SALINA — The Right to Vote Committee announced it will introduce a bill at the state Legislature holding lawmakers accountable for "bad laws" struck down in court.
The announcement follows an Utah Supreme Court decision Oct. 8 that ruled a state law limiting the public's ability to call for ballot initiatives was unconstitutional.
The Right to Vote Committee spearheaded an initiative in Sevier County to place Proposition 1 on the Nov. 4 ballot. The proposition aims to allow Sevier County residents to decide the fate of any proposed power plant whose primary fuel is coal.
The group said it spent nearly $40,000 in legal fees to get the proposition on the ballot because of SB53 — a state law banning local initiatives or referendums for land-use or zoning measures, which became law last May.
On Oct. 8, the Utah Supreme Court ruled SB53 unconstitutional. Now, the Right to Vote Committee wants to be reimbursed to cover expenses incurred fighting "irresponsible legislation."
"The state Legislature used our taxpayer dollars to pay attorneys to knowingly write an unconstitutional law," said Elaine Bonavita, chairman of Right to Vote Committee, in a statement. "And then legislators used our tax dollars spending their time to write it up into a bill and then voting to make it illegal to vote on land issues."
Bonavita said her group will also ask Sevier County commissioners to collect nearly $4,000 in costs for reprinting and mailing ballots and voter information from Sevier Power Co., which they claim wrongfully sued to remove their initiative from the November ballot.
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