Council Visits the Legislature

The Utah State Legislature kicked off the 2013 session earlier this week. The Provo City Council is actively monitoring proposed legislation and is working with various legislators during this year’s legislative session.  Members of the Council met with several legislators yesterday at a lunch sponsored by the Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT).  

The Council works together with the ULCT and the Mayor’s office to advocate increased control over local government and other issues that may affect Provo.  Several key issues the Council is watching this year include a proposed bill affecting the iProvo utility fee, a change in towing regulations, and Provo's long-established water rights.  A summary of these key issues and related bills is included below.  

 

Issue	Supports Local Control	Bill	Bill Title	Sponsor	Status	Intent
iProvo	Unfavorable	HB 273	Municipal Telecommunications Amendments	K Grover	House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst 1/23/2013	This bill amends provisions related to a rate charged by a municipality for cable television or public telecommunication service.
Towing	Favorable	No #	NA	K Stratton	Not yet filed	To provide municipalities greater flexibility in deciding their own towing regulations
Water	Unfavorable	HB 29	Adjudication of Water Rights	J Briscoe	House/ 2nd reading/ suspension 1/28/2013	This bill makes changes to the procedure for a general adjudication of water rights under Title 73, Water and Irrigation.

Realizing that the legislative process can take months and even years, the Provo City Council is proactively reaching out to various legislators to prepare for the 2014 legislative session.  Among those issues the Council is preparing for include:

·         Road Funding – additional state gas tax allocation

·         Ability to earmark property tax through Truth-in-Taxation for specific city funds

·         Special sales tax levy for areas like Downtown

You can find your legislator’s contact information and follow what’s happening at the Legislature at www.le.utah.gov.

For a complete list of other bills ULCT is following you can visit their tracking page by clicking here.