Utah
Legislature may hold special session to override Utah Supreme Court ruling on citizen initiatives
SALT LAKE CITY — Republican leaders in the Utah State Legislature are considering a special session to override a Utah Supreme Court ruling on citizen ballot initiatives.
On Monday, lawmakers were still weighing whether to advance a proposed constitutional amendment undoing the ruling by the state’s top court. A unanimous court ruled earlier this summer that the legislature overstepped its bounds when it overrode a citizen ballot initiative.
A number of groups including the Utah Republican Party, the Sutherland Institute, Pro-Life Utah and top conservatives including GOP attorney general candidate Derek Brown, legislative candidate Nicholeen Peck and Utah Eagle Forum President Gayle Ruzicka, have been pushing legislative leaders to call a special session to advance a constitutional amendment undoing the Court’s decision.
In a letter sent by the Utah Republican Party, many of the groups warn that “Utah now faces the risk of becoming like California, where large sums of outside money influence laws that do not reflect the values of our citizens and undermine our cultural integrity.”
They argued the Court’s ruling leaves Utah vulnerable to the “whims of special interests and fleeting majorities.”
“If we do not act to mitigate the consequences of this decision, Utah’s strong community and quality of life will be severely jeopardized, impacting our future and generations to come,” the letter said. “Given these exigent circumstances, we believe it is imperative that the legislature be immediately called into special session to propose a constitutional amendment. This amendment should safeguard our laws from being unduly influenced by outside groups while simultaneously respecting the role of properly balanced grassroots-led initiatives and strengthening the people’s right to veto laws through a referendum process.”
If it is advanced in a special session and passes the Republican supermajority in the Utah State Legislature? Voters would decide the issue on the November ballot.
In July, the Utah Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision to strike a central part of a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and a group of plaintiffs. They sued, challenging the legislature’s decision to override Proposition 4, which created an independent redistricting commission for political boundaries. Lawmakers passed their own maps, which the plaintiffs argue constitutes illegal gerrymandering in favor of Republicans.
“We hold that the people’s right to alter or reform the government through an initiative is constitutionally protected from government infringement, including legislative amendment, repeal or replacement of the initiative in a manner that impairs the reform enacted by the people,” Justice Paige Petersen wrote in the Court’s unanimous opinion. “Thus, an alleged violation of the people’s exercise of these rights presents a legally cognizable claim on which relief may be granted.”
At the time, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, and Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, blasted the ruling as “one of the worst outcomes we’ve ever seen from the Utah Supreme Court.”
“Rather than reaching the self-evident answer, today the Court punted and made a new law about the initiative power, creating chaos and striking at the very heart of our republic,” they said, expressing concern about what could happen with future citizen initiatives.
On Monday morning, President Adams said it was still under discussion.
“I appreciate Utahns and stakeholders engaging and expressing their concerns on this important issue. There has been significant discussion about a special session, and we are carefully considering their requests,” he said in a statement.
Katharine Biele, the president of the League of Women Voters of Utah, told FOX 13 News she wished the Utah State Legislature would leave the Court’s ruling alone.
“We couldn’t be more disappointed in our Utah politicians,” she said. “They claim they are a representative government, we believe that. We believe in representation. They need to start representing the people.”
Katie Wright, the executive director of Better Boundaries, which sponsored Prop. 4, told FOX 13 News that if lawmakers were to advance a constitutional amendment, a number of groups were lining up to campaign against it.
“Once the people heard what was planned? There is outrage. People feel like, ‘Wait. There was a decision. It came from the Utah Supreme Court and now the legislature is trying to override that?’” she said. “It’s overreach. People are uncomfortable with it. We all know that our branches of government are supposed to have balances and checks and balances and this really throws that to the wayside.”
Read the letter from the conservative groups to the Utah State Legislature here:
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz missed out on the NBA Playoffs, but still scored a big win thanks to a coin flip.
In Monday’s tiebreaker coin flip to determine who had the fourth-worst record in the league last season, the Jazz came out winners over the Sacramento Kings, who had the same 22-60 record.
Had the Jazz lost the coin flip, they would have been fifth in NBA Draft Lottery odds. Only the worst four teams are guaranteed to remain within the top eight of the lottery.
If Utah had fallen to fifth, there would have been the chance they could have dropped out of the top 8 teams in the lottery, and owed the draft pick to Oklahoma City, which was top-8 protected in a previous trade.
The Jazz now have an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, which is scheduled for Sunday, May 10.
The Utah Jazz are rolling into a big offseason before they into what’s projected to be a wildly different-looking 2026-27 campaign from what they had just seen this past 22-win season.
But before that season is able to get underway, the Jazz have some priorities to address in the offseason––both in terms of constructing their roster and retaining a few key pieces from last year’s group into next year.
That makes their salary cap situation and everything around it important to be aware of in the next few months. So with that in mind, we’ve put together an offseason cap tracker for a glimpse of what the Jazz are dealing with in terms of cap space, contracts, and any of their own free agents hitting the open market.
