Enrolled Copy H.B. 232
1 UTAH LAKE AUTHORITY
2 2022 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Brady Brammer
5 Senate Sponsor: Michael K. McKell
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill enacts provisions relating to the Utah Lake Authority.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 < creates the Utah Lake Authority;
13 < defines the status of the Utah Lake Authority and provides for the Authority's
14 purposes, powers, duties, policies, and objectives;
15 < establishes a board to govern the Utah Lake Authority and provides for board
16 membership, appointment, terms, duties, and responsibilities;
17 < authorizes the board to appoint nonvoting members, board officers, and advisory
18 committees;
19 < prohibits certain individuals from serving as a member of the board or executive
20 director and prohibits board members and the executive director from receiving
21 certain benefits;
22 < requires the authority board to adopt and implement a management plan for Utah
23 Lake;
24 < authorizes the authority to enter into an agreement for the improvement of Utah
25 Lake;
26 < provides for the hiring of an executive director, defines the executive director's role,
27 and provides for the qualifications and duties of the executive director;
28 < requires the attorney general to provide legal services to the lake authority;
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29 < provides a process for the adoption and amendment of a project area plan and a
30 project area budget;
31 < provides for the Utah Lake Authority to be paid certain sales tax revenue and other
32 sources of revenue, and provides for the allowable uses of revenue;
33 < authorizes the Utah Lake Authority to issue bonds and includes provisions related to
34 bonds;
35 < requires the Utah Lake Authority board to adopt an annual budget and provides a
36 process for preparing and adopting or amending a budget;
37 < requires the Utah Lake Authority to provide reports and requires the Authority to
38 comply with audit requirements; and
39 < provides limits on the dissolution of the Utah Lake Authority and requirements if a
40 dissolution occurs.
41 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
42 None
43 Other Special Clauses:
44 None
45 Utah Code Sections Affected:
46 AMENDS:
47 59-12-205, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 281
48 63J-1-602.2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapters 179, 344, 412, 421, and
49 424
50 ENACTS:
51 11-65-101, Utah Code Annotated 1953
52 11-65-102, Utah Code Annotated 1953
53 11-65-103, Utah Code Annotated 1953
54 11-65-201, Utah Code Annotated 1953
55 11-65-202, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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56 11-65-203, Utah Code Annotated 1953
57 11-65-204, Utah Code Annotated 1953
58 11-65-205, Utah Code Annotated 1953
59 11-65-206, Utah Code Annotated 1953
60 11-65-301, Utah Code Annotated 1953
61 11-65-302, Utah Code Annotated 1953
62 11-65-303, Utah Code Annotated 1953
63 11-65-304, Utah Code Annotated 1953
64 11-65-305, Utah Code Annotated 1953
65 11-65-306, Utah Code Annotated 1953
66 11-65-401, Utah Code Annotated 1953
67 11-65-402, Utah Code Annotated 1953
68 11-65-403, Utah Code Annotated 1953
69 11-65-404, Utah Code Annotated 1953
70 11-65-405, Utah Code Annotated 1953
71 11-65-501, Utah Code Annotated 1953
72 11-65-502, Utah Code Annotated 1953
73 11-65-503, Utah Code Annotated 1953
74 11-65-504, Utah Code Annotated 1953
75 11-65-505, Utah Code Annotated 1953
76 11-65-506, Utah Code Annotated 1953
77 11-65-601, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78 11-65-602, Utah Code Annotated 1953
79 11-65-603, Utah Code Annotated 1953
80 11-65-604, Utah Code Annotated 1953
81 11-65-605, Utah Code Annotated 1953
82 11-65-606, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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83 11-65-701, Utah Code Annotated 1953
84
85 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
86 Section 1. Section 11-65-101 is enacted to read:
87 CHAPTER 65. UTAH LAKE AUTHORITY ACT
88 Part 1. General Provisions
89 11-65-101. Definitions.
90 As used in this chapter:
91 (1) "Adjacent political subdivision" means a political subdivision of the state with a
92 boundary that abuts the lake authority boundary or includes lake authority land.
93 (2) "Board" means the lake authority's governing body, created in Section 11-65-301.
94 (3) "Lake authority" means the Utah Lake Authority, created in Section 11-65-201.
95 (4) "Lake authority boundary" means the boundary:
96 (a) defined by recorded boundary settlement agreements between private landowners
97 and the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands; and
98 (b) that separates privately owned land from Utah Lake sovereign land.
