Utahns for Ethical Government to continue collecting petition signatures in quest to get initiative on 2012 ballot

Bob Bernick Jr.
The Deseret News
April 17, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY — Oh, those sly initiative organizers.

On Friday, leaders of Utahns for Ethical Government said they will continue gathering signatures for their legislative ethics petition — as a little-known state law allows — until Aug. 12.

And if they can top the 95,000 signature requirement by then, their initiative will be on the ballot in 2012, instead of this November.

UEG leaders Kim Burningham and Dave Irvine admitted in a noon press conference that they were well aware of the one-year signature gathering provision in state law.

But they and other UEG organizers kept quiet about it during the 2010 Legislature because they feared GOP legislators would "move the goal posts" midgame to further harm their effort.

The law is a bit confusing. But Irvine, the UEG's attorney, said it is clear to him that any petition organizer has 12 months from the time the initiative is filed with the lieutenant governor's office to gather the required number of signatures.

A spokesman for Lt. Gov. Greg Bell, state elections officer, confirmed that interpretation to the Deseret News.

Glenn Wright of Fair Boundaries, which failed to get 95,000 signatures by Thursday, said it is unlikely his group will continue gathering signatures. Fair Boundaries, which wants an independent redistricting commission, filed its petition May 28, 2009, leaving only a month to get more signatures. And the group had gathered only 50,000 signatures — well short of the 95,000 it needed.

"But more importantly," said Wright, "if we don't make the 2010 ballot, what's the point" in having a 2012 vote? In 2011, the Legislature will redraw U.S. House, legislative and State School Board districts, and Fair Boundaries wanted its independent commission to make recommendations on that redistricting — otherwise the commission wouldn't operate until after the 2020 Census.

If a petition drive fails to get the required signatures by April 15 in a general election year, that initiative can't appear on that year's ballot, the law says.

But you have whatever remaining months, up to a year from when you filed your petition, to gather signatures. If you make the legal mark, your petition just goes on the next general election ballot. In this case, that would be November 2012.

House Speaker Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, who sponsored a constitutional amendment in the 2010 session that sets up an independent ethics commission (the amendment will be on the 2010 November ballot), told the Deseret News that he didn't know about the one year signature-gathering provision in state law.

"I never heard that," Clark said. Like most other Utahns — and likely most other legislators — Clark figured that UEG had to reach the 95,000 signature level by April 15 or its effort would fail.

Of course, legislators could always change the one-year law. But it would take GOP Gov. Gary Herbert calling them into a special session sometime this summer to do that. Otherwise, they would miss UEG's one-year date of Aug. 12.

"And I have no appetite to do that," Clark said.

"I can't speak for my GOP (House) caucus," he added. "I'd just rather ask Utahns to please vote for the (legislative ethics commission) amendment that will be on this November's ballot."

Later Friday, Clark said he had checked with legislative attorneys who told him that part of any petition filing is a declaration of which general election one seeks to be on the ballot. "And (UEG's petition) says 2010. So I think we could still end up in court," he said.

"That argument is bunkum," said Irvine. "We'd be delighted to take that one on in the court."

Suspicion by UEG leaders that lawmakers may change state initiative law to harm their efforts is justified.

During the 45-day session, GOP legislators passed a law — specifically getting two-thirds votes so it would take effect before April 15 — making it easier for petition signees to remove their names.

Utah Republican Party chairman Dave Hansen says it is "probable" that his party will attempt to get GOP-leaning signees to remove their names from the UEG petitions.

But Irvine was successful Thursday afternoon in getting a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order to keep UEG signees' names private.

A hearing is set for April 28 to review that order. But the delay likely means the effort by the GOP to get names removed before they are officially certified by county clerks is hampered, Irvine said during a news conference at the Salt Lake County Government Center.

Indeed, the Legislature's messing with initiative law in a way to harm the UEG is the reason that petition organizers kept quiet about their plan all along to keep collecting signatures after the April 15 deadline.

"We would prefer" to get the ethics initiative on the 2010 ballot, Burningham said. And they still hope uncounted paper petitions can reach that 95,000 level, he added.

"We won't know for days, maybe weeks. But we now have until mid-August, so we have four months to go," Burningham said.

UEG knows its has 77,000 paper petition signatures. "We are three-fourths of the way there," Burningham said.

And with summer months — better weather and more opportunities to meet people outside — he believes the group will make it.

In the meantime, Irvine said, UEG will not immediately go to state court to get Bell to accept online signatures. Bell issued a ruling that state petition law deals only with paper signatures and told county clerks Thursday night not to accept any electronic signatures.

"It's a rich irony," said Irvine, that Thursday night's order came electronically to county clerks' offices, with a top lieutenant governor's office employee's signature on the letter also sent electronically — so Bell can issue an electronic order not to accept electronic signatures, but petition signees can't do likewise.