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Amendment B, one of two proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot this November, would require that any ballot initiative that creates new taxes or expands or raises existing taxes get 60% of voters supporting the measure to become law.

The notion, said Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, is that if there is going to be a tax increase, it should have broad public support, beyond a simple majority of voters.

“Families are struggling in meeting their bills right now,” Fillmore said in a recent interview. “Property taxes are going up and incomes are not keeping pace with inflation, and it’s right for the government to protect people’s ability to afford their own lives.”

But critics contend it is an attempt by legislators to make Utah’s already challenging initiative process even more difficult, eroding the power of citizens to make laws.

“Amending the constitution is not a small thing, especially when you’re taking away a power from Utahns,” said Elizabeth Rasmussen, executive director of Better Boundaries, which ran a successful anti-gerrymandering initiative in 2018. “So we want to make sure voters understand what this amendment does, and that is taking away a right that citizens have had for 125 years.”

If the amendment had been in place in 2018, two successful ballot initiatives passed that year would have failed — one that added a tax to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income Utahns, the other that legalized medical marijuana and included a tax on the products to administer the new program.

Currently there is one other category of initiatives that gets similar treatment. In 1998, voters approved an amendment to the constitution that now requires any ballot initiative dealing with hunting to get a two-thirds vote to pass.

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 B

(1) The Legislative power of the State shall be vested in:

(a) a Senate and House of Representatives which shall be designated the Legislature of the State of Utah; and

(b) the people of the State of Utah as provided in Subsection (2).

(2)(a)(i) The legal voters of the State of Utah, in the numbers, under the conditions, in the manner, and within the time provided by statute, may:

(A) initiate any desired legislation and cause it to be submitted to the people for adoption upon a majority vote of those voting on the legislation, as provided by statute; or

(B) require any law passed by the Legislature, except those laws passed by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to each house of the Legislature, to be submitted to the voters of the State, as provided by statute, before the law may take effect.

(ii) Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a)(i)(A), legislation initiated to allow, limit, or prohibit the taking of wildlife or the season for or method of taking wildlife shall be adopted upon approval of two-thirds of those voting.

(iii) Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a)(i)(A), initiated legislation that is subject to a vote that occurs after November 1, 2026, shall be adopted upon approval of at least 60% of those voting on the legislation if the initiated legislation includes:

(A) the imposition of a new tax;

(B) an expansion of an existing tax to include additional items or transactions subject to the tax;

(C) an increase in an existing tax rate; or

(D) for a property tax, a change to the tax rate that causes the tax rate to decrease less than it would under current law.

(b) The legal voters of any county, city, or town, in the numbers, under the conditions, inthe manner, and within the time provided by statute, may:

(i) initiate any desired legislation and cause it to be submitted to the people of the county, city, or town for adoption upon a majority vote of those voting on the legislation, as provided by statute; or

(ii) require any law or ordinance passed by the law making body of the county, city, or town to be submitted to the voters thereof, as provided by statute, before the law or ordinance may take effect.