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: