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Utahns would have a little extra time to launch voter referendums when trying to overturn new state laws, under a proposal debated Wednesday at the Capitol.
Rep. Fred Cox, R-West Valley City, is proposing to tweak the current requirement that residents must file initial paperwork for such a referendum within five days of the legislative session's end.
He said some who wanted to overturn a law this year that moves the state prison from Draper had waited to see if the governor would sign it. That caused them to miss the five-day deadline, and the state would not accept their paperwork.
Cox is proposing legislation to allow filing five days after the governor signs a bill, or five days after a bill becomes law without the governor's signature.
He notes that all new bills — unless they pass by a two-thirds majority — must wait 60 days before becoming law to allow the possibility of overturning them via referendum. His bill would expand the 60 days for those inclined to wait until the governor acts.
Referendum organizers must collect about 100,000 signatures within 60 days to put an issue on the ballot under formulas in current state law.
"It's still a minor miracle" if they manage that, Cox said. "But if we do something that ticks enough people off, it's possible."
The Government Operations Interim Committee discussed the bill on Wednesday, and members generally supported it. However, the committee did not vote on it — and asked that Cox consider combining it with a bill by Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, that seeks to revise rules on referendums that could overturn city ordinances.