(1) Within 20 days after the day on which an eligible voter files a referendum application under Section 20A-7-602 for a local law other than a land use law, counsel for the county, city, or town to which the referendum pertains shall:

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Terms Used In Utah Code 20A-7-602.7

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • City: includes , depending on population, a metro township as defined in Section 10-3c-102. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Land: includes :
         (18)(a) land;
         (18)(b) a tenement;
         (18)(c) a hereditament;
         (18)(d) a water right;
         (18)(e) a possessory right; and
         (18)(f) a claim. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Land use law: means a law of general applicability, enacted based on the weighing of broad, competing policy considerations, that relates to the use of land, including land use regulation, a general plan, a land use development code, an annexation ordinance, the rezoning of a single property or multiple properties, or a comprehensive zoning ordinance or resolution. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
  • Legally referable to voters: means :
         (18)(a) for a proposed local initiative, that the proposed local initiative is legally referable to voters under Section Utah Code 20A-7-101
  • Local clerk: means the county clerk, city recorder, or town clerk in whose jurisdiction a local initiative or referendum petition is circulated. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
  • Local law: includes :
              (21)(a)(i) an ordinance;
              (21)(a)(ii) a resolution;
              (21)(a)(iii) a land use law;
              (21)(a)(iv) a land use regulation, as defined in Section 10-9a-103; or
              (21)(a)(v) other legislative action of a local legislative body. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
  • Local legislative body: means the legislative body of a county, city, or town. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
  • Referendum: means a process by which a law passed by the Legislature or by a local legislative body is submitted or referred to the voters for their approval or rejection. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
  • Referendum application: means :
         (30)(a) for a statewide referendum, an application described in Subsection 20A-7-302(2) that includes all the information, statements, documents, and notarized signatures required under Subsection 20A-7-302(2); or
         (30)(b) for a local referendum, an application described in Subsection 20A-7-602(2) that includes all the information, statements, documents, and notarized signatures required under Subsection 20A-7-602(2). See Utah Code 20A-7-101
  • Sponsors: means the legal voters who support the initiative or referendum and who sign the initiative application or referendum application. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
  • Town: includes , depending on population, a metro township as defined in Section 10-3c-102. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Voter: means an individual who:
         (79)(a) meets the requirements for voting in an election;
         (79)(b) meets the requirements of election registration;
         (79)(c) is registered to vote; and
         (79)(d) is listed in the official register book. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • Writ: means an order or precept in writing, issued in the name of:
         (47)(a) the state;
         (47)(b) a court; or
         (47)(c) a judicial officer. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Writing: includes :
         (48)(a) printing;
         (48)(b) handwriting; and
         (48)(c) information stored in an electronic or other medium if the information is retrievable in a perceivable format. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
     (1)(a) review the referendum application to determine whether the proposed referendum is legally referable to voters; and
     (1)(b) notify the first three sponsors, in writing, whether the proposed referendum is:

          (1)(b)(i) legally referable to voters; or
          (1)(b)(ii) rejected as not legally referable to voters.
(2) For a local law other than a land use law, a proposed referendum is legally referable to voters unless:

     (2)(a) the proposed referendum challenges an action that is administrative, rather than legislative, in nature;
     (2)(b) the proposed referendum challenges more than one law passed by the local legislative body; or
     (2)(c) the referendum application was not timely filed or does not comply with the requirements of this part.
(3) After the end of the 20-day period described in Subsection (1), a county, city, or town may not, for a local law other than a land use law:

     (3)(a) reject a proposed referendum as not legally referable to voters; or
     (3)(b) except as provided in Subsection (4), challenge, in a legal action or otherwise, a proposed referendum on the grounds that the proposed referendum is not legally referable to voters.
(4)

     (4)(a) If, under Subsection (1)(b)(ii), a county, city, or town rejects a proposed referendum concerning a local law other than a land use law, a sponsor of the proposed referendum may, within 10 days after the day on which a sponsor is notified under Subsection (1)(b), challenge or appeal the decision to:

          (4)(a)(i) the Supreme Court, by means of an extraordinary writ, if possible; or
          (4)(a)(ii) a district court, if the sponsor is prohibited from pursuing an extraordinary writ under Subsection (4)(a)(i).
     (4)(b) Failure of a sponsor to timely challenge or appeal a rejection under Subsection (4)(a) terminates the referendum.
(5) If, on a challenge or appeal, the court determines that the proposed referendum described in Subsection (4) is legally referable to voters, the local clerk shall comply with Subsection 20A-7-604(3), or give the sponsors access to the website defined in Section 20A-21-101, within five days after the day on which the determination, and any challenge or appeal of the determination, is final.

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