Utah Restricted Government Records Access Referendum (2012)

Not on Ballot
This measure was not put on an election ballot

The Utah Restricted Government Records Access Referendum did not make the 2012 ballot in the state of Utah as a veto referendum. The petition for the proposed citizen-initiated ballot measure was filed with the Utah Secretary of State according to reports. The measure proposed to repeal a law that restricts public access to government records. The bill, known as House Bill 477, was passed, recalled and amended, then ultimately signed by Governor of Utah Gary Herbert into law on March 10, 2011, hours after the paperwork for the referendum was filed.

Utah resident Steve Maxfield, Republican National Committeewoman Nancy Lord and Republican activist Janalee Tobias were sponsors of the initiative.

Support

Supporters

• John Dougall, the sponsor of House Bill 477, the law the referendum was targeting, had stated his support to repeal the measure, in a twist to developments. He stated, "I'll support the repeal which is what I think the House has asked for and I think what many in the public have asked for."

Path to the ballot

Efforts halted

During a special session on March 25, 2011, HB477 was repealed by the Utah Legislature, leaving no need for further advancement of the proposed veto referendum. However, according to reports, the legislature may propose similar legislation in the future, particularly in a requested June special session. The group behind the veto referendum has requested that circulators return petitions to distribution stations, because collected signatures could be useful for another veto referendum that could challenge future similar legislation.

See also

• Utah 2012 ballot measures
• 2012 ballot measures
• List of Utah ballot measures
• Laws governing the initiative process in Utah

External links

• Petition drive aims to place open governments records on ballot. (dead link)