Initiatives in Process in Utah
Utah laws can be made by the Legislature or directly by the people through the Initiative Process. Here’s how the initiative process works.
Utah voters likely will vote on at least one initiative in November 2018. If all the groups are successful in gathering signatures, voters could face 5 initiatives. The Utah Bee will follow all 5, inviting proponents and opponents to discuss the benefits and detriments of each.
Details regarding each initiative, including fiscal impacts and recordings of public hearings, can be found on the State’s Elections website.
If approved by voters, the Teacher and Student Success Act would raise additional revenue for public education ($715 million) by increasing the personal income tax rate (by 9%) and the state sales tax rate (by 9.6%).
The Utah Medical Cannabis Act would legalize medicinal marijuana. Fee collections would cover all but $400,000 of on-going costs.
The Utah Independent Redistricting Commission and Standards Act would establish criteria that an appointed non-partisan board would use to draw voting districts for partisan races. Proponents argue that the current system “allows incumbent politicians to manipulate the redistricting process by selecting the people who vote for them.”
The Direct Primary Election Act would promote selection of partisan candidates by direct primary. While preserving the existing caucus/convention pathway for candidates, the number of signatures for a candidate to move directly to the primary is reduced from 2% of the party’s registered voters in that district to 1%.
The Utah Decides Healthcare Act would expand Medicaid eligibility and preserve current payments and benefits. The fiscal impact of the Act would be $635 million.