Guest opinion: Original public meaning, not subjective intent, should guide Utah judgeâs evaluation of scholarship law
by William C. Duncan
A recent news report about a challenge to the Utah Fits All program, which provides scholarships to parents to use outside the public school system, includes some good news and some concerning news. The court can make a great contribution by getting the legal issues right.
What is positive about the case is that the judge correctly notes that the relevant question is the âoriginal public meaningâ of a 2020 amendment to the Utah Constitution. The phrase may sound simple, but itâs a critical protection of the integrity of our laws and constitution...
It is important to focus on the original meaning, because language and circumstances can change and cause us to lose sight of what the provision meant at the time it became binding. It is public because it is open (as opposed to subjective) and it is what the informed public would have understood the language to mean. The term meaning also points to the importance of the actual text of the provision. A purpose like advancing equality or achieving fairness might motivate someone to vote for a legal text, but that motivation does not tell us what the legal provision means. Only the text itself can do that.
It appears, however, that a recent decision of the Utah Supreme Court conflated original public meaning with a search for the intent of drafters or ratifiers of parts of the constitution. Perhaps that is why the judge in the Utah Fits All program lawsuit has asked the attorneys to provide evidence of the intent of the public when it voted on the provision of the state constitution that allows tax funds to be used to support public schools and to âsupport children.â (Read More)
News Releases
Utah consumer sentiment remains unchanged in January
Utahâs consumer sentiment was unchanged at 91.3 in January, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Instituteâs Survey of Utah Consumer Sentiment. A similar survey conducted by the University of Michigan measured a decline in sentiment among Americans as a whole during the same time (from 74.0 to 71.1, or 3.9% decline).
âThis marks the second consecutive month of the highest level of consumer sentiment among Utah residents in over three years,â said Phil Dean, chief economist at the Gardner Institute. âUtahns appear to be weathering the moderating economy well, even in the face of uncertainty.â (Read More)
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