This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Utah Supreme Court has declined to rule on whether Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox overstepped his bounds when he blocked a proposed petition drive that would put term limits on appointees to state boards and commissions.
In a 4-0 decision released Friday, the high court dismissed the case as moot.
The ruling notes Utah Term Limits NOW! abandoned efforts to get its issue on the 2016 ballot before the justices could rule on a request to compel the lieutenant governor to rescind his rejection of the group's initiative application.
The application was submitted Aug. 10 and rejected three days later by Cox, who said the Utah Constitution gives the governor authority to appoint people to boards and commissions, so "any change or limit to that authority requires a change to the Constitution."
Utah Term Limits NOW! sued Cox directly with the Supreme Court, rather than in district court, in an attempt to get a quick ruling and a hearing was scheduled for Dec. 1. On Nov. 5, the group announced it was abandoning the effort because it was too late to collect the more than 140,000 signatures needed by April 15 for the initiative.
However, Utah Term Limits NOW! still asked for a ruling, saying the issues raised in the case were too important to abandon.
Writing for the court, Justice Deno Himonas said the decision to cease efforts to put the initiative on the 2016 ballot made the case moot because the requested relief — rescission of Cox's request — "is no longer available."
"Had they waited a few weeks," Himonas wrote, "the issues would not have been moot and would have been decided in this case."
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC