House Bill 142 would require that the estimated cost of the proposed law be displayed prominently for petition signers. If, after voters approved a ballot measure, that original cost estimate was shown to be off by more than 15 percent, the law could be repealed. The rule also would apply to local government plans to fluoridate water.

"We're just talking about truth in taxation," said sponsoring Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper. "I really wanted to avoid the whole 'F' word in my bill," he said, referring to fluoridation of water supplies. "Fluoride is controversial. If you believe it makes the process better to inform people, why would you leave fluoride out of the process?"

But Bountiful Republican Rep. Sheryl Allen tried to amend the bill to exclude fluoridation initiatives. Allen said Davis County cities' actual fluoridation costs were wildly different from estimates - $2 per household per year - provided to voters. For example, North Salt Lake charges residents $10.33 a year; Centerville charges $7.79; Clearfield, 99 cents; and Layton, $2.97.

Pinning down a number "is extraordinarily elusive. When you're dealing with different cities, it is extraordinarily difficult if not impossible to stay within 15 percent," Allen said.

But Rep. Curtis Oda, a Republican from Clearfield, argued that's the very reason fluoridation initiative cost estimates should be included. With the extra money Davis County residents are paying, Oda said, "we could have bought enough tablets to fluoridate every kid in the state for 100 years."

Allen's amendment failed. But lawmakers argued against the bill for other reasons.

Rep. Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake City, wondered why legislators would require a higher standard on voter-made law than legislation passed on Capitol Hill.

"We certainly try to get a good fiscal sense of what the impacts are of what we're voting on. But we don't take a review of that a year or two or even six months later to determine whether it was a wise move," Becker said. "I don't think we want to impose a greater burden on the legislative power of the voters than we impose on ourselves."

House members voted 54-16 to send the bill to the Senate.