It’s been a slow start on Capitol Hill, from the perspective of the County Courthouse, but county officials are keeping a watchful eye with one month left in the Utah legislative session.
Summit County’s legislative team – composed of Deputy County Manager Janna Young, County Councilors Malena Stevens and Chris Robinson, as well as the county clerk, assessor, recorder, auditor, health director, and more – has been monitoring several bills since the 2023 general session began on Jan. 17. But unlike past years, the group’s been forced to primarily take a wait-and-see approach
“We’re hearing a lot of rumblings of various bills, but haven’t seen a lot yet. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I’m hoping they won’t just introduce things at the last minute and we have no time to react to them,” Young told the Summit County Council on Wednesday.
Summit County last year was the target of a last-minute provision added to H.B. 462, which required certain cities and counties to adopt a moderate-income housing plan by Oct. 1. Young noted that new legislation is building upon the affordable housing bill.
Around 70% of those that submitted moderate-income housing plans were deemed deficient by the state’s Housing and Community Development Division, prompting the Legislature to consider options to clear up confusion around the process and help various entities become compliant, Young said. She indicated state officials were likely to take a punitive approach.
S.B. 174, sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, would charge non-compliant municipalities a fee of around $250 a day starting in 2024. The Utah Association of Counties has advocated for creating an appeal process, which was included in H.B. 364, sponsored by Rep. Stephen L. Whyte, R-Mapleton. The legislation would create an appeal board and allow a city or county to plead its case.
Young said there are still opportunities for amendments and substitutions.
County officials last spring questioned whether they would meet the requirements of the law, which forced them to include a Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone, or HTRZ, at Kimball Junction as a strategy to promote affordable housing.
The County Council in September adopted a moderate-income housing plan, and included an HTRZ as a strategy, though officials added conditions to prevent it from immediately being created. However, S.B. 84, sponsored by Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, includes a provision linking the HTRZ requirement to TIF funding, and penalties for noncompliance.
The legislation “would cure the loophole that’s in the law,” according to Dave Thomas, the county’s chief civil deputy attorney. He said the legislative team planned to continue monitoring other bills related to land use.
Young said the legislative team has also been following H.B. 291, a short-term rental bill sponsored by Rep. Calvin Mussleman, R-West Haven. Eve Furse, the county’s clerk, requested several amendments to the bill that a lobbyist hired by Summit County will work to add to the legislation.
One such change would require short-term rentals to report sales and use tax by exact location rather than zip code, which would help county staffers better track taxes in the Snyderville Basin compared to Park City to ensure they’re going to the right place as well as help identify unlicensed nightly rentals.
County Councilor Malena Stevens has supported Summit County’s participation in a pilot program about short-term rentals as it has the highest percentage of such rentals in the state. Young said it makes sense for Summit County to participate and help influence future policy decisions. Staffers planned to research the topic further before returning for a discussion with the County Council.
Lastly, S.B. 76 is a water amendment bill that addresses saving the Great Salt Lake. The legislation requires the county’s planning commissions to consult with the Utah Division of Water Resources on water elements in the general plan. It could also convert several local water districts into regional entities. Young said the county is supportive of saving the crucial waterway but wants to better understand the impacts it would have locally.
Bills about sustainability, land use, public infrastructure, annexation and local control will also be closely monitored by the county’s legislative team until the general session ends on March 3.
Visit le.utah.gov/~2023/2023.HTM to follow along with the Utah Legislature.