Several bills have been proposed for debate in the 2011 Utah Legislature beginning Jan. 24 aimed at aiding or protecting business. The text of these bills can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
More liquor licenses
Rep. Gage Froerer, R -Huntsville, is proposing House Bill (HB) 42 to decrease the number of bar and tavern liquor licenses in order to create more restaurant licenses.
Bars are just places for drinking, but restaurants hire a lot of people and contribute to the vitality of their areas, he explained Monday.
“I call it an economic development bill, I don’t think of it as an alcohol bill,” he said. “It’s a job-creation bill.”
Several places in Park City would benefit from this. New restaurants say patrons walk in, and then walk straight out if they don’t serve alcohol.
This exact bill was proposed last year but the Legislature did not have time to move it completely through, he said.
Better use of transfer fees
Froerer is in the real estate business and lives near Snowbasin. Being familiar with the practices of resort developers, he passed legislation last year to direct transfer fees the money developers charge unit owners when they transfer the deeds of their property to homeowner associations.
These fees are added to contracts to allow developers to make money on real estate sales long after the project is complete, Froerer said. Some are even converted into financial products and sold on the open market. Believing this is wrong, last year he passed a bill to direct that money into improvement and maintenance of the development instead of the developer’s pocket.
This year Froerer is proposing HB 42 to allow that money to go to some other not-for-profit group to improve the larger community, if wished. If the bill passes, transfer fees could be used to help create or maintain public parks in the area, or maybe a community swimming pool.
Lower property tax fees
People late on paying personal property tax are assessed a fee. Last year Froerer modified the interest rate on that fee, and this year he is proposing to amend the amount with HB190. If his bill is passed, the fees will resemble real property delinquency fees and instead of a minimum of $100, delinquent tax payers would only have a minimum fine of $25.
Clarification on water shares
Sen. Ralph Okerlund, R-Monroe, is head of the natural resources, agriculture and environment committee. He said canal companies asked him to sponsor Senate Bill (SB) 25.
When shares in a water company are split up among family members or sold, certificates are not always created for or transferred to new owners. This has caused big problems when absentee water share owners try to prove ownership.
“We’re trying to simplify the process so canal companies can reissue shares lost with new certificates and have a record keeping process to make sure they’re not giving out more shares than there is water,” he said.
Summit County is home to several canal companies.
Making it easier to sell a business
Sen. Ben McAdams, D-Salt Lake City, was a corporate securities attorney. He said colleagues have informed him that one of he quirks of Utah’s business law is that if a major business decision needs to be made and there is not unanimous written consent from all shareholders, a 10-day cooling off period is required.
McAdams said that in today’s fast-moving business environment, important dealings, like the sale of a business, can fall through during that time. As a result, some corporations are forming in Nevada instead of Utah to avoid that restriction. SB 95 would eliminate the need for that cooling off period.
Protecting investors from fraud
When investors suspect they have been caught up in a fraudulent scheme, they have one of two options: blow a whistle on the culprit and lose the money invested, work something out with the culprit or wait to see if the scheme succeeds in returning their investment.
Considering these options, it makes more financial sense to not notify the authorities. McAdams is proposing SB100 to provide a reward to the first person who reports possible fraud. This financial incentive to reporting a crime will hopefully stop schemes before they ensnare large numbers of people, he said.
To monitor who attracts investors in Utah, the state requires people to have a license unless they work with 10 or fewer clients and do not have an office. McAdams is also proposing SB98 to clarify that they must be licensed in another state if they meet these requirements to be unlicensed in Utah.
He is also proposing SB101 to put harsher punishments on people committing securities fraud if they know they are taking someone’s retirement money, someone’s equity on their primary residence, if the victim is a vulnerable adult or if they take advantage of a relationship of trust to get the money.
“It’s an attempt to target affinity fraud,” he explained.
Foreclosure mediation requirement
McAdams said he’s heard of lenders who refuse to even communicate with borrowers struggling to pay their mortgage.
He is currently writing a bill to create a Foreclosure Mediation Program that would require someone of influence at the lending institution to at least meet with the borrower before foreclosing.
The bill will not require the two parties come to an agreement, but it will mandate that they at least sit face to face to discuss the problem, he said.
“Right now (home) buyers are having a hard time even knowing who to talk to,” he said.