Utah residents set to vote on seven constitutional amendments in November

The Utah Legislature passed three constitutional amendments on Wednesday, bringing the total amendments set to appear on the Utah 2020 ballot to seven. The 2020 legislative session was set to adjourn on Thursday, March 12, 2020. The Legislature also referred four amendments to the ballot during the 2019 legislative session.

Below are summaries of the constitutional amendments set to appear on the 2020 ballot in Utah.

Amendments from 2020 session:

Senate Joint Resolution 3, Legislative Session Start Date Amendment: allows the state legislature to set the January legislative session start date in state statute rather than constitutionally requiring the legislative session to begin on the fourth Monday in January

House Joint Resolution 15, Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment: establishes a state constitutional right to hunt and fish for the people of Utah

Senate Joint Resolution 9, Use Income and Property Tax Revenue to Support Children and Individuals with Disabilities Amendment: allows the Utah State Legislature to use revenue from income taxes and intangible property taxes to support children and individuals with a disability, rather than continuing to limit such tax revenue to support public education and higher education

Amendments from 2019 session:

House Joint Resolution 3, Municipal Water Resources Amendment: specifies the circumstances under which a municipality may commit water resources, supply water outside its boundary, or exchange water resources; revises provisions surrounding municipal water rights

House Joint Resolution 4, Legislator Qualifications Amendment: specifies that certain qualifications of a legislator—such as age— apply as of the time of election or appointment rather than the time a legislator assumes office

House Joint Resolution 8, Remove Slavery as Punishment for a Crime from Constitution Amendment: removes language from the Utah Constitution that allows the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments

Senate Joint Resolution 7, Gender-Neutral Constitutional Language Amendment: removes gendered language in the Utah Constitution and replaces it with gender-neutral language

A total of 53 measures appeared on the statewide ballot in Utah between 1996 and 2018. From 1996 to 2018, an average of four measures appeared on the ballot for even-year elections in Utah, of which 86.5% were approved by voters. The number of measures appearing on even-year statewide ballots between 1996 and 2018 ranged from one to seven.