Utah Constitutional Amendment F, Legislative Session Start Date Amendment (2020)

Utah Constitutional Amendment F
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic State legislatures measures
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Utah measuresUtah Constitutional Amendment AUtah Constitutional Amendment BUtah Constitutional Amendment CUtah Constitutional Amendment DUtah Constitutional Amendment EUtah Constitutional Amendment FUtah Constitutional Amendment GSubmit

Utah Constitutional Amendment F, the Legislative Session Start Date Amendment, was on the ballot in Utah as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported allowing the state legislature to set the January legislative session start date in state statute.

A "no" vote opposed allowing the state legislature to set the January legislative session start date in state statute, thereby continuing to constitutionally require the legislative session to begin on the fourth Monday in January.

Election results

Utah Constitutional Amendment F
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		895,435	66.51%
No		450,835	33.49%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did Constitutional Amendment F do?

See also: Constitutional changes

Going into the election, the Utah Constitution mandated that the state legislature must meet beginning on the fourth Monday in January. The 2020 state legislative session in Utah began on January 27, 2020. The amendment was designed to allow the state legislature to set the January session start date in state statute. As of 2020, the Utah Constitution provided that federal holidays were excluded from the state's 45-day session limit. Under the amendment, state holidays are still excluded from the limit and the length of the legislative session is not changed.

Going into the election, if the state legislature wanted to change the session start date, they would need to amend the state constitution by passing a constitutional amendment by a two-thirds vote of the legislature. The amendment would then require statewide voter approval. Under Amendment F, the legislature can change the session start date in state statute, which requires a simple majority vote in the state legislature and does not require voter approval.

The measure was set to take effect on January 1, 2021.

Why was this measure on the ballot?

See also: Support and Path to the ballot

The amendment was sponsored in the Utah State Legislature by Sen. Ann Millner (R) and Rep. Mike McKell (R). The Senate approved the measure unanimously on February 11, 2020. The state House passed the measure on March 11, 2020, in a vote of 50-24.

On the Senate floor, sponsor Sen. Ann Millner (R) said the amendment would provide more flexibility for the legislature to determine the best date to start the legislative session. House Sponsor Mike McKell (R) said, "When we come out of Christmas, the legislative session immediately starts for all of us. We come out of the new year and we instantly get bombarded with legislative work. I'd rather be [in the state Senate] doing it than from my personal office. This would give us an opportunity to move [the legislative session start date] forward."

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Shall the Utah Constitution be amended to: change when annual general sessions of the Utah Legislature begin from the fourth Monday in January to a day in January designated by a law passed by the Utah Legislature; and exclude state holidays that are not also federal holidays from counting towards the maximum number of days of the Utah Legislature’s annual general sessions? For ( ) Against ( )

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Utah Constitution

The measure amended sections 2 and 16 of Article VI of the Utah Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted: Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Article VI, Section 2. [Time and location of annual general sessions -- Location of sessions convened by the Governor or Legislature -- Sessions convened by the Legislature.]

(1) Annual general sessions of the Legislature shall be held at the seat of government and shall begin on the fourth Monday the day in January designated by statute.

(2) A session convened by the Governor under Article VII, Section 6 and a session convened by the Legislature under Subsection (3) shall be held at the seat of government, unless convening at the seat of government is not feasible due to epidemic, natural or human-caused disaster, enemy attack, or other public catastrophe.

(3) (a) The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives shall by joint proclamation convene the Legislature into session if a poll conducted by the President and Speaker of their respective houses indicates that two-thirds of all members elected to each house are in favor of convening the Legislature into session because in their opinion a persistent fiscal crisis, war, natural disaster, or emergency in the affairs of the State necessitates convening the Legislature into session.

(b) The joint proclamation issued by the President and Speaker shall specify the business for which the Legislature is to be convened, and the Legislature may not transact any business other than that specified in the joint proclamation, except that the Legislature may provide for the expenses of the session and other matters incidental to the session.

(c) The Legislature may not be convened into session under this Subsection (3) during the 30 calendar days immediately following the adjournment sine die of an annual general session of the Legislature.

(d) In a session convened under this Subsection (3), the cumulative amount of appropriations that the Legislature makes may not exceed an amount appropriated by the Legislature for the immediately preceding completed fiscal year.

(e) Nothing in this Subsection (3) affects the Governor's authority to convene the Legislature under Article VII, Section 6. Section 2. It is proposed to amend Utah Constitution, Article VI, Section 16, to read:

Article VI, Section 16. [Duration of sessions.]

