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Committee backs resolution to remove bracketed amendment titles from printed Utah Constitution
Summary
The committee unanimously recommended a joint committee bill to direct legislative counsel to stop including bracket marks around titles in the published constitution and to publish amendment titles without brackets beginning in 2026.
The Senate/House Judiciary Interim Committee on Oct. 28, 2025 unanimously recommended a committee bill asking legislative counsel to remove bracketed titles that accompany article and section numbers in published versions of the Utah Constitution.
Andrea Valente Arthur of the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel told the committee that bracketed titles were first added in the 1960s and later became part of the ballot presentation; because the legislature and voters have voted on titles, the resolution asks the office to publish the constitution and future amendments without bracket marks to better reflect those votes.
Valente Arthur said the joint resolution would direct the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to update online and printed publications and to prepare constitutional amendment language for the 2026 session without bracketed titles. Senator Brammer moved that the committee recommend the measure as a committee bill; the motion passed unanimously.
Why it matters: The change is technical and editorial in nature, but supporters said removing brackets would align the published constitution with the substance approved by voters and the legislature.
