20A-7-202. Statewide initiative process -- Initiative application procedures -- Time to gather signatures -- Grounds for rejection.

752 words·~3 min read·/ut/title-20a/chapter-7/20a-7-202

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Effective 5/6/2026

(1)Individuals wishing to circulate an initiative petition shall file an initiative application with the lieutenant governor.

(2)The initiative application shall include:

(a)the name and residence address of at least five sponsors of the initiative petition;

(b)a statement indicating that each of the sponsors is registered to vote in Utah;

(c)a statement designating a sponsor liaison, including the sponsor liaison's name, residence address, telephone number, and email address;

(d)a statement indicating whether the initiative will be presented to:

(i)the Legislature under Subsection 20A-7-201(1) ; or

(ii)a vote of the people under Subsection 20A-7-201(2) ;

(e)the signature of each of the sponsors, attested to by a notary public; and

(f)the following, in the following order:

(i)the title of the proposed law that clearly expresses the subject of the law;

(ii)except as provided in Subsection (3)(c) , a description of the manner in which the proposed law will be funded, including:

(A)all proposed sources of funding for the costs associated with the proposed law, including the proposed percentage of total funding from each source;

(B)if the proposed law will be funded, in whole or in part, by a new tax, a description of the new tax and the tax rate;

(C)if the proposed law will be funded, in whole or in part, by a tax increase, the following statement for each tax increase, "This initiative seeks to increase the current (insert name of tax) rate by (insert the tax percentage difference) percent, resulting in a(n) (insert the tax percentage increase) percent increase in the current tax rate.";

(D)if the proposed law will be funded, in whole or in part, from new revenues, a description of the amount and source of the new revenues; and

(E)if the proposed law will be funded, in whole or in part, from existing revenues, a description of the existing line items or programs that will receive less funding in order to fund the proposed law and the amount by which the funding will be reduced;

(iii)a statement indicating whether persons gathering signatures for the initiative petition may be paid for gathering signatures; and

(iv)the text of the proposed law.

(a)An individual's status as a resident, under Subsection

(2), is determined in accordance with Section 20A-2-105 .

(b)The initiative application and the initiative application's contents are public when filed with the lieutenant governor.

(c)If the fiscal impact of the law proposed by an initiative is less than the amount specified by joint legislative rule for designating a bill as a fiscal note bill:

(i)the initiative application is not required to include the description described in Subsection (2)(f)(ii) ; and

(ii)the lieutenant governor may not reject the initiative application or initiative application addendum under Subsection (5)(c) .

(4)If the initiative petition fails to qualify for the ballot of the election described in Subsection 20A-7-201(2)(b) , the sponsors shall:

(a)submit a new initiative application;

(b)obtain new signature sheets; and

(c)collect signatures again.

(5)The lieutenant governor shall reject an initiative application or an initiative application addendum filed under Subsection 20A-7-204.1(5) and not issue signature sheets if:

(a)the proposed law:

(i)is unconstitutional;

(ii)is nonsensical;

(iii)could not become law if passed;

(iv)contains more than one subject as evaluated in accordance with Subsection

(6); or

(v)is identical or substantially similar to a law proposed by an initiative for which signatures were submitted to the county clerks and lieutenant governor for certification within two years preceding the date on which the initiative application for the new initiative is filed;

(b)the subject of the proposed law is not clearly expressed in the law's title; or

(c)except as provided in Subsection (3)(c) , the lieutenant governor determines, after consultation with the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, that the funding description, described in Subsection (2)(f)(ii) :

(i)does not comply with the requirements of Subsection (2)(f)(ii) ; or

(ii)is unlikely to provide adequate funding for the proposed law.

(6)To evaluate whether the proposed law contains more than one subject under Subsection (5)(a)(iv) , the lieutenant governor shall apply the same standard provided in Utah Constitution, Article VI, Section 22, which prohibits a bill from passing that contains more than one subject.

Amended by Chapter 293 , 2026 General Session