Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Publication Amendments
Summary
HJR010 proposes a constitutional amendment to change how proposed amendments to the Utah Constitution are published before being submitted to voters. Under current language, the Legislature must cause a proposed amendment to be published in newspapers in every county where a newspaper is published for two months. This resolution replaces that requirement with a more flexible standard: publication must occur in a manner provided by statute for 60 calendar days immediately preceding the next general election.
The resolution does not itself change substantive policy outside the amendment process. Instead, it asks voters to approve a change to Article XXIII, Section 1 of the Utah Constitution, and it sets a contingent effective date of January 1, 2027 if approved. If adopted, it would give the Legislature more discretion to define publication methods by statute, while preserving the requirement that constitutional amendments be publicly noticed before voter consideration.
Impact
If approved by voters, HJR010 would amend the Utah Constitution’s procedures for constitutional amendments by modernizing the publication requirement and removing the specific newspaper-based mandate. The practical effect would be to allow notice of proposed amendments to be given through whatever publication methods the Legislature later specifies by statute, so long as notice runs for 60 days before the general election. This could affect the Lieutenant Governor’s election administration duties, legislative drafting of notice statutes, and how the public receives information about future constitutional amendments.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong bipartisan support and no recorded opposition in either chamber. The House committee recommended the resolution favorably, the House passed it unanimously, the Senate committee also recommended it favorably, and the Senate passed it unanimously as well. The lack of recorded dissent suggests broad agreement that the publication requirement should be updated.
Contention
There is little visible contention in the record provided. The main policy issue is whether the Constitution should continue to require newspaper publication or instead allow publication methods to be set by statute. Support appears to favor flexibility and modernization of notice requirements, while any potential concern would likely center on whether a less specific publication standard could reduce the visibility or accessibility of information to voters. No specific opponents or objections are identified in the available transcripts or votes.