HB 439: Water Planning Amendments - Utah

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill updates the legislative sponsors and adds a coordination clause to align with a separate Senate bill regarding local land use. It also corrects a grammatical error in the definition of a community water system and changes the specific legal citation for appeals in the county section. These are primarily technical and procedural updates rather than changes to the core policy requirements.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on water planning and exactions for municipalities, counties, and special districts, but it now explicitly coordinates with S.B. 284.

TECHNICAL

The Senate Sponsor name was changed from 'LONG TITLE' to 'Keven J. Stratton'.

A new coordination clause was added to highlight provisions, explicitly linking this bill's requirements to S.B. 284 to address overlapping mandates for counties and municipalities.

A new section in 'Other Special Clauses' was added to formally state that the bill provides coordination clauses.

A new section listing 'Utah Code Sections affected by Coordination Clause' was added, identifying specific sections in 10-20-912 and 17-79-813.

A grammatical error was corrected in the definition of a community water system, removing the redundant phrase 'pursuant toin accordance with'.

In the county section, the reference for appealing pavement width requirements was changed from a municipal statute to the correct county statute (Section 17-79-1009 instead of 10-20-1109).

Amended 3/3/2026 19:03:52 → Substitute #1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Utah's water exaction laws for municipalities, counties, and special districts to ensure they have a written water plan before requiring developers to pay for water. It adds a requirement that these entities must adopt a plan by January 1, 2028, to determine future water needs. The bill also clarifies how water interest calculations should be made, establishes a formal appeal process for pavement width disputes, and coordinates with a separate bill regarding local land use modifications.

Scope change

The scope of applicability was expanded to explicitly include special districts alongside municipalities and counties. Additionally, the bill clarifies the specific criteria and procedures for imposing water interest exactions across all three types of entities.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory requirement for municipalities, counties, and special districts to adopt a written water plan by January 1, 2028, before they can impose water interest exactions.

Modified the rules for water interest exactions to require that calculations be based on the culinary water authority's established projections, with specific criteria for when lower exactions are allowed.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a new appeal process for land use applicants to challenge municipal requirements for residential roadway pavement widths exceeding 32 feet, including the formation of a three-expert panel.

DEFINITION

Modified the definition of 'Public water supplier' in Section 73-1-4 to include specific criteria for community water systems and water user associations.

TIMELINE

Established a specific timeline where water rights held for the public's future needs are exempt from forfeiture until a written plan is adopted and the plan is implemented.

TECHNICAL

Added a coordination clause to align this bill with S.B. 284, ensuring consistent language regarding water exactions across different legislative acts.

Amended Excerpts 3/3/2026 19:03:52 → Amended 3/3/2026 19:03:52 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was updated from a draft version to a final substitute bill, replacing placeholder text with the complete legal language for water planning amendments. This version formally defines the requirements for municipalities and counties to adopt written water plans by January 1, 2028, before imposing water exactions, and establishes coordination with related legislation.

Scope change

The scope expanded from a fragmented draft to a comprehensive bill covering municipalities, counties, and special districts, with specific effective dates and coordination clauses added.

REQUIREMENT

Added full statutory text requiring entities to adopt a written water plan by January 1, 2028, to determine future water needs before charging exactions.

TIMELINE

Established specific effective dates of May 6, 2026, for the bill and January 1, 2028, for the mandatory water planning requirement.

DEFINITION

Included detailed definitions for water exactions, culinary water authorities, and reasonable future water requirements.

TECHNICAL

Removed draft annotations, placeