State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Utah > Title-20a > Chapter-07 > 20a-7-209

20A-7-209. Ballot title -- Duties of lieutenant governor and Office of LegislativeResearch and General Counsel.
(1) By July 6 before the regular general election, the lieutenant governor shall deliver acopy of all of the proposed laws that have qualified for the ballot to the Office of LegislativeResearch and General Counsel.
(2) (a) The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall:
(i) entitle each state initiative that has qualified for the ballot " Proposition Number __"and give it a number as assigned under Section 20A-6-107;
(ii) prepare an impartial ballot title for each initiative summarizing the contents of themeasure; and
(iii) return each petition and ballot title to the lieutenant governor by July 20.
(b) The ballot title may be distinct from the title of the proposed law attached to theinitiative petition, and shall be not more than 100 words.
(c) For each state initiative, the official ballot shall show:
(i) the number of the initiative as determined by the Office of Legislative Research andGeneral Counsel;
(ii) the ballot title as determined by the Office of Legislative Research and GeneralCounsel; and
(iii) the initial fiscal impact estimate prepared under Section 20A-7-202.5.
(3) By July 21, the lieutenant governor shall mail a copy of the ballot title to any sponsorof the petition.
(4) (a) (i) At least three of the sponsors of the petition may, by July 30, challenge thewording of the ballot title prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel tothe Supreme Court.
(ii) After receipt of the appeal, the Supreme Court shall direct the lieutenant governor tosend notice of the appeal to:
(A) any person or group that has filed an argument for or against the measure that is thesubject of the challenge; or
(B) any political issues committee established under Section 20A-11-801 that has filedwritten or electronic notice with the lieutenant governor that identifies the name, mailing oremail address, and telephone number of the person designated to receive notice about any issuesrelating to the initiative.
(b) (i) There is a presumption that the ballot title prepared by the Office of LegislativeResearch and General Counsel is an impartial summary of the contents of the initiative.
(ii) The Supreme Court may not revise the wording of the ballot title unless the plaintiffsrebut the presumption by clearly and convincingly establishing that the ballot title is patentlyfalse or biased.
(c) The Supreme Court shall:
(i) examine the ballot title;
(ii) hear arguments; and
(iii) certify to the lieutenant governor a ballot title for the measure that meets therequirements of this section.
(d) The lieutenant governor shall certify the title verified by the Supreme Court to thecounty clerks to be printed on the official ballot.

Amended by Chapter 367, 2010 General Session