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Utah House approves county-option sales tax for open-space preservation after heated debate
Summary
The House passed second substitute H.B.125 to allow counties to place a local sales tax for open-space and agricultural preservation, 41–33, after extensive floor amendments and argument over statewide election timing and urban/rural allocation splits.
SALT LAKE CITY — After hours of debate over how to balance rural and urban priorities, the Utah House of Representatives on March 1 approved second substitute House Bill 125, a county-option sales tax measure that would let counties ask voters to add a local sales and use tax to finance open-space and agricultural preservation projects.
Representative Evan Olson, the bill’s sponsor on the floor, moved the measure back onto the House calendar and said members should expect significant amendments. Representative Dan Becker then offered two floor amendments. One would set a single statewide election date so all counties vote on the measure at the same time; the other would recalibrate how revenue is split between agricultural lands and other open lands to make the program workable for urban counties. Becker said the allocation changes were designed so “people in Davis County won't have a different date than people in Salt Lake County” and to make the program usable in both urban and rural parts of the state.
Opponents pressed the House on whether the Legislature should compel counties to hold a vote on a fixed date. Representative Hatch argued that the amendment would remove local discretion, telling the House such a requirement would “prevent them from … determining when and where that takes place.” Other members warned a single date would force counties that are not ready to run confusing or poorly planned campaigns.
The House voted down the proposed allocation amendment (Amendment No. 9) and the uniform-date amendment (Amendment No. 11). Representative Brown later offered an amendment exempting counties with 80% or more public land from the measure; that amendment passed. Other proposals — including language permitting earlier local opt-outs and changes to local board makeup — were debated but did not survive.
After amendments and floor debate that repeatedly divided rural and urban members on priorities and local control, the measure passed on final vote, 41–33, and was sent to the Senate for further action. Supporters said the tax would give counties a tool to preserve tracts of open land and fund watershed and habitat projects. Opponents warned it would add to Utah’s patchwork of local sales taxes and questioned whether the Legislature should set election timing or program detail for counties.
Next steps: the bill will go to the Senate for consideration. If enacted, counties that opt in would put the local tax question to voters under the law’s final language.
