An irrelevant strawman defense was put forth as the opening argument by the Legislature’s “Washington-based boutique law firm” attorney on Friday, Jan. 30, at the Third District Court in the case of the League of Women Voters, et al. vs Utah, “the gerrymandering case.”
As I sat, listened, and understood the argument, the defense attorney for the state argued that when a member of the Legislature puts forth a new bill it goes through many committees, markups, and changes, therefore the Legislature must also be able to mark-up or change any initiative that the citizens pass as a law on the ballot.
When citizens legislate through the legal ballot initiative process, after the vote by the citizens, as I understand it, the initiative becomes the law. It does not become a new bill, as falsely claimed in the straw man argument, for the legislature to start changing beyond recognition.
Yes, a bill goes through markup, and a law is complete.
The lieutenant governor must honor the district maps of the independent committee. Then Utah will start looking like a democracy and not a supermajority autocracy.
Kirk Nichols, Salt Lake City