99 (5) "Lake authority land" means land on the lake side of the lake authority boundary.
100 (6) "Management" means work to coordinate and facilitate the improvement of Utah
101 Lake, including work to enhance the long-term viability and health of Utah Lake and to
102 produce economic, aesthetic, recreational, environmental, and other benefits for the state,
103 consistent with the strategies, policies, and objectives described in this chapter.
104 (7) "Management plan" means a plan to conceptualize, design, facilitate, coordinate,
105 encourage, and bring about the management of the lake authority land to achieve the policies
106 and objectives described in Section 11-65-203.
107 (8) "Nonvoting member" means an individual appointed as a member of the board
108 under Subsection 11-65-302(6) who does not have the power to vote on matters of lake
109 authority business.
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110 (9) "Project area" means an area that is identified in a project area plan as the area
111 where the management described in the project area plan will occur.
112 (10) "Project area budget" means a multiyear projection of annual or cumulative
113 revenues and expenses and other fiscal matters pertaining to a project area.
114 (11) "Project area plan" means a written plan that, after the plan's effective date,
115 manages activity within a project area within the scope of a management plan.
116 (12) "Public entity" means:
117 (a) the state, including each department, division, or other agency of the state; or
118 (b) a county, city, town, metro township, school district, local district, special service
119 district, interlocal cooperation entity, community reinvestment agency, or other political
120 subdivision of the state.
121 (13) "Publicly owned infrastructure and improvements":
122 (a) means infrastructure, improvements, facilities, or buildings that:
123 (i) benefit the public; and
124 (ii) (A) are owned by a public entity or a utility; or
125 (B) are publicly maintained or operated by a public entity;
126 (b) includes:
127 (i) facilities, lines, or systems that provide:
128 (A) water, chilled water, or steam; or
129 (B) sewer, storm drainage, natural gas, electricity, energy storage, renewable energy,
130 microgrids, or telecommunications service; and
131 (ii) streets, roads, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, walkways, solid waste facilities, parking
132 facilities, and public transportation facilities.
133 (14) "Sovereign land" means land:
134 (a) lying below the ordinary high water mark of a navigable body of water at the date
135 of statehood; and
136 (b) owned by the state by virtue of the state's sovereignty.
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137 (15) "Utah Lake" includes all waters of Utah Lake and all land, whether or not
138 submerged under water, within the lake authority boundary.
139 (16) "Voting member" means an individual appointed as a member of the board under
140 Subsection 11-65-302(2).
141 Section 2. Section 11-65-102 is enacted to read:
142 11-65-102. Severability.
143 If a court determines that any provision of this chapter, or the application of any
144 provision of this chapter, is invalid, the remainder of this chapter shall be given effect without
145 the invalid provision or application.
146 Section 3. Section 11-65-103 is enacted to read:
147 11-65-103. Nonlapsing funds.
148 Money the lake authority receives from legislative appropriations is nonlapsing.
149 Section 4. Section 11-65-201 is enacted to read:
150 Part 2. Utah Lake Authority
151 11-65-201. Creation of Utah Lake Authority -- Status and purposes.
152 (1) Under the authority of Utah Constitution, Article XI, Section 8, there is created the
153 Utah Lake Authority.
154 (2) The lake authority is:
155 (a) an independent, nonprofit, separate body corporate and politic, with perpetual
156 succession;
157 (b) a political subdivision of the state; and
158 (c) a public corporation, as defined in Section 63E-1-102.
159 (3) (a) The statewide public purpose of the lake authority is to work in concert with
160 applicable federal, state, and local government entities, property owners, owners of water
161 rights, private parties, and stakeholders to encourage, facilitate, and implement the
162 management of Utah Lake.
163 (b) The duties and responsibilities of the lake authority under this chapter are beyond
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164 the scope and capacity of any local government entity, which has many other responsibilities
165 and functions that appropriately command the attention and resources of the local government
166 entity, and are not functions of purely local concern but are matters of regional and statewide
167 concern, importance, interest, and impact, due to multiple factors, including:
168 (i) the importance and benefit to the region and state of a healthy, vibrant, and
169 ecologically sound Utah Lake; and
170 (ii) the enormous potential for regional and statewide economic, aesthetic,
171 environmental, recreational, and other benefit that can come from the management of Utah
172 Lake.
173 (c) The lake authority is the mechanism the state chooses to focus resources and efforts
174 on behalf of the state to ensure that the regional and statewide interests, concerns, and purposes
175 described in this Subsection (3) are properly addressed from more of a statewide perspective
176 than any local government entity can provide.
