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Upset at Supreme Court’s gerrymandering ruling, Utah GOP lawmakers resort to emergency powers

The Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City.
Parker Malatesta
The Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City.

The Republican leaders’ decision to call a special legislative session on Wednesday comes as Utah’s top House Democrat is in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention.

Utah lawmakers will call themselves into a special session to propose a constitutional amendment overriding portions of the Utah Supreme Court’s ruling that the Legislature cannot upend voters’ efforts to change laws via a ballot initiative, top leaders announced Monday.

The special session is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon while the House minority leader is out of state at the Democratic National Convention.

It comes after justices unanimously decided in July that the Legislature overstepped its authority when it rewrote a 2018 voter-approved ballot initiative establishing an independent redistricting process. The Legislature then drew its own congressional maps that split the most progressive and populous county, Salt Lake County, into four separate congressional districts.

Legislative leaders reacted to the recent ruling with anger, calling it “one of the worst outcomes we have ever seen from the Utah Supreme Court.”

“The Utah Supreme Court’s new interpretation created uncertainty and ambiguity,” said Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, both Republicans, in a statement Monday announcing the special session. “This amendment provides a path for Utahns to weigh in and make their voices heard. To be clear, the proposed amendment restores the over 100-year-old effect of citizen initiatives. The initiative process will remain unchanged, and Utahns will continue to have the ability to propose and run ballot initiatives.”

Read the full story at sltrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.