Utah lawmakers want voters to give them the power to change ballot measures once they’ve passed

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s Republican-controlled Legislature is meeting Wednesday to decide whether to ask voters in November to relinquish some of their rights to lawmakers who want the ability to change state ballot measures after they’ve passed.

Frustrated by a recent state Supreme Court ruling, lawmakers called a special session focused on amending Utah’s constitution to grant themselves power over citizen initiatives that the state’s highest court said they don’t currently have. The Legislature used its emergency powers, which are broadly worded, to hold the session.

If the amendment passes and is approved this fall by a majority of Utah voters, it would give lawmakers constitutional authority to rewrite voter-approved ballot measures to their liking or repeal them entirely.

The proposal also would let lawmakers apply their new power to initiatives from past election cycles, including the redistricting measure that spurred the state Supreme Court case that limited the Legislature’s authority.

Utah voters passed a ballot measure in 2018 that created an independent commission to redraw voting districts each decade and send recommendations to the Legislature, which could approve those maps or draw their own. The measure also prohibited drawing district lines to protect incumbents or to favor a political party — language the Legislature tried to strip out and replace with looser provisions in 2020.

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