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Senate advances bill to make water‑right owners the voting constituency for local districts
Summary
Senator Stoll’s SB10 would change local district election and petition rules so water‑right owners (rather than property owners) are those who petition and vote; it also requires districts to acknowledge dust‑control plans. The Senate voted 26‑0 to place the bill on third reading.
Senator Stoll presented Senate Bill 10 as a cleanup measure aimed at correcting an oversight from last year’s legislation and ensuring that local districts formed to address over‑appropriated water basins assess water‑right owners rather than property owners.
"Over appropriation of water means that there's more water rights been issued than, there is water available, actual physical water," Stoll said, describing the problem in portions of his district and across Salt Lake County. He said the only practical way to address the imbalance is to buy back water rights where necessary and that local districts are one mechanism for doing so where no other organization exists.
SB10 would change the petition and election process so that notices and elections are conducted among water‑right owners, not property owners, and add a requirement that a district acknowledge how it will control dust on land it manages. Stoll framed the changes as necessary to make sure the parties who benefit or are assessed are the water‑right holders.
The motion to read SB10 for a third time passed on a roll call vote of 26 yeas, 0 nays and 3 absentees; the bill was placed on the third‑reading calendar.
The bill’s sponsors and the record noted estimates of over‑appropriation: Stoll referenced about 200,000 acre‑feet in Salt Lake County and roughly 40,000 acre‑feet in parts of Escalante Valley. Those figures were presented in the floor explanation and were not independently verified in the transcript.
Next steps: SB10 was placed on third reading for a future floor vote; sponsors and members may return with amendments or additional information before final passage.
