Fifty-six percent. That is the share of Utah voters who oppose Amendment B, according to a poll released this week by Noble Predictive Insights. Voters are weighing a constitutional proposal that alters how citizen-led ballot measures cross the finish line.
Raising the Threshold for Tax and Revenue Measures
Appearing on the November 2026 ballot, Amendment B asks voters to decide whether any citizen-led ballot initiative impacting state tax revenue should require 60% approval to pass. Right now, those measures need only a simple majority. The text of the proposal leaves Utah’s legislature completely untouched, preserving lawmakers’ ability to alter tax policy with a standard majority vote. It specifically targets the petition process citizens use to propose new laws.
When signature requirements are met, an initiative goes directly to the voters. Amendment B inserts an additional 10% threshold for approval on proposals concerning state revenue.
The Great Salt Lake Factor
Environmental advocates see high stakes tied to that extra 10%. With the Great Salt Lake sitting at 30% capacity and hovering just above record lows, organizations are looking at every tool left on the table. Jake Dreyfous, managing director of the environmental nonprofit Grow the Flow, spoke about the constitutional change in an interview with the Chronicle.
“Amendment B in practice doesn’t have a direct impact on the lake, but the implications of its passing could make it harder to use something like a ballot initiative or statewide referendum to support Great Salt Lake restoration,” Dreyfous told the Chronicle. Great Salt Lake. He
While Grow the Flow focuses its day-to-day efforts on educational outreach and lobbying at the Utah State Capitol, Dreyfous notes that a future ballot initiative could involve levying a new tax or redistributing existing funds to accelerate the rescue of the lake. Water conservation has quickly transformed into an election-defining topic across the state.
Legislative Opposition and Citizen Power
State Senator Nate Blouin, a Democrat representing Millcreek who is not running for re-election, voiced sharp opposition to Amendment B while expressing eagerness to see a citizen-led campaign for the lake.
“I would be extremely excited to see someone take on that effort,” Blouin told the Chronicle. “It’s a huge undertaking and the bar is already high, and moving it up another 10% could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
Blouin argues the amendment shifts legislative power away from the electorate. He contends that voters would effectively surrender their capacity to fund programs designed to rescue the shrinking ecosystem.
As election day arrives, the debate over Amendment B highlights a sharp divide over who holds the authority to fund environmental survival in Utah. If the legislature retains its simple-majority privilege to alter tax structures, the question facing voters next week is whether the public should maintain that exact same standard.
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