Except in cases of impeachment: (1) no annual general session of the Legislature may exceed 45 calendar days, excluding state holidays and federal holidays;

(2) no session of the Legislature convened by the Governor under Article VII, Section 6 may exceed 30 calendar days; and

(3) no session of the Legislature convened by the Legislature under Article VI, Section 2, Subsection (3) may exceed 10 calendar days.

Impartial analysis

The impartial analysis for Constitutional Amendment F was included in the 2020 voter guide was as follows:

“ Current Provisions of the Utah Constitution The Utah Constitution currently requires each annual general session of the Utah Legislature to begin on the fourth Monday in January. The Utah Constitution also states that an annual general session may not exceed 45 calendar days, excluding federal holidays. The constitution does not exclude state holidays from the 45-day limit. In other words, state holidays that are not also federal holidays count towards the 45-day limit. Effect of Constitutional Amendment F Constitutional Amendment F changes the start day of annual general sessions of the Utah Legislature from the fourth Monday in January to a day in January designated by a law passed by the Utah Legislature. The amendment also excludes state holidays that are not also federal holidays from counting towards the 45-day limit of annual general sessions of the Utah Legislature. Effective Date If approved by voters, Constitutional Amendment F takes effect on January 1, 2021. ”

Fiscal impact statement

The fiscal impact statement for Constitutional Amendment F was as follows:

“

The Legislative Fiscal Analyst has determined that Constitutional Amendment F will have no fiscal effect and will not result in any increase or decrease in revenue or cost to the state or to local governments.

”

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2020

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 11, and the FRE is 38. The word count for the ballot title is 62, and the estimated reading time is 16 seconds.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• Utah State Senator Ann Millner (R)
• Utah State Representative Mike McKell (R)

Arguments

• Utah State Senator and measure sponsor Ann Millner (R): Millner said the amendment would provide more flexibility for the legislature to determine the best date to start the legislative session
• Utah State Representative and measure sponsor Mike McKell (R): "When we come out of Christmas, the legislative session immediately starts for all of us. We come out of the new year and we instantly get bombarded with legislative work. I'd rather be [in the state Senate] doing it than from my personal office. This would give us an opportunity to move [the legislative session start date] forward."

Official arguments

• Utah State Senator Ann Millner (R) and Utah State Representative Mike McKell (R) (Voter Guide): "The Legislature has changed the start date of the annual General Legislative Session twice in the last two decades. One change was to accommodate the 2002 Winter Olympics. Another change was to avoid overlapping the Martin Luther King Jr holiday in 2008. More changes will likely be needed in the future, especially if the state hosts another Winter Olympics. The Utah Constitution sets the start date of the General Legislative Session. Changing the Constitution to adjust something as simple as the start date of the General Legislative Session is a lengthy process that costs taxpayers money. Each time the start date needs to be adjusted, a bill must be passed a year in advance and then voters must approve the change in the following November election. This Constitutional Amendment F does not change the number of days the Legislature is in session, it remains at 45 days, and still preserves the guidelines in the Utah Constitution pertaining to the General Legislative Session while allowing the Legislature to be flexible. As the Utah Constitution now dictates, the session would still need to begin in January and run for only 45 consecutive days, with the exception of federal and state holidays. The only change included in Constitutional Amendment F is removing the specific January start date from the Constitution and instead specifying the January start date in statute. The Legislature would be enabled to set the start date by passing a bill. This will allow for more adaptability in determining a start date. Vote for flexibility. Vote for saving taxpayer’s money. Vote FOR Constitutional Amendment F."

Opposition

If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Official arguments

No arguments were submitted for the 2020 voter guide in opposition to Constitutional Amendment F.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Utah ballot measures

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Implementing legislation: Senate Bill 156

Utah Senate Bill 156 was designed to change the legislative session start date to the third Tuesday in January. The bill was passed in the legislature by a vote of 27-0 in the Senate and 45-26 in the House.

Amendment C of 2008

See also: Utah Start of Legislative Session, Amendment C (2008)

Amendment C, approved by voters in 2008, changed the legislative session start date from the third Monday in January (which is Martin Luther King Day) to the fourth Monday in January.

State legislative session dates, 2020

See also: Dates of 2020 state legislative sessions

Each state has its own legislature. The Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution declares that any power not already given to the federal government is reserved to the states and the people. State governments across the country use this authority to hold legislative sessions where a state's elected representatives meet for a period of time to draft and vote on legislation and set state policies on issues such as taxation, education, and government spending. The different types of legislation passed by a legislature may include resolutions, legislatively referred constitutional amendments, and bills that become law.

Forty-six state legislatures hold regular sessions annually. The other four states—Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas—meet in odd-numbered years. The length of a session may be set by a state's constitution, a statute, or by the legislature and varies among the states. Special or extraordinary sessions may also be called by a state's governor or legislature over a specific subject matter during or after a regular session.