Let’s break it down:
Maximum Possible Cap Space: $24.7M
The Jazz are currently projected at just under $25 million in cap headed into the summer. That’s without any additional moves made to the roster from how they’re entering the offseason, and without factoring in any free agents’ pending cap holds.
That number is bound to get smaller once the Jazz hash out their contract situation for Walker Kessler, but it could also see an uptick if Utah were to shed salary with some of their non-guaranteed deals, or any other player they wanted to pivot from.
As of now, it allows the Jazz to make a couple of moves around the edges in free agency, but the main focus will lean on signing Kessler to a long-term deal.
Contracts
A glimpse of the Jazz’s contract values for the 2026-27 season, and when they’re slated to hit free agency from their current deals:
– Jaren Jackson Jr.: $49.0M, ’29 PO
– Lauri Markkanen: $46.1M, ’29 UFA
– Ace Bailey: $9.5M, ’29 RFA
– Keyonte George: $6.5M, ’27 RFA
– John Konchar: $6.1M, ’27 UFA
– Cody Williams: $6.0M, ’28 RFA
– Brice Sensabaugh, $4.8M, ’27 RFA
– Svi Mykhailiuk: $3.8M*, ’28 UFA
– Kyle Filipowski: $3.0M, ’28 RFA
– Isaiah Collier: $2.7M, ’28 RFA
– Hayden Gray: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Bez Mbeng: $2.1M*, ’27 RFA
– Blake Hinson (two-way), ’27 RFA
Total: $142.1M
*- non-guaranteed
The biggest chunk of the Jazz’s salary leans on their top two veterans, Markkanen and Jackson Jr., each making a combined $95 million next season alone.
However, the rest of the roster isn’t taking up much money. No one else will be making more than $10 million, and their payroll is a little less than $150 million in total.
Another noteworthy fact: the Jazz’s key roster pieces outside of George and Sensabaugh are all under contract through the next two seasons.
Both of the aforementioned names are also bound to see extension discussions take place this summer, which might lock in their future for even longer.
Free Agents
A look at who from this season’s roster is set to hit the free agent market in July:
– Kevin Love (UFA)
– Jusuf Nurkic (UFA)
– Walker Kessler (RFA)
– Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way)
– Elijah Harkless (two-way)
The biggest name of note is, of course, the Jazz’s restricted free agent big man, Walker Kessler, who Utah is bound to hand a big payday, but it remains to be seen how much that contract––or offer sheet from another team––will be.
Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Love have also expressed their desire to return to the roster as they hit free agency. Re-signing both likely wouldn’t cost much for the Jazz financially, but instead relies on a question of whether the roster space is readily available to keep both.
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Utah
Golden Knights vs. Mammoth Game 1 prediction: NHL odds, picks, best bets for Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Utah Mammoth is going to be a trendy underdog pick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Not only does Utah have the novelty of this being its first-ever appearance in the postseason going for it, but the Mammoth tick plenty of other boxes that punters look for in a dark horse. They’re fast, dynamic, and create plenty of quality scoring chances.
The only problem is that they are running into the Vegas Golden Knights, arguably the best defensive team in the Western Conference, in Round 1.
Vegas is a -170 favorite to win the series, and it is -152 to win Game 1 on Sunday night.
Mammoth vs. Golden Knights odds, prediction
The Golden Knights had a weird season. Vegas started hot, took its foot off the pedal, and struggled to regain its form down the stretch. That led to a surprising coaching switch late in the campaign, but the move paid immediate dividends as John Tortorella led the Knights to a 7-0-1 record in his eight games behind the bench.
It should be noted that Tortorella benefited from an easy schedule since taking over in Vegas, but it’s hard to deny that the team looks sparked with a new voice in their ear.
What’s especially encouraging for Vegas is that its most glaring weakness, the play of goaltender Carter Hart, has started to trend in the right direction at the exact right time.
And Vegas is so good in its own zone that Hart doesn’t need to stand on his head to get the team over the line against Utah. If he’s just average, the Knights will stand a chance, especially since Utah’s goaltending situation is just as much of a question mark.
Betting on the NHL?
Outside of Vejmelka outplaying Hart, the Mammoth will also need to get this series on their terms if they want to pull the upset. Utah grades out as a slightly above-average defensive outfit, but its strength is up front with dynamic playmakers like Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller, plus sharp-shooter Dylan Guenther.
For those stars to have an impact, the Mammoth will need to get Vegas to open up and engage in a back-and-forth style. I just don’t see that happening with a team that was so disciplined in its own zone all season. The Knights led the NHL in expected goals against and high-danger chances conceded at 5-on-5, which shouldn’t be a shocker given the personnel in Sin City.
Not only does Vegas boast a deep blueline, but forwards Mitch Marner and Mark Stone are regarded as two of the best defensive minds in the entire sport.
Perhaps Utah can blitz Vegas and pull the upset, but I’d need a bigger number to go against the experienced, defensively savvy Knights in a best-of-7.
And if you’re looking for a play with more upside, have a good look at Vegas to pull off the sweep at 12/1.
The Play: Vegas moneyline (-152) | Vegas to sweep the series (12/1, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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