177 (4) (a) The lake authority supplants and replaces the Utah Lake Commission,
178 established by interlocal agreement.
179 (b) The Utah Lake Commission shall:
180 (i) cooperate with the lake authority to transition, as soon as practicable, Utah Lake
181 Commission functions to the lake authority, to the extent consistent with this chapter; and
182 (ii) take all necessary actions to dissolve the Utah Lake Commission no later than May
183 1, 2023.
184 (c) The lake authority may, by majority vote of the board, succeed to the position of the
185 Utah Lake Commission in any contract in which the Utah Lake Commission is a party.
186 (d) (i) As part of the transition from the Utah Lake Commission to the lake authority,
187 the lake authority shall offer an employee of the Utah Lake Commission employment with the
188 lake authority in the same or a comparable position and with the same or comparable
189 compensation as the employee had as an employee of the Utah Lake Commission.
190 (ii) Subsection (4)(d)(i) may not be construed to affect the at-will status of an
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191 individual who becomes an employee of the lake authority.
192 (e) After the authority board is constituted, an advisory or technical committee
193 established by the Utah Lake Commission shall continue to function under the direction of the
194 board as a subcommittee of the lake authority until the board modifies or discontinues the
195 subcommittee.
196 Section 5. Section 11-65-202 is enacted to read:
197 11-65-202. Lake authority powers and duties.
198 (1) (a) The lake authority has land use authority over publicly owned land within the
199 lake authority boundary.
200 (b) The lake authority shall work with other government entities with jurisdiction over
201 sovereign land and the watershed affecting Utah Lake water to improve the quality of water
202 flowing into and out of Utah Lake, subject to and consistent with Title 19, Environmental
203 Quality Code, and Title 73, Water and Irrigation.
204 (c) The lake authority may make recommendations and provide advice to an adjacent
205 political subdivision relating to issues affecting both the lake authority and the adjacent
206 political subdivision.
207 (d) The lake authority has no jurisdictional control or power over:
208 (i) another political subdivision, except as provided in an agreement between the lake
209 authority and the other political subdivision;
210 (ii) the regulation of water quality;
211 (iii) water rights;
212 (iv) water collection, storage, or delivery;
213 (v) a project for water collection, storage, or delivery; and
214 (vi) water facilities that the lake authority does not own.
215 (2) The lake authority may coordinate the efforts of all applicable state and local
216 government entities, property owners, owners of water rights, and other private parties, and
217 other stakeholders to:
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218 (a) develop and implement a management plan for Utah Lake, including:
219 (i) an environmental sustainability component, developed in conjunction with the
220 Department of Environmental Quality and the Division of Wildlife Resources incorporating
221 strategies and best management practices to meet applicable federal and state standards,
222 including:
223 (A) water quality monitoring and reporting; and
224 (B) strategies that use the best available technology and practices to mitigate
225 environmental impacts from management and uses on Utah Lake;
226 (ii) strategies that enhance the aesthetic qualities and recreational use and enjoyment of
227 Utah Lake; and
228 (iii) strategies that enhance economic development in communities adjacent to Utah
229 Lake;
230 (b) plan and facilitate the management of Utah Lake uses; and
231 (c) manage any land owned or leased by the lake authority that is not sovereign land.
232 (3) The lake authority has primary responsibility and authority for the management of
233 Utah Lake, subject to and in accordance with this chapter.
234 (4) The lake authority may:
235 (a) engage in education efforts to encourage and facilitate:
236 (i) the improvement of water and environmental quality;
237 (ii) the use of Utah Lake for recreation;
238 (iii) the improvement of economic development on Utah Lake; and
239 (iv) other management of Utah Lake consistent with the policies and objectives
240 described in Subsection (2);
241 (b) facilitate and provide funding for the management of Utah Lake, including the
242 development of publicly owned infrastructure and improvements and other infrastructure and
243 improvements on or related to Utah Lake;
244 (c) engage in marketing activities and efforts to encourage and facilitate management
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245 of Utah Lake;
246 (d) as determined by the board appropriate to accomplish or further the policies and
247 objectives described in Subsection (2):
248 (i) take all necessary actions to acquire any grants or other available funds from federal
249 or other governmental or private entities, including providing matching funds;
250 (ii) award grants of lake authority funds; or
251 (iii) provide waivers of financial obligations to the lake authority;
252 (e) as the lake authority considers neces