Section 308 – Short title and summary of referendum — Duties of lieutenant governor and Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

• (1) Whenever a referendum petition is declared sufficient for submission to a vote of the people, the lieutenant governor shall deliver a copy of the petition and the proposed law to the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

• (2)
  • (a) The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall:
    • (i) entitle each state referendum that qualifies for the ballot “Proposition Number __” and assign a number to the referendum in accordance with Section 20A-6-107;
    • (ii) prepare for each referendum:
      • (A) an impartial short title, not exceeding 25 words, that generally describes the measure; and
      • (B) an impartial summary of the contents of the measure, not exceeding 125 words;
    • (iii) submit the short title and summary to the lieutenant governor within 15 days after the day on which the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel receives the petition under Subsection (1).
  • (b) The short title and summary may be distinct from the title of the law that is the subject of the petition.
  • (c) For each state referendum, the official ballot shall show, in the following order:
    • (i) the number of the referendum, determined in accordance with Section 20A-6-107; and
    • (ii) the short title described in this section.
  • (d) For each ballot that includes an initiative or referendum, the election officer shall include with the ballot a separate ballot proposition insert that includes the short title and summary for each initiative and referendum on the ballot and a link to a location on the lieutenant governor’s website where a voter may review additional information relating to each initiative or referendum, including:
    • (i) for an initiative, the information described in Subsection 20A-7-202(2), the fiscal impact estimate described in Section 20A-7-202.5, as updated, and the arguments relating to the initiative that are included in the voter information pamphlet; or
    • (ii) for a referendum, the information described in Subsection 20A-7-302(2) and the arguments relating to the referendum that are included in the voter information pamphlet.
  • (e) For each ballot that includes an initiative or referendum, the ballot shall include the following statement at the beginning of the portion of the ballot that includes ballot measures, “The ballot proposition sheet included with this ballot contains an impartial summary of each initiative and referendum on this ballot.”

• (3) Immediately after the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel submits the short title and summary to the lieutenant governor, the lieutenant governor shall mail or email a copy of the short title and summary to any of the sponsors of the petition.

• (4)
  • (a)
    • (i) At least three of the sponsors of the petition may, within 15 days after the day on which the lieutenant governor mails the short title and summary, challenge the wording of the short title and summary prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to the appropriate court.
    • (ii) After receipt of the appeal, the court shall direct the lieutenant governor to send notice of the appeal to:
      • (A) any person or group that has filed an argument for or against the measure that is the subject of the challenge; and
      • (B) any political issues committee established under Section 20A-11-801 that has filed written or electronic notice with the lieutenant governor that identifies the name, mailing or email address, and telephone number of the person designated to receive notice about any issues relating to the referendum.
  • (b)
    • (i) There is a presumption that the short title prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel is an impartial description of the contents of the referendum.
    • (ii) The court may not revise the wording of the short title unless the plaintiffs rebut the presumption by clearly and convincingly establishing that the short title is false or biased.
    • (iii) There is a presumption that the summary prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel is an impartial summary of the contents of the measure.
    • (iv) The court may not revise the wording of the summary unless the plaintiffs rebut the presumption by clearly and convincingly establishing that the summary is false or biased.
  • (c) The court shall:
    • (i) examine the short title and summary;
    • (ii) hear arguments; and
    • (iii) enter an order consistent with the requirements of this section.
  • (d) The lieutenant governor shall, in accordance with the court’s order, certify the short title and summary to the county clerks for inclusion in the ballot or ballot proposition insert, as required by this section.

Amended by Chapter 251, 2022 General Session