This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A group hoping to limit terms for appointees to state boards and commissions abandoned efforts Thursday to put that issue on the 2016 ballot.

Utah Term Limits NOW! complained that a long series of delays by state officials prevented it from even beginning the process to collect the more than 140,000 signatures needed by April 15 for their initiative, and now it is too late to gather them.

"This case proves the adage that 'justice delayed is justice denied'," Stephen Clark, attorney for the group, said in a written statement. "Given a series of long and unexplained delays, it is no longer practical to bring this issue to the voters within the 2016 election cycle."

The group filed papers in June with the office of Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox seeking permission to launch its petition drive.

In July, Cox blocked the effort, saying the Utah Constitution gives the governor authority to appoint people to numerous boards and commissions, so "any change or limit to that authority requires a change to the Constitution."

The group had proposed a mere statutory change through its petition, which Cox declared was "patently unconstitutional" — and would instead require a constitutional amendment, which only the Legislature can initiate.

Utah Term Limits NOW! filed a lawsuit in August contending Cox offered no court precedent for his ruling and was seeking to strip voters of their power to make changes through initiatives. The group asked for an expedited hearing and ruling by the Utah Supreme Court because of time pressure to gather signatures.

Clark said the quick hearing they sought did not happen. The group was just notified that the court would hear oral arguments Dec. 1, meaning no ruling will be issued until after that.

"The foot-dragging of Lieutenant Governor Cox and the timing of a court response leaves us insufficient time to gather the required signatures in a practical and cost-efficient manner," Clark said, noting it would now require perhaps a $1 million effort to use paid signature collectors instead of volunteers.

Clark said the term-limits group will still proceed with its court case and the December hearing.

"We feel it is important for the state's highest court to rule on whether the lieutenant governor overstepped his authority," he said. "The issue of unchecked power is too important to abandon. It stymied the popular will in this case."

Rick Larsen, chairman of Utah Term Limits NOW!, said the process leaves many "wondering if the voter has a clear path to effect change through the initiative process."

The lieutenant governor's office issued a statement saying it acted appropriately on the matter and said "the decision to reject the applications was done following a careful and thorough legal review, including consultation with the attorney general's office."

Meanwhile, Larsen said the term-limits group will close down its political issues committee on Friday, and will leave the issue to the Legislature.

His group also has been asking the Legislature to pass and send to voters a state constitutional amendment to limit terms for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor and treasurer to two consecutive four-year terms.

The group said it took that approach out of an abundance of caution because various court decisions disagree whether term limits for elected officials can be imposed by simple statute instead of a constitutional amendment.

The group has not sought term limits for Utah's part-time legislators. Utah has seen a variety of efforts to limit terms, including one term-limit law passed by the Legislature that was repealed before it actually had any effect.

In 1994, political maverick Merrill Cook pushed a voter initiative to limit terms, which appeared to have broad public support. Legislators short-circuited that effort by passing a less-strict limit. The law was repealed in 2003 before preventing a single person from seeking re-election.