HB 192 Initiative and Referendum Petition Amendments

HB 192, is attempting to severely curtail initiatives by requiring that signers state that they have "read, understood, and support" the initiative. This is tremendously unworkable. Some petition signers sign before deciding their actual vote on an issue; they sign because they want the initiative placed on the ballot and want to hear the full debate during the election campaign. Furthermore, ballot initiatives can be long and are written in legalese (just like other legislation) and cannot be read in full in a timely manner. Moreover, legislators themselves seldom are able to read and understand legislation they vote for and must rely on their basic understanding of the legislative intention and on the word of bill sponsors whom they trust.

H.B. 192

INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM PETITION AMENDMENTS

2014 GENERAL SESSION

STATE OF UTAH

Chief Sponsor: Jon E. Stanard

Senate Sponsor: ____________

  This bill makes changes to an initiative petition signature sheet and a referendum

petition signature sheet.

Highlighted Provisions:

This bill:

.    adds a statement to a statewide or local initiative petition signature sheet stating that

a signer has read, understands, and agrees to the law proposed by the petition;

.    adds a statement to a statewide or local referendum petition signature sheet stating

that a signer has read and understands the law the petition seeks to overturn; and

.    makes technical corrections.

Text HB 192