2 amendments, 1 fight: What's on Utah's ballot this November

SALT LAKE CITY — Two proposed constitutional amendments are headed to Utah voters this midterm season. While both will appear on the ballot, only one has sparked a campaign urging voters to reject it.

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Supporters of the proposal argue it would prevent a small majority of voters from imposing new tax burdens, while opponents say it chips away at a tool citizens have to pass policy.

On Nov. 3, Utah voters will decide whether Amendment A and Amendment B become part of the state Constitution.

The first measure, Amendment A, would replace the Utah Constitution's requirement that proposed constitutional amendments be published in newspapers in every county for two months prior to the vote. Instead, this amendment allows legislators to decide how they're published, as long as it's done 60 days before the election.

Amendment B has drawn detractors since the launch of its opposition campaign on Sept. 28. This amendment would require a 60% voter approval, instead of a simple majority, for any citizen-initiated ballot measure that seeks to create, change or expand taxes.

These amendments come after Amendment D was voided by the courts in 2024. That amendment would have given lawmakers power to amend or repeal voter-approved ballot initiatives.

A higher bar for tax-related initiatives

On Jan. 21, 2025, Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, introduced Amendment B. The Utah Constitution states that legislation may be "submitted to the people for adoption upon a majority vote of those voting on the legislation."

Fillmore said, "This is a fairly simple resolution. It asks the citizens of Utah to consider, 'How easy do you want it to be to raise taxes on your neighbors?'"

Amendment B would make more than a majority vote needed to "impose a new tax or to increase the rate of an existing tax or the amount of revenue collected."

The House GOP has listed cost of living as a top priority in 2026 policy. Fillmore said he wants to protect families from having their taxes raised by a slim majority.

Opponents view Amendment B as another way to try to limit initiative power after Amendment D failed in 2024.

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Millions of dollars have been spent on Amendment B, which would require citizen-led initiatives that raise taxes to pass with at least 60% support.

The case against Amendment B

"Vote No on Amendment B" is an opposition campaign launched by Utahns Protecting Our Constitution, a political issues committee. The operation is run by Better Boundaries and led by Elizabeth Rasmussen.

Their website states: "Don't let Salt Lake insiders rewrite the Constitution to give themselves more control and make it harder for ordinary Utahns to push back."

Better Utah posted on X, calling for more democracy and to vote no on Amendment B.

Opponents argue that amending the Constitution is a power grab and a nearly irreversible action. They also said that the measure could limit access to Medicaid and healthcare.

Rasmussen said, "Amendment B makes an unnecessary, permanent change to our Constitution, taking power away from citizens and giving politicians more control over the rules."

In 2018, Utah voters passed Proposition 3 — a citizen initiative that expanded Medicaid, funding it with a sales tax increase. This initiative gave around 150,000 people access to Medicaid, including adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, according to Ballotpedia.

It passed with a 53.3% majority. Under Amendment B, this proposition would not have passed.

State Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Sandy, echoed the power-grab argument. He said Amendment B creates an unfair standard between legislators and voters because the Legislature is not required to meet the "60% supermajority" when enacting state tax changes.

The case for Amendment B

Rep. Jason Kyle, R-Huntsville, House sponsor for Amendment B, said this measure "protects the initiative process while recognizing a simple principle: if you want to raise your neighbors' taxes, you should have broad support from your neighbors."

He argued that the decision is ultimately up to Utah voters.

Other supporters have argued that tax changes need to be widely approved at a time when cost of living is a major concern.

The Kem C. Gardner Institute at the University of Utah reported on Utah's affordability. They found that 91% of renters can't afford median home and it's the 10th most expensive state for single-family homes.

Fillmore believes this amendment will help to save Utah families money in taxes.

He said, "The question here is very simple. Do the people of Utah want 50.1% of the people in the state to be able to raise taxes on the other 49.9%? Or, when it comes to this type of a question, should there be a broader consensus?"

Billy Hesterman, president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said that a required supermajority vote on citizen-initiated Utah tax code would ensure the changes are supported and justified.

Polling conducted by Noble Predictive Insights on Sept. 8 to 12 shows 50% of Utahns support Amendment B, while 21% oppose it.

The amendment nobody's fighting over

Amendment A was introduced Feb. 11, 2025, and passed without opposition through the Utah House and Senate. There have been no opposition campaigns against this amendment.

This amendment helps to fix the newspaper publication rule that stopped Amendment D from passing. In 2024, legislators tried to rush the amendment in a special session to be voted on in November. This did not give enough time to meet the newspaper deadline, which resulted in the court voiding it from the ballot.

State Rep. Anthony Loubet, R-Kearns, said, "One thing we learned last year is that when it comes to constitutional amendments, our constitution has its own separate notice requirement. And that requirement requires two months' publication in a newspaper, physical print."

He said, "Back in the day, that was a great way of communicating with people. People received their newspapers daily and that would be (a) good method of notification. Unfortunately nowadays that's not true any longer."

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