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House passes SB 109 to restore state engineer authority and create shareholder change process after court rulings
Summary
The House on March 14 approved the fourth substitute of SB 109, a comprehensive rewrite of water‑change application procedures that restores certain authorities to the state engineer and creates a formal path for irrigation‑company shareholders to request changes; the bill passed 61‑12 after prolonged debate over agricultural rights and due process.
The Utah House approved the fourth substitute of Senate Bill 109 on March 14, 2013, following hours of floor debate over water rights, company governance and the state engineer's authority. The bill passed 61‑12 and will be returned to the Senate for further consideration.
Sponsor Representative Snow said the bill responds to a 2011 Utah Supreme Court decision (Janssen) that limited the state engineer’s role in declaring forfeiture or nonuse during the review of change applications. "We hold that the state engineer lacks authority to declare a water right forfeited in reviewing a change application," Snow said, reading from the case and arguing the substitute restores authority in many situations while preserving judicial review.
The substitute inserts a multi‑step process intended to balance the rights of individual shareholders in…
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