Snow v. Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, No. 20070417 (June 8, 2007)
The Utah Supreme Court has ruled the recently enacted private school voucher law is subject to a voter referendum, and if that measure is defeated by the voters then a subsequent voucher measure passed by the legislature would also be without legal effect. The court stated: "should HB 148 [the initial voucher law] be rejected by the voters under the referendum before us, HB 174 [ the subsequently enacted voucher measure] would be without meaning." It concluded that "HB 174 was not intended by the Legislature to stand alone as an independent act creating an educational voucher program." Having resolved the question of whether HB 174 is dependent on HB 148 for legal effect, the court emphasized that if the voters reject HB 148, then HB 174 will not create an additional voucher program. On the other hand, if the voters accept HB 148, then the amendments in HB 174 will automatically be applied. Lastly, the high court disposed of the argument that the ballot title as drafted by the Utah Office of Legislative Research & General Counsel was "substantively false." It found nothing in the ballot title that suggested bias and, therefore, nothing needed to be added to reflect the impact of HB 174.
While the ruling represents a win for voucher opponents, the court's decision clears the way for a costly publicity campaign to win votes for or against school vouchers, which provide private-school tuition assistance from state coffers. At issue was a part of the Utah code resulting from a second bill drafted to amend the original voucher law. It re-enacted entire sections but omitted others. An intense legal debate has centered on whether that law could or should stand on its own. The ruling seems to eliminate the need for a special legislative session to craft a fix.
It also defused the looming possibility of a lawsuit against the Utah Board of Education and vindicated the board's decision to ignore Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's advice and vote not to offer vouchers until a court ruled whether the second law could stand alone. "Any legal challenge would now have a difficult time going forward," says board member Tom Gregory, who had voted against the board's action. "That's comforting." Ray Hintze, chief deputy attorney general, says Attorney General Shurtleff was pleased with the ruling. "Obviously, the opinion went contrary to the attorney general's opinion, but we knew it was a close call," adds Mr. Hintze. The Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. applauded the ruling. "This decision provides clarity for the people, and that was what was needed for this issue," says the governor’s spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley.
Snow v. Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, No. 20070417 (June 8, 2007)
[Summary of decision]
Salt Lake Tribune
By Nicole Stricker
[Full story]
[Editor’s Note: For background on the dispute over Utah’s voucher law, see the first link below. Utahns for Public Schools, which opposes vouchers, posts information on the upcoming voter referendum on its website. In addition, see the third link for a chart that provides a history of voter referenda on school voucher laws. Given the millions of dollars that voucher proponents have lavished on such campaigns elsewhere, NSBA Director of Federal Affairs Marc Egan predicts that Utah’s small population is in for quite an onslaught.]
[NSBA School Law pages on Utah school voucher law]
[Utahns for Public Schools]
[NSBA school voucher referendum chart]