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Read. Follow. Verify.Utah Bill HB 160 Doubles Signature Threshold for Legislative Initiatives
Last action · March 6, 2026: House/ filedSponsor: Andrew Stoddard
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What This Bill Proposed
This bill modifies provisions governing statewide initiatives.
Initiative organizers must gather twice as many voter signatures across at least 26 Senate districts to place a proposal before lawmakers.
- Statewide initiatives in Utah allow citizens to propose new legislation or constitutional amendments by gathering required voter signatures. context
- Andrew Stoddard serves as a member of the Utah House of Representatives, representing District 44. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
initiative petitioners
Petitioners must gather legal signatures equal to 8% instead of 4% of active voters to submit an initiative to the Legislature.
active voters in the state of Utah
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the new signature percentage required to submit an initiative to the Utah Legislature?
What happens if the Legislature does not enact a proposed initiative law?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
15 actions- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ filed
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ strike enacting clause
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ comm rpt/ sent to Rules
- Mar 2, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Recommends Returned to Rules
- Jan 26, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Held
- Jan 23, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
Show 9 earlier actions
- Jan 20, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Jan 20, 2026HouseHouse/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Jan 16, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0160
- Jan 16, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0160
- Jan 14, 2026HouseHouse/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Jan 6, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0160
- Jan 6, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0160
- Jan 6, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Jan 6, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselBill Numbered but not Distributed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Equalization of Initiative Thresholds
The bill harmonizes the signature percentage required for legislative submissions with the percentage already required for direct public ballot submissions at 8%.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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