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House approves third substitute to create local-issue task force on municipal government forms
Summary
The Utah House substituted and passed third substitute Senate Bill 41 on Feb. 28, 2007, creating a task force to reconcile conflicting statutes about municipal forms of government and delaying council ordinances establishing a manager form until the task force reports.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House on Feb. 28 substituted and approved third substitute Senate Bill 41, a measure that combines two previous task forces and directs a new local-issue task force to resolve conflicting state rules on how cities change their form of government.
Representative Tilton, the bill sponsor, said the substitute combines the task force created in SB 30 with this measure and adjusts dates related to adopting a manager form of government. Tilton urged members to “send this issue to a task force” to study the contradictory statutes and recommend clear rules.
Representative Allen offered a motion to amend the substitute by retroactively changing the effective date from Jan. 1, 2007, to Sept. 1, 2006. Allen argued, “The legislature has created a problem because we have conflicting statutes about when a city changes its form of government,” and said the earlier date would stabilize two cities that had acted after Sept. 1.
Members opposed the retroactive date change, saying it could strip citizens of referendum rights. Representative Keiser warned the amendment would “take away this referendum” and prevent city voters from deciding their form of government; Representative Wyatt said citizens of Bluffdale should be allowed to resolve the issue in their June referendum.
The House adopted technical corrections to the task-force membership (changing a listed count from 11 to 10 and another figure from 8 to 7) and then agreed to substitute the second substitute with the third substitute under suspension of the rules. Voting opened on the third substitute; the clerk reported 58 yes, 8 no, 9 absent. The bill was referred to the Senate for further consideration.
The third substitute, as explained on the floor, does not prohibit pending referendums; it prevents a city council from establishing a manager form by ordinance until the task force completes its work and reports back to the Legislature.
Next steps: The bill, as passed by the House, will be transmitted to the Senate for signature and any further action there.
