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A roadblock too far: Legislature and citizen initiatives
John W. Milliken | MARCH 4, 2010 (Salt Lake Tribune)The Utah Legislature has made no secret of its disdain for citizen initiative campaigns. The state Constitution provides recourse to Utah citizens through such initiatives. However, the Legislature establishes the procedures governing such petitions. Our legislators have enthusiastically embraced this authority by passing extremely high hurdles with tight time frames for getting initiatives on the ballot.
For example, petitioners must gather signatures from 10 percent of the total number of citizens who voted in the last election for governor and also from 10 percent of the number of citizens who voted in each of 26 of the 29 state senate districts. Because of the latter requirement, opponents of an initiative can concentrate pressure in just four of Utah’s 29 senate districts to prevent an initiative from getting on the ballot, no matter how strong is public support in the other 25 districts.
In spite of such existing hurdles, when it came to the initiative proposed by Utahns for Ethical Government on legislative ethics, the Legislature shifted into high gear to prevent citizen voices from being heard. Not only has the Legislature almost finished passing a series of watered-down ethics rules in comparison to UEG’s initiative, but Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, has also proposed changing the rules governing the process in mid-stream to favor opponents of the initiative.
These proposed ethics bills and resolutions fall short of real reform and include, most disturbingly, effective perpetuation of self-regulation by the Legislature of unethical behavior by its members, all behind closed doors. In raising opposition to citizen-driven reform, the Legislature has also, in many minds, mischaracterized significant elements of the UEG’s petition.
Sen. Stephenson’s bill—SB275—which has now passed both houses by two-thirds majorities, will make it easier for signers of petitions to remove their names after the petitions have been forwarded to county clerks. Although generally troubling as a further attempt to restrict the exercise of citizens’ constitutional rights, the bill seems targeted to undermine the specific initiative at hand and not to the furtherance of more general, good governance policies.
There are two fundamental problems with SB275:
The first gives more time for signers to request removal of their names. This shift is clearly directed at providing opponents of the initiative increased opportunities to pressure or even intimidate signers into removing their names at a time when backers can no longer collect signatures.
The second establishes an effective date immediately upon the signing of the bill by the governor if the legislation passes by a two-thirds majority. Usually, legislation becomes effective 60 days after the end of a legislative session—providing further evidence that this legislation is directly aimed at defeating the current initiative.
The bottom line is that SB275 is patently unfair and directly supports opposition to UEG’s initiative by making it more difficult for the legal voters of Utah to express their opinions as constitutionally provided. Hopefully, Gov. Gary Herbert will decide not to sign it into law.
On Monday, House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, responding to a question about the need/purpose for a citizens’ ethics initiative, said, “So at the end of the day I don’t get it.”
Could there be a more resounding endorsement for putting this initiative on the ballot and letting the people of Utah weigh in on this important matter?
John W. Milliken is president of Salt Lake City-based Milcom, Inc.