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

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

(2) The application shall contain:

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

(b) a statement indicating that each of the sponsors:

(i) is a resident of Utah; and

(ii) has voted in a regular general election in Utah within the last three years;

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

(d) a copy of the proposed law that includes:

(i) the title of the proposed law, which clearly expresses the subject of the law; and

(ii) the text of the proposed law; and

(e) a statement indicating whether or not persons gathering signatures for the petition may be paid for doing so.

(3) The application and its contents are public when filed with the lieutenant governor.

(4) If the 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 application;

(b) obtain new signature sheets; and

(c) collect signatures again.

(5) The lieutenant governor shall reject the application or application addendum filed under Subsection 20A-7-204.1(4) and not issue circulation sheets if:

(a) the law proposed by the initiative is patently unconstitutional;

(b) the law proposed by the initiative is nonsensical;

(c) the proposed law could not become law if passed;

(d) the proposed law contains more than one subject as evaluated in accordance with Subsection (6);

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

(f) the law proposed by the initiative is identical or substantially similar to a law proposed by an initiative that was submitted to the county clerks and lieutenant governor for certification and evaluation within two years preceding the date on which the application for this initiative was filed.

(6) To evaluate whether the proposed law contains more than one subject under Subsection (5)(d), 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 17, 2011 General Session
Amended by Chapter 297, 2011 General Session
Amended by Chapter 315, 2011 General Session