Do petitions lack facts?

An open space initiative that has opened a debate in Utah over lawmaking through public petition is prompting at least one legislator to call for change.

Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, said he doesn't want a complete overhaul but a tweak of the initiative process to ensure that more information is available to petition signers.

Details of Bramble's proposal were scheduled to be announced Wednesday, but he said he is still refining the bill's language.

Initiative 1 became the catalyst of the bill, Bramble said, because he couldn't tell if petition signers were aware of the details of the $150 million bond tied to it.

The bond would pay to preserve open space, clean water, build parks and construct government buildings through a .05-cent sales tax increase. The initiative, according to sponsor Utahns for Clean Water, Clean Air & Quality Growth, would cost the average Utah family about $14 more a year.

"It doesn't clearly say anywhere that this means substantial debt and substantial new taxes in Utah," Bramble said.

Amanda Smith, head of the initiative's sponsor group, said petition signers were encouraged to read the actual legislation and should have been aware of the tax increase.

Utah House and Senate leaders added their voice to the initiative discussion Wednesday, asking citizens to vote no because budgeting by initiative could set a dangerous precedent for Utah government.

Speaker of the House Marty Stephens, R-Farr West, said raising taxes and appropriating state funds through initiative circumvents the deliberation of legislative action.

"You don't get to weigh the other needs of the state when you are looking at a yes or no vote on an initiative," Stephens said. "The idea of making sure we have open space for our posterity is an admirable goal, and we support that goal; we just don't support this method."

Smith said her group had to meet a high standard to get the bond on the Nov. 2 ballot, gathering more than 130,000 signatures and holding seven public hearings.

"There are folks out there that just don't like tax increases and the initiative process," she said.

Smith added that she would prefer to leave lawmaking to the Legislature but that state leaders repeatedly ignored requests for more conservation funding.

"We asked the Legislature to look at this and weigh it. They had the opportunity and didn't," she said. "We're only exercising rights given to us by the constitution."