Ballot title -- Duties of lieutenant governor and Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.
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(1) Whenever a referendum petition is declared sufficient for submission to a vote of the people, the lieutenant governor shall deliver a copy of the petition and the proposed law to the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.
(2)
(a) The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall:
(i) entitle each state referendum that qualifies for the ballot "Proposition Number __" and assign a number to the referendum in accordance with Section 20A-6-107;
(ii) prepare an impartial ballot title for the referendum summarizing the contents of the measure; and
(iii) submit the ballot title to the lieutenant governor within 15 days after the day on which the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel receives the petition under Subsection (1).
(b) The ballot title may be distinct from the title of the law that is the subject of the petition, and may not exceed 100 words.
(c) For each state referendum, the official ballot shall show, in the following order:
(i) the number of the referendum, determined in accordance with Section 20A-6-107; and
(ii) the ballot title described in this section.
(3) Immediately after the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel submits the ballot title to the lieutenant governor, the lieutenant governor shall mail or email a copy of the ballot title to any of the sponsors of the petition.
(4)
(a)
(i) At least three of the sponsors of the petition may, within 15 days after the day on which the lieutenant governor mails the ballot title, challenge the wording of the ballot title prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to the appropriate court.
(ii) After receipt of the appeal, the court shall direct the lieutenant governor to send notice of the appeal to:
(A) any person or group that has filed an argument for or against the measure that is the subject of the challenge; and
(B) any political issues committee established under Section 20A-11-801 that has filed written or electronic notice with the lieutenant governor that identifies the name, mailing or email address, and telephone number of the person designated to receive notice about any issues relating to the referendum.
(b)
(i) There is a presumption that the ballot title prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel is an impartial summary of the contents of the referendum.
(ii) The court may not revise the wording of the ballot title unless the plaintiffs rebut the presumption by clearly and convincingly establishing that the ballot title is patently false or biased.
(c) The court shall:
(i) examine the ballot title;
(ii) hear arguments; and
(iii) enter an order consistent with the requirements of this section.
(d) The lieutenant governor shall, in accordance with the court's order, certify the ballot title to the county clerks to be printed on the official ballot.