Panel OKs initiative disclosure measure

The defeat of an open space initiative is driving legislators to make sure citizens know exactly what they are getting into as de facto lawmakers.

"If we're going to empower the populace, they ought to be fully informed," Rep. Greg Hughes said.

To spread that information, Hughes is pushing a bill to fully disclose all financial ramifications of initiatives on the signature petition sheet, as well as on the ballot. Hughes' HB142, which has passed unanimously out of the House Government Operations Committee, would also give the Legislature more leeway to repeal an initiative law if the fiscal impact is greater than expected.

"We all love nice concepts, but if we knew it was going to increase our taxes significantly, we may weigh that a little differently," Hughes said. "This brings integrity to the initiative process and makes it more valuable."

Hughes added that the validity of citizen initiatives was questioned last fall as sponsors of an open space bond gathered nearly 130,00 signatures supporting Initiative 1. While the petition touted clean air, open space and quality growth, Hughes said many petition signers were unaware that it also had a price tag of $150 million in state debt and a .05-cent sales tax increase.

In an informal survey of 300 petition signers, the Utah Farm Bureau Federation found only about 3 percent of them knew they were signing up for increased taxes and a higher debt burden.

"If I go to a Stingers game and someone asks me if I like clean air and I sign a piece of paper, it would be shocking to those who signed if they got a bill in the mail two weeks later," Hughes said.

The proposed bill would bring that financial impact to the forefront of citizen initiatives by requiring a disclaimer on the petition — in 12-point font — detailing the dollar amount of state debt, taxes and bonds to be incurred if it becomes law.

The Governor's Office of Planning and Budget would be responsible for determining those numbers and for preparing a final fiscal impact statement within 60 days after a passed initiative.

But if that final statement is more than 15 percent above the initial estimate on the ballot, legislators can repeal the law.

Mike Jerman, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association and a vocal foe of Initiative 1, was primarily opposed to the measure because of the tax and debt repercussions that he said average citizens did not understand.

The bill, Jerman said, would lend credibility to the initiative process without requiring additional hurdles for signature gatherers.