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Since Utah’s Constitution was ratified 130 years ago, a provision in Article XXIII, Section 1 has required the Legislature to publish the text of any proposed constitutional amendment in newspapers across the state at least two months before Election Day.

A search of newspaper archives shows that the requirement was not always met and no one seemed to notice.

That changed in 2024, when Republican legislators proposed an amendment that would clarify their ability to repeal or change citizen-passed ballot initiatives as the Legislature sees fit.

But the Utah Supreme Court voided the amendment because the Legislature had failed to meet the constitutional publication requirement (and also because the justices deemed the ballot language deceptive).

Now the Legislature is proposing Amendment A, which would remove the requirement that the text of future amendments must be published in newspapers and, instead, require it to be published as the Legislature deems appropriate.

If voters approve the amendment, a companion bill says that publication on the lieutenant governor’s website and the public meetings notice website would be sufficient notice.

Both constitutional amendments on the ballot this year had to be published in newspapers, at an estimated cost of $1.4 million.

Under a state law passed in 2025, future ballot initiatives must meet the same publication requirement as constitutional amendments, meaning if Amendment A fails, backers of citizen initiatives would have to pay the $1.4 million publication cost.

“Amendment A does not eliminate public notice. It updates how public notice is delivered,” Rep. Anthony Loubet and Sen. Dan McCay, the sponsors of the amendment, wrote in the state voter guide. “By modernizing an outdated constitutional requirement, Utah can maintain transparency, improve accessibility and save taxpayer dollars.”

The amendment passed the Legislature unanimously. There does not appear to be any organized opposition to the proposal.

A “Yes” vote is to approve the amendment; a “No” vote is to reject the proposal. Election Day is Nov. 3. Ballots must be dropped off at a ballot dropbox by 8 p.m. on Election Day or, if returned by mail, must be received by the county clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

The text of the amendment reads as follows (with the strikethrough line showing the text being deleted and the underline showing text that would be added):

Constitutional Amendment A

Section 1. It is proposed to amend Utah Constitution, Article XXIII, Section 1 to read Article XXIII, Section 1. [Amendments: proposal, election.] Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in either house of the Legislature, and if two-thirds of all the members elected to each of the two houses, shall vote in favor thereof, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their respective journals with the yeas and nays taken thereon; and the Legislature shall cause the same to be published in at least one newspaper in every county of the state, where a newspaper is published, for two months, in a manner provided by statute, for 60 calendar days immediately preceding the next general election, at which time the said amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the electors of the state for their approval or rejection, and if a majority of the electors voting thereon shall approve the same, such amendment or amendments shall become part of this Constitution.

The revision or amendment of an entire article or the addition of a new article to this Constitution may be proposed as a single amendment and may be submitted to the electors as a single question or proposition. Such amendment may relate to one subject, or any number of subjects, and may modify, or repeal provisions contained in other articles of the Constitution, if such provisions are germane to the subject matter of the article being revised, amended or being proposed as a new article.