The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Utah bill creates a voter referendum process for Supreme Court rulings declaring state laws unconstitutional
Last action · March 6, 2026: House/ filedSponsor: Matt MacPherson
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What This Bill Proposed
This bill establishes a formal process allowing Utah voters to approve or reject any Supreme Court opinion that holds a state law unconstitutional. If sponsors gather enough valid signatures, the Supreme Court's ruling is temporarily ed and placed on the ballot for a public vote at a regular general or special election.
Residents gain direct authority to accept or overturn high court rulings on state statutes, which temporarily pauses those court decisions from taking effect while petitions circulate and alters how constitutional rulings are finalized.
- State referenda allow citizens to petition to approve or reject legislative statutes or constitutional interpretations through a public ballot vote. 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.
Utah registered voters
Voters gain the legal right to sign petitions and vote to approve or reject Supreme Court opinions that declare state laws unconstitutional.
Petition sponsors
Sponsors are subject to specific application deadlines, signature-gathering quotas across multiple Senate districts, and strict verification and email notice requirements.
Supreme Court
The court's constitutional rulings are subject to public stay and potential voter rejection through the new referendum process.
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 happens to a Supreme Court ruling if a referendum petition gathers enough signatures?
How many signatures are required to place a Supreme Court opinion on the ballot?
Who prepares the ballot language and summary for the referendum?
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 · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
11 actions- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ filed
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ strike enacting clause
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Mar 2, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0600
- Mar 2, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0600
- Feb 26, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
Show 5 earlier actions
- Feb 26, 2026HouseHouse/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Feb 26, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0600
- Feb 26, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0600
- Feb 26, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Feb 26, 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.
Introduction of Judicial Referenda
The bill creates a novel procedural framework in Utah allowing voters to directly challenge state supreme court rulings that find statutes unconstitutional.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment15Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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