Court Upholds Voters’ Constitutional Right to an Authentic Referendum

By Contributing Writer, 6-12-07

DEMOCRACY was a winner today!

A few minutes ago, the Utah Supreme Court UNANIMOUSLY decided to uphold Utah voters’ constitutional right to an authentic referendum process. In an unusually expedited verdict, the court upheld 4-0 that the VOTERS will have the final say on whether to enact a poorly regulated and controversial private school voucher program. The court stated in CRYSTAL CLEAR terms what the rest of us already knew - that HB174 is connected to HB148 and that it cannot stand alone. By voting ‘NO’ to HB148, citizens can be assured that their vote against private school entitlements will count!
Congratulations to the State Board of Education for showing wisdom and foresight and for standing up to powerful political interests, including an authoritarian Attorney General bent on imposing his will. Congratulations to Carol Lear and Jean Hill at the USOE for providing such excellent legal advice and for advising caution and restraint. You are both a class act and we’re lucky to have you around fighting for Utah schoolchildren.
To read the rest of this blog, please follow the link to The Utah Amicus.