative or referendum
52     petition to legal voters for their signature.
53          [(4)] (5) "Final fiscal impact statement" means a financial statement prepared after
54     voters approve an initiative that contains the information required by Subsection
55     20A-7-202.5(2) or 20A-7-502.5(2).
56          [(5)] (6) "Initial fiscal impact estimate" means:
57          (a) a financial statement prepared under Section 20A-7-202.5 after the filing of an
58     application for an initiative petition; or
59          (b) a financial and legal statement prepared under Section 20A-7-502.5 or 20A-7-602.5
60     for an initiative or referendum petition.
61          [(6)] (7) "Initiative" means a new law proposed for adoption by the public as provided
62     in this chapter.
63          [(7)] (8) "Initiative packet" means a copy of the initiative petition, a copy of the
64     proposed law, and the signature sheets, all of which have been bound together as a unit.
65          [(8)] (9) "Legal signatures" means the number of signatures of legal voters that:
66          (a) meet the numerical requirements of this chapter; and
67          (b) have been certified and verified as provided in this chapter.
68          [(9)] (10) "Legal voter" means a person who:
69          (a) is registered to vote; or
70          (b) becomes registered to vote before the county clerk certifies the signatures on an
71     initiative or referendum petition.
72          [(10)] (11) "Local attorney" means the county attorney, city attorney, or town attorney
73     in whose jurisdiction a local initiative or referendum petition is circulated.
74          [(11)] (12) "Local clerk" means the county clerk, city recorder, or town clerk in whose
75     jurisdiction a local initiative or referendum petition is circulated.
76          [(12)] (13) (a) "Local law" includes an ordinance, resolution, master plan, and any
77     comprehensive zoning regulation adopted by ordinance or resolution.
78          (b) "Local law" does not include an individual property zoning decision.
79          [(13)] (14) "Local legislative body" means the legislative body of a county, city, or
80     town.
81          [(14)] (15) "Local obligation law" means a local law passed by the local legislative
82     body regarding a bond that was approved by a majority of qualified voters in an election.
83          [(15)] (16) "Local tax law" means a local law, passed by a political subdivision with an
84     annual or biannual calendar fiscal year, that increases a tax or imposes a new tax.
85          [(16)] (17) "Measure" means a proposed constitutional amendment, an initiative, or
86     referendum.
87          [(17)] (18) "Referendum" means a process by which a law passed by the Legislature or
88     by a local legislative body is submitted or referred to the voters for their approval or rejection.
89          [(18)] (19) "Referendum packet" means a copy of the referendum petition, a copy of
90     the law being submitted or referred to the voters for their approval or rejection, and the
91     signature sheets, all of which have been bound together as a unit.
92          [(19)] (20) (a) "Signature" means a holographic signature.
93          (b) "Signature" does not mean an electronic signature.
94          [(20)] (21) "Signature sheets" means sheets in the form required by this chapter that are
95     used to collect signatures in support of an initiative or referendum.
96          [(21)] (22) "Sponsors" means the legal voters who support the initiative or referendum
97     and who sign the application for petition copies.
98          [(22)] (23) "Sufficient" means that the signatures submitted in support of an initiative
99     or referendum petition have been certified and verified as required by this chapter.
100          [(23)] (24) "Verified" means acknowledged by the person circulating the petition as
101     required in Sections 20A-7-205 and 20A-7-305.
102          Section 2. Section 20A-7-301 is amended to read:
103          20A-7-301. Referendum -- Signature requirements -- Submission to voters.
104          (1) In accordance with Article VI, Section 1, Subsection (2)(a)(i)(B) of the Utah
105     Constitution, a law passed by at least a two-thirds vote of the Legislature is not subject to a
106     referendum.
107          [(1) (a)] (2) A person seeking to have a law passed by the Legislature submitted to a
108     vote of the people shall obtain:
109          [(i)] (a) legal signatures equal to 10% of the cumulative total of all votes cast by voters
110     of this state for all candidates for President of the United States at the last regular general
111     election at which a President of the United States was elected; and
112          [(ii)] (b) from each of at least 15 counties, legal signatures equal to 10% of the total of
113     all votes cast in that county for all candidates for President of the United States at the last
114     regular general election at which a President of the United States was elected.
115          [(b)] (3) When the lieutenant governor declares a referendum petition sufficient under
116     this part, the governor shall issue an executive order that:
117          [(i)] (a) directs that the referendum be submitted to the voters at the next regular
118     general election; or
119          [(ii)] (b) calls a special election according to the requirements of Section 20A-1-203
120     and directs that the referendum be submitted to the voters at that special election.
121          [(2)] (4) When a referendum petition has been declared sufficient, the law that is the
122     subject of the petition does not take effect unless and until it is approved by a vote of the
123     people at a regular general election or a statewide special election.
124          [(3)] (5) The lieutenant governor shall provide to any interested person from the
125     official canvass of the last regular general election at which a President of the United States
126     was elected:
127          (a) the cumulative total of all votes cast by voters of this state for all candidates for
128     President of the United States; and
129          (b) for each county, the total of all votes cast in that county for all candidates for
130     President of the United States.
131          Section 3. Section 20A-7-302 is amended to read:
132          20A-7-302. Referendum process -- Application procedures.
133          (1) [Persons wishing] Individuals who desire to circulate a referendum petition in
134     relation to a law passed by the Legislature that is subject to challenge under Article VI, Section
135     1, Subsection (2)(a)(i)(B) of the Utah Constitution shall file an application with the lieutenant
136     governor within five calendar days after the [end of the legislative session at which the law
137     passed] action date.
138          (2) The application shall contain:
139          (a) the name and residence address of at least five sponsors of the referendum petition;
140          (b) a certification indicating that each of the sponsors:
141          (i) is a voter; and
142          (ii) has voted in a regular general election in Utah within the last three years;
143          (c) the signature of each of the sponsors, attested to by a notary public; and
144          (d) [a] an enrolled copy of the law.
145          Section 4. Section 20A-7-306 is amended to read:
146          20A-7-306. Submitting the referendum petition -- Certification of signatures by
147     the county clerks -- Transfer to lieutenant governor.
148          (1) (a) [No later than 40 days after the end of the legislative session at which the law
149     passed, the] The sponsors shall deliver each signed and verified referendum packet to the
150     county clerk of the county in which the packet was circulated no later than 40 days after the
151     action date.
152          (b) A sponsor may not submit a referendum packet after the deadline established in this
153     Subsection (1).
154          (2) (a) No later than 55 days after the [end of the legislative session at which the law
155     passed] action date, the county clerk shall:
156          (i) check the [names of all persons completing] name of each individual who
157     completed the verification on the last page of each referendum packet to determine whether [or
158     not those persons are Utah residents and are] the individual is a Utah resident and is at least 18
159     years old; and
160          (ii) submit the name of each [of those persons] individual described in Subsection
161     (2)(a)(i) who is not a Utah resident or who is not at least 18 years old to the attorney general
162     and county attorney.
163          (b) The county clerk may not certify a signature under Subsection (3) on a referendum
164     packet that is not verified in accordance with Section 20A-7-305.
165          (3) No later than 55 days after the [end of the legislative session at which the law
166     passed] action date, the county clerk shall:
167          (a) determine whether each signer is a registered voter according to the requirements of
168     Section 20A-7-306.3;
169          (b) certify on the referendum petition whether each name is that of a registered voter;
170     and
171          (c) deliver all of the verified referendum packets to the lieutenant governor.
172          (4) Upon receipt of a referendum packet under Subsection (3) and any statement
173     submitted under Subsection 20A-7-305(3), the lieutenant governor shall remove from the
174     referendum petition a voter's signature if the voter has requested the removal in accordance
175     with Subsection 20A-7-305(3).
176          Section 5. Section 20A-7-307 is amended to read:
177          20A-7-307. Evaluation by the lieutenant governor.
178          (1) When each referendum packet is received from a county clerk, the lieutenant
179     governor shall check off from the record the number of each referendum packet filed.
180          (2) (a) After all of the referendum packets have been received by the lieutenant
181     governor and the lieutenant governor has removed the signatures as required by Section
182     20A-7-306, the lieutenant governor shall:
183          (i) count the number of the names certified by the county clerks that remain on each
184     verified signature sheet; and
185          (ii) declare the petition to be sufficient or insufficient no later than 60 days after the
186     [end of the legislative session at which the law passed] action date.
187          (b) Subject to Subsection 20A-7-301(2), if the law that is the subject of the referendum
188     petition is due to take effect less than 60 days after the action date, the effective date of the law
189     is extended to the day on which the lieutenant governor declares the petition to be sufficient or
190     insufficient.
191          [(b)] (c) If the total number of names counted under Subsection (2)(a)(i) equals or
192     exceeds the number of names required by Section 20A-7-301 and the requirements of this part
193     are met, the lieutenant governor shall mark upon the front of the petition the word "sufficient."
194          [(c)] (d) If the total number of names counted under Subsection (2)(a)(i) does not equal
195     or exceed the number of names required by Section 20A-7-301 or a requirement of this part is
196     not met, the lieutenant governor shall mark upon the front of the petition the word
197     "insufficient."
198          [(d)] (e) The lieutenant governor shall immediately notify any one of the sponsors of
199     the lieutenant governor's finding.
200          (3) (a) If the lieutenant governor refuses to accept and file any referendum petition, any
201     voter may apply to the supreme court for an extraordinary writ to compel the lieutenant
202     governor to do so within 10 days after the refusal.
203          (b) If the supreme court determines that the referendum petition is legally sufficient,
204     the lieutenant governor shall [file it,]:
205          (i) file the referendum petition, with a verified copy of the judgment attached to [it, as
206     of] the referendum petition; and
207           (ii) designate the filing date of the referendum petition as the date on which [it] the
208     referendum petition was originally offered for filing in the lieutenant governor's office.
209          (c) If the supreme court determines that any petition filed is not legally sufficient, the
210     supreme court may enjoin the lieutenant governor and all other officers from certifying or
211     printing the ballot title and numbers of that measure on the official ballot.
212          (4) A petition determined to be sufficient in accordance with this section is qualified
213     for the ballot.