Voters line up at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
While two of the constitutional amendment proposals on the Utah ballot were ruled void this election, the two remaining — and less controversial — initiatives are on their way to being approved, according to preliminary results released on election night.
Results for Amendment A and Amendment D, which courts ruled didn’t meet the constitutional public notice requirements, but were included on the ballot anyway, won’t be made public as they won’t count.
That leaves proposed amendments B and C.
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With Amendment B, Utah voters were asked to weigh in on whether the Utah Constitution should be amended to “increase the limit on the annual distributions from the State School Fund,” an education endowment funded by proceeds from land sales, for public schools. That’s on track to be approved with 70.8% of preliminary votes.
And Amendment C, which asked to ensure that county sheriffs remain roles elected by voters, is also on route to become official with 81.2% of the unofficial tally released on Tuesday. The results will become official on Nov. 25, the statewide canvass date.
Here’s what the amendments will mean:
Amendment B
Utahns are on their way to increase the cap to 5% of that fund to state schools, up from the current 4%. However, this doesn’t mean the state will immediately direct 5% of the funds to schools. That distribution will still be determined by a formula that takes into account several factors, such as student growth and inflation.
The amendment was included in the ballot after the Legislature approved HJR18 in 2023, which lawmakers approved unanimously. Republican Rep. Jefferson Moss, who sponsored the legislation, argued during a presentation of the bill that the change would benefit the state’s future students.
“Even with the 5%, again, based on inflation, student growth and the returns of the fund, it’s going to be a little while until it gets to that 5%, but we thought this would be a good start to get that moving in that direction,” Moss told the House Education Committee in 2023.
The state had already reached the 4% cap when the bill was proposed. In 2024, that cap amounted to $106 million, according to Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks. If approved, the new cap would allow the distribution of about $13 million more in the upcoming school year at no additional cost to taxpayers.
The Utah PTA and the Utah State Board of Education endorsed the amendment, according to the Utah Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office.
“Not only does Amendment B mean more money for Utah students, these funds support teachers, and involve parents in determining how School LAND Trust Funds are used at their child’s school,” Utah PTA President Corey Fairholm said in a statement.
Amendment C
Sheriffs are already elected officials in Utah. However, with an amendment to the state Constitution, the Legislature aimed to ensure that remains the case in the future.
Both the Utah House and the Senate voted unanimously to include this question in the ballot with HJR10 in 2023, sponsored by then House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton.
The sheriff is the only law enforcement position in the state that the people elect, but that’s set by law and the Legislature could decide to create some new way to select sheriffs. Some states have already included an elective requirement in their constitution, but Utah hasn’t considered it until now, Wilson told the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee in the 2023 general session.
“The office of sheriff is currently not protected within the Utah Constitution as something that the voters of the state, and these counties that elect them, will be able to have elected in the future,” Wilson said then.
The amendment doesn’t alter the role of sheriffs in the state’s 29 counties, Wilson added, it just enshrines in the constitution their democratic election.
Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith and Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera endorsed the legislation when it was presented in 2023.
“As we have, as sheriffs, talked to our constituents over the years, this is something that we have found to be important to the people of Utah, that sheriffs, as the only elected law enforcement position in the nation be protected,” Smith said in 2023, also referencing cases in other states, like Florida, where some sheriffs were appointed up until a similar constitutional amendment passed in 2018.
What about A and D?
Two more amendments were also on the ballot, but were ultimately voided. Legal challenges against amendments A and D were successful after courts determined the state didn’t meet the constitutional requirement that sufficient public notice be given in newspapers statewide for the proposals to be included on the ballot.
Amendment A would have updated the Utah Constitution to allow income tax revenue to fund state needs outside of what it has traditionally been reserved for: public and higher education needs and some services for children or people with disabilities. It would have also removed the state’s portion of sales tax on food.
If votes had counted for Amendment D, Utahns would have weighed in on whether to effectively invalidate a decision by the Utah Supreme Court. The court’s constitutional interpretation found there are specific limits on the Legislature’s ability to repeal and replace ballot initiatives that reform government.
The amendment would have given the Legislature the power to profoundly modify or override the initiatives. The court also later found that Amendment D’s language in the ballot was “misleading.”
The ruling was a win for anti-gerrymandering groups.
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