The constitutional Amendment A ballot question that asks Utah voters to consider changing how state income tax revenue can be spent is now void, a judge ordered Wednesday.

Amendment A may still appear on printed ballots but votes on the question will not be counted, 3rd District Judge Laura Scott’s ruling states.

The order comes two weeks after the Utah Supreme Court on Sept. 25 agreed with a lower court decision to also void Amendment D, which would have given the Legislature the power to repeal citizen-passed ballot initiatives.

In both cases, plaintiffs argued that the Utah Legislature violated Article XXIII of the Utah Constitution, which mandates that ballot language must be published in newspapers statewide at least two months before appearing on ballots.

Scott on Wednesday ruled that the previous decision on the “newspaper publication issue” regarding Amendment D also applies in the Amendment A case.

Her order came shortly after plaintiffs including the state’s largest teachers union (the Utah Education Association) — as well as defendants including Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz — acknowledged “the failure to comply with the newspaper publication requirement” in a joint court filing.

Together, they agreed it was a valid reason for Scott to grant a preliminary injunction voiding Amendment A. They also agreed that a preliminary injunction would essentially constitute a permanent order, given the timing of the Nov. 5 election. Scott ultimately issued a permanent injunction to void the ballot proposal.

Schultz and Adams were responsible for writing the descriptions of all amendment questions bound for ballots, a task previously handled by nonpartisan legislative lawyers before a law change earlier this year.

They said in a joint statement Wednesday that the Legislature agreed to essentially “resolve” the Amendment A case with the joint court filing in an attempt to “prevent unnecessary expenditure of tax dollars.”

“While votes on this amendment will not be counted, we remain committed to continue supporting education and lowering taxes for all Utahns,” their statement concluded.

Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla and and House Minority Leader Angela Romero commended the Legislature for “taking the necessary step” and acknowledging that both Amendment A and D failed to meet the publication requirements.

“We applaud Utahns for their commitment to holding their government accountable,” their statement read. “The active engagement of our communities ensures the integrity of the democratic process.”

Amendment A challenge stemmed from voucher lawsuit

Though any votes on Amendment A will not count in the election, the judge noted in her order that due to the timing of the ruling, votes cast for or against the proposal still will be tabulated, because it is “too late” to reverse that process.

However, the ruling states that the lieutenant governor and county clerks cannot publish or release those tabulations to anyone, and that those tabulations will not be subject to public records requests.

Amendment A sought to eliminate the constitutional guarantee that Utah’s income tax revenue remains reserved for public education, higher education and disability services.

If passed, it would have allowed the Legislature to use income tax revenue for a broader range of unspecified “state needs.”

“Voiding Amendment A is a significant victory for Utah voters and public education,” said Utahns for Student Success — a bipartisan coalition of educators, parents and child advocates — in a statement Wednesday. The coalition includes the Utah PTA, Voices for Utah Children, the Utah School Employees Association and the Utah Education Association.

The Utah Education Association formally challenged Amendment A last month in a supplemental complaint linked to a lawsuit that the teachers union filed in May. That lawsuit argues the state’s $82 million “Utah Fits All” program is unconstitutional, because it uses income tax dollars to fund vouchers meant to cover private school and homeschooling expenses.

The supplemental complaint argued the Amendment A ballot question failed to inform voters that passing Amendment A would “eliminate one of the key constitutional obstacles” that they allege currently prevents the Legislature from diverting income tax revenue to “anything it chooses — including private school vouchers.”

But in an interview with The Tribune prior to Wednesday’s ruling, Schultz said that was untrue.

“It’s factually incorrect when they say Amendment A is to take money and put it towards vouchers,” Schultz contended. “The constitution already allows for that to happen.”

Scott’s permanent injunction order Wednesday was specific to the publication requirement failure; the UEA’s other claims in the supplemental complaint were dismissed, as agreed upon by all parties.

The underlying lawsuit is still being litigated. The Utah Education Association noted it would not individually comment on the Wednesday ruling because of that ongoing litigation.

A hearing for arguments regarding a motion to dismiss that lawsuit is currently slated for Dec. 19 before Scott.