HB267 referendum effort says it has 130K signatures, support from Fraternal Order of Police

SALT LAKE CITY — A coalition working to put a referendum on the ballot to undo the Legislature's bill to strip public unions of collective bargaining rights says it has already collected nearly 130,000 signatures — and just received backing from the state's largest association of police officers.

"We respect the legislative process. ... We believe in the checks and balances of that process and preserving the rights of our citizens," Utah Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Murray told reporters from the south steps of the Capitol Friday. "(HB267) has stripped the voice of our heroes to advocate for their needs. Without a voice, we are unable to advocate for safe working conditions, competitive wage and benefits to attract qualified candidates to protect our communities."

The Fraternal Order of Police and Professional Firefighters of Utah joined with an existing coalition of labor groups — including the Utah Education Association — in the push to secure the approximately 141,000 signatures necessary to qualify the referendum for the ballot.

Although many public unions don't collectively bargain with employers on behalf of their members, Salt Lake firefighter Harrison Long said the union's bargaining has made residents of the capital city safer.

"The process of collective bargaining has improved my life, that of my daughters and our safety on the job," he said. "In Salt Lake City, we negotiated for safe staffing levels. That means that if you have an emergency in Salt Lake City, four highly-trained firefighters are going to show up on your worst day to help you. ... Unfortunately, there's a lot of departments out there that don't have the benefit of collective bargaining and are running fire engines, fire trucks, with two, maybe three people on it. That makes our job that much harder and our response that much less effective."

Referendums allow voters to overturn laws passed by the Utah Legislature, but organizers must clear the high bar of collecting signatures from 8% of active voters in the state, including at least 8% in at least 15 of the state's 29 Senate districts. The Protect Utah Workers group has 30 days from launch — or until April 14 — to turn in the signatures.

Jessica Bruner, the director of the Utah Public Employees Association, announced the nearly 130,000 signatures collected so far but urged volunteers to continue efforts in hopes of doubling that number ahead of the deadline.

"We must keep this momentum going. We just let the voters decide what is best for Utah," she said. "In my own association, we have overwhelming support from every corner of the state, with our members asking, 'How do we get more involved?'"

HB267, which was signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox in February, was the most discussed bill early on in the legislative session, as lawmakers floated a compromise bill before eventually passing the original proposal that prohibits collective bargaining. Top lawmakers said they respect the referendum process and encouraged voters to "thoroughly research the issue at hand to make informed decisions."

Even if the referendum qualifies for the 2026 ballot, it still requires approval from the majority of voters.

The chief architects of HB267, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, and Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, received plaudits for their work on the bill from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative nonprofit that is frequently involved in crafting model legislation at the state level.

The organization agreed with sponsors in arguing that public sector labor unions increase costs for taxpayers.

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