The constitutional Amendment A ballot question that asks Utah voters to consider changing how state income tax revenue can be spent is now void, a judge ordered Wednesday.

Amendment A may still appear on printed ballots but votes on the question will not be counted, 3rd District Judge Laura Scott’s ruling states.

The decision comes two weeks after the Utah Supreme Court on Sept. 25 agreed with a lower court ruling to also void Amendment D, which would have given the Legislature the power to repeal citizen-passed ballot initiatives.

In both cases, plaintiffs argued that the Utah Legislature violated Article XXIII of the Utah Constitution, which mandates that ballot language be published in newspapers statewide at least two months before appearing on ballots.

Scott on Wednesday ruled that the previous decision on the “newspaper publication issue” regarding Amendment D also applies in the case of Amendment A.

Her order came shortly after plaintiffs including the state’s largest teachers union (the Utah Education Association), as well as defendants including Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz agreed that “the failure to comply with the newspaper publication requirement” was a valid reason for Scott to grant a preliminary injunction voiding Amendment A.

The parties also agreed that a preliminary order regarding Amendment A would essentially constitute a permanent order, given the timing of the Nov. 5 election. Scott ultimately issued a permanent injunction to void the ballot proposal.

Though any votes on Amendment A will not count in the election, the judge noted in her order that due to the timing of the ruling, votes cast for or against the proposal will still be tabulated, because it is “too late” to reverse that process.

However, the ruling states that the lieutenant governor and county clerks cannot publish or release those tabulations to anyone, and that those tabulations will not be subject to public records requests.

Amendment A sought to eliminate the constitutional guarantee that Utah’s income tax is reserved for public education, higher education and disability services.

If passed, it would have allowed the Legislature to use income tax revenue for a broader range of unspecified “state needs.”

The motion challenging Amendment A was filed last month as a supplemental complaint to a lawsuit that the Utah Education Association filed in May. The lawsuit argues that the state’s $82 million “Utah Fits All” school voucher program is unconstitutional, because it uses income tax dollars to fund vouchers meant to cover private school and homeschooling expenses.

The supplemental complaint argued that the Amendment A ballot question failed to inform voters that passing Amendment A would “eliminate one of the key constitutional obstacles” that they allege currently prevents the Legislature from diverting income tax revenue to “anything it chooses — including private school vouchers.”

Though Scott addressed the supplemental complaint Wednesday in her order voiding Amendment A, the underlying lawsuit is still being litigated.

A hearing for arguments regarding a motion to dismiss that lawsuit is currently slated for Dec. 19 before Scott.

— This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah’s newest professional sports team, the Utah Hockey Club, dropped the puck in its inaugural season, thousands of fans got into the spirit by buying hockey merchandise — hats, jerseys, flags and more that will likely become “limited edition” after the season end when the team is expected to get a new name.

Fans and leaders are weighing in on what the new mascot should be. But, until then, hockey lovers are excited about buying what’s available now.

Alan Greenberg owns Cottonwood Hockey Shop and sells licensed sports merchandise. He also just happens to love hockey, and so do his customers. He said there’s just something about being with a team from the start.

“It’s gonna be cool, it’s gonna be that hat you pull out 20 years from now and throw it on your head,” Greenberg said. “And you wear it to a game and people are gonna be like ‘Oh, I remember that year, that was the first year.’”

David Hoffmann is a hockey fan, through and through. Since he moved to Utah nearly a decade ago, he’s wanted a home team. Now he has one. He wasted no time getting on board.

“There’s nothing like having a professional team to really get excited for,” says Hoffmann. “It’s been a long wait. I love having a home team.”

He said spared no expense in showing his new team his support and he hopes others do the same.

“We got jerseys, we got the inaugural shirt, we got hat, stickers magnets, pins,” Hoffmann said.  “I didn’t know I got a limited edition pendant.”

He’s one of thousands of people gathered for Utah Hockey Club home opener and, everywhere the eye can wander, it’s a sea of fans supporting their team.

PERRY, Georgia — A team of Utahns who have spent the past 10 days assisting in recovery and clean-up efforts in Tennessee following Hurricane Helene have now been moved to best assist those expected to be affected by Hurricane Milton.

Utah Task Force One announced Tuesday that it has been moved to Perry, Georgia to be in position to quickly move into Florida after Milton moves through later this week.

In addition to the move, the Utah team expanded from 45 members to 80, along with the addition of K9s and new equipment, making it officially a Type 1 team.

Late last month, Utah Task Force One was deployed to Unicoi County in eastern Tennessee after Helene devastated the area. In addition to search and rescue efforts, the team focused on retrieving vehicles from a river near the town of Erwin and removing thick layers of debris.

Unified Fire

The west coast of Florida is expected to receive a direct hit from Milton, which is a Cat. 5 storm as of Tuesday evening.