Voucher opponents sought a referendum, which put that law on hold pending a vote.

But HB174 also passed. It was aimed at tweaking the original bill with increased funding to run the program. A lot of the language (sans the funding) in the first bill was duplicated in HB174, so voucher supporters say that bill alone should create a voucher program.

Last week, Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, filed the petition asking the board to issue an order saying it would not implement a voucher program based on HB174.

Alan Smith, Allen's attorney, told board members the legislative intent was clear, both in the language of the bill and floor debates during the session, that HB174 was an amendment and nothing more.

"If you follow the words written, there is no mistake — it clearly tells us that it is intended as an amendment," Smith said. "The amendment is not the primary legislation, it is a branch, and branches do not stand alone when apart from the tree."

Some lawmakers also told the board there was never any indication that the amendment bill could stand on its own — if there was, they wouldn't have voted for it.

"We were assured it was cleanup legislation — there was confusion among senators and representatives," said Rep. Rosalind McGee, D-Salt Lake. "HB174 is a muddle policy fragment."

But pro-voucher leaders said that refusing to implement the amendment was "open defiance against Utah law."

"The board's continued defiance of the law is an outrageous breach of its responsibility to do the job the people of Utah elected its members to do," said Doug Holmes, chairman of Parents for Choice in Education.

"The board is not a court, nor is it the Legislature. Its job is to implement the law, and it should be above playing politics," he said.

Voucher proponents have 30 days to file an appeal with the Utah Court of Appeals. That court could send the issue directly to the Utah Supreme Court for a ruling on whether HB174 can stand alone and establish the voucher program.

Today, voucher opponents plan to file suit challenging the 100 words written for the referendum because the Office of Legislative Counsel and General Research failed to indicate a voucher program would take significant money out of public schools. They also want it clarified on the ballot that if the public votes down HB148, then HB174 also would be rejected.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com