ACLU attorneys have asked a 3rd District judge for a quick hearing in a lawsuit questioning the Utah Wildlife Board's actions regarding a controversial ballot initiative.
Lead attorney Stephen C. Clark said the expedited process is necessary so that any corrective action ordered by the court can reach voters before the Nov. 3 election. Judge Anne M. Stirba has taken the motion under advisement.The ACLU filed the lawsuit last week on behalf of the Humane Society of Utah, Predator Education Fund, High Uintahs Preservation Council and the Society of Professional Journalists.
It alleges that members of the board violated the state's open meetings law and acted beyond their authority in support of Proposition 5, a constitutional amendment that would it make it more difficult to change wildlife laws through ballot initiatives.
If approved by voters on Nov. 3, it would take a two-thirds majority vote to change wildlife resource regulations by initiative rather than a simple majority.
At issue in the lawsuit are a Sept. 23 press conference during which board members endorsed Proposition 5 and a board endorsement mentioned in the official Utah Voter Information Pamphlet.
Board chairman Max Morgan and other members said at the press conference that the board had unanimously endorsed the ballot measure. But opponents noted the issue had not been on the board's agenda and wasn't discussed at a regular board meeting.
"It appeared that the people's business had been done without anyone knowing about it," Clark said.
On Sept. 25, Morgan issued a second statement under his personal letterhead retracting statements made at the Sept. 23 press conference. However, the lawsuit said the Wildlife Board itself has never made an official retraction of the Proposition 5 endorsement.
Also, mention of the board's endorsement remains in the voter pamphlet.
It may be too late to delete that from the pamphlet, but it's not too late for the court to order the board to issue and disseminate an "absolute and unequivocal" retraction of the Sept. 23 endorsement, Clark said.