Ten state legislatures have full-time legislators, meaning the legislature meets throughout the year. All other legislators are considered part-time because they only meet for a portion of the year.

To see the 2020 state legislative session dates, click here.

Referred amendments on the ballot

From 1996 through 2018, the state legislature referred 42 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 38 and rejected four of the referred amendments. All of the amendments were referred to the ballot for general elections during even-numbered election years. The average number of amendments appearing on the general election ballot was between three and four. The approval rate at the ballot box was 90.48 percent during the 22-year period from 1996 through 2018. The rejection rate was 9.52 percent.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1996-2018
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Annual average	Annual median	Annual minimum	Annual maximum
42	38	90.48%	4	9.52%	3.50	3.00	1	6

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Utah Constitution

In Utah, both chambers of the state legislature need to pass a constitutional amendment by a two-thirds vote during one legislative session to refer an amendment to the ballot.

The amendment was introduced into the legislature by Sen. Ann Millner (R) and Rep. Mike McKell (R) as Senate Joint Resolution 3 on January 27, 2020. The Senate approved the measure unanimously on February 11, 2020. The state House passed the measure on March 11, 2020, in a vote of 50-24 with one representative absent or not voting.

The amendment must be approved by a majority of voters voting in the general election, not just a majority of voters voting on the amendment.

Vote in the Utah State Senate February 11, 2020
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 20  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	29	0	0
Total percent	100%	0%	0%
Democrat	6	0	0
Republican	23	0	0

Vote in the Utah House of Representatives March 11, 2020
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 50  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	50	24	1
Total percent	66.67%	32.00%	1.33%
Democrat	8	8	0
Republican	42	16	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Utah

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Utah.

How to cast a vote in Utah

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times Utah is an all-mail voting state that offers vote centers for voters that choose to vote in person. All vote centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. Utah voters are able to vote in person at any vote center. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. To register to vote in Utah, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Utah for at least 30 days prior to the election, and at least 18 years old by the next general election. Pre-registration is available for 16- and 17-year-olds. 17-year-olds may vote in primary elections if they will turn 18 by the general election. Registration can be completed online or by mailing in a form. The deadline to register online or by mail is 11 days before Election Day. After this deadline, voters may register in person at a vote center by casting a provisional ballot and providing two forms of identification. Automatic registration See also: Automatic voter registration Utah does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Utah has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration See also: Same-day voter registration Utah allows same-day voter registration at polling places during the 10 days preceding and on Election Day. Residency requirements Prospective voters must be residents of the state for at least 30 days before the election. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Utah does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a person who commits fraudulent registration is "guilty of a class A misdemeanor" under Utah Code 20A-2-401. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The Utah lieutenant governor’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website. Voter ID requirements Utah requires in-person voters to present non-photo identification while voting. The following list of accepted ID was current as of May 2025: “ "Valid voter identification" means: a form of identification that bears the name and photograph of the voter which may include: a currently valid Utah driver license; a currently valid identification card issued under Title 53, Chapter 3, Part 8, Identification Card Act; a currently valid identification card that is issued by: the state; or a branch, department, or agency of the United States; a currently valid Utah permit to carry a concealed weapon; a currently valid United States passport; or a currently valid United States military identification card; one of the following identification cards, regardless of whether the card includes a photograph of the voter: a valid tribal identification card; a Bureau of Indian Affairs card; or a tribal treaty card; or two forms of identification not listed under Subsection (79)(a) or (b) but that bear the name of the voter and provide evidence that the voter resides in the voting precinct, which may include: before January 1, 2029, an original or copy of a current utility bill, dated no more than 90 calendar days before the date of the election; before January 1, 2029, an original or copy of a bank or other financial account statement, dated no more than 90 calendar days before the date of the election; a certified birth certificate; a valid social security card; an original or copy of a check issued by the state or the federal government, dated no more than 90 calendar days before the date of the election; an original or copy of a paycheck from the voter's employer, dated no more than 90 calendar days before the date of the election; a currently valid Utah hunting or fishing license; certified naturalization documentation; a currently valid license issued by an authorized agency of the United States; a certified copy of court records showing the voter's adoption or name change; a valid Medicaid card, Medicare card, or Electronic Benefits Transfer Card; a currently valid identification card issued by: a local government within the state; an employer for an employee; or a college, university, technical school, or professional school located within the state; or a current Utah vehicle registration. ” Click here for the Utah statute defining accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• State legislatures measures on the ballot

Utah

• Utah ballot measures
• Utah ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Senate Joint Resolution 3
• Statewide Ballot Questions