2007 Legislative Session

The 2007 session of the Utah Legislature started today and countless people will be watching the bills being proposed. I am particularly interested in legislation that will impact Draper specifically and municipal government in general. Over the past year I've represented Draper City on the Utah League of Cities and Towns Legislative Policy Committee so I've been able to keep up with the issues over the past year but now that the session has started I expect it to get crazy. There are many details of the legislative process that I don't completely understand so I'm about to get a crash course.

Many people have asked me to keep them updated on issues that will impact our community so I plan to post information here as the session progresses. We always need to be vigilant about bills related to municipal land use regulation, taxation and so forth but here are some of the bills and issues of particular interest to Draper.

• HB233 "Environmentally Restricted Zoning Districts" Michael Morley R-Spanish Fork. Draper has several areas that have been designated as 'environmentally sensitive' due to issues with landslides, wildlife, wetlands etc. This bill would significantly restrict a city's ability to enforce limitations on development in these areas. This bill would essentially render useless Draper's efforts to address issues in these areas. See here.
• SB30 "Creation of New School District Amendments" Carleen Walker R-Cottonwood Heights. The passage of this bill is essential to facilitate Draper's plans to join Sandy, Cottonwood Heights, Midvale and Alta to separate from Jordan School District and to form a new school district. Any legislation related to new school districts will be watched closely.
• Transit funding has been a hot topic during 2006 so it will be interesting to see what the legislature may do and what impact it may have on the plans for the Draper TRAX extension. See here.
• There has been talk of modifying a law passed last year limiting a city's ability to use its eminent domain powers for recreational trails. Draper has several trail projects that will require property acquisition so restoring this would be beneficial to Draper.
• For general municipal legislation, the ULCT published a preview of the session that you can see here. Also check out the updates on Lincoln's blog.

This is just the start. If you have any questions about any of these issues or if there is information I've overlooked, please let me know.