Cox’s order comes after an announcement from Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s office over the weekend confirming that a coalition of labor groups gathered enough signatures to qualify for a referendum, which is when voters choose to enact or repeal legislation during an election.

HB267 was already on hold after Henderson’s office announced in May that county clerks around the state had processed and certified enough signatures. On Saturday, Henderson signed a letter officially declaring the requirements to qualify for a referendum had been met.

One of the most controversial bills passed during the 2025 legislative session, HB267 prevents public unions from collective bargaining, the process where unions meet with employers to negotiate a contract or terms of employment. That means a teachers union would no longer be allowed to negotiate an employment contract with a school district. The same goes for firefighters, police officers, municipal workers and other public employees.

Lawmakers said the bill would protect taxpayer dollars while giving all public employees a voice, not just union members. If a teachers union only represents one third of the employees in a school district, it shouldn’t be able to negotiate employment contracts on behalf of everyone, said the bill sponsors, Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, and Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy.

But the bill outraged the state’s unions, both public and private, arguing it made workplaces less safe and stripped public employees of their right to advocate. That opposition morphed into the Protect Utah Workers coalition, which consisted of groups like the Utah Education Association, the Professional Firefighters of Utah and the Utah Fraternal Order of Police.

After the legislative session ended in March, the coalition began collecting signatures for a referendum.

Qualifying for a ballot referendum in Utah requires gathering signatures from at least 8% of the active voters in the state, meaning about 141,000 people. That 8% threshold must also be met in at least 15 of the state’s 29 Senate districts.

Those signatures must be gathered in 30 days, making Utah’s requirements some of the most stringent of any state that allows referendums.

On April 16, the coalition announced it had submitted 320,000 signatures to county clerks across the state, which they say is the most signatures ever gathered for a referendum in Utah. By April 28, data showed that the coalition would likely qualify to put a referendum on the ballot.

According to data from the lieutenant governor’s office, 251,274 signatures have been confirmed as of May 9. The 8% threshold was also met in 23 of 29 Senate districts.

Per Utah code, if enough signatures are confirmed, the referendum is then put on the ballot for the general election — but since it’s an off year, Cox had the choice to either declare a special election, or direct the referendum to be put on hold until the next general election.

Cox chose the latter, meaning voters will decide during statewide midterm elections on Nov. 3, 2026.

The Utah Education Association, a statewide teachers union, called the step a major victory for public workers.

“You stood in the rain, snow and heat. You gave up weekends, evenings and even spring break to gather signatures and educate voters,” said the association’s president, Renée Pinkney. “You showed up for your students, your colleagues and your communities, and you made history.”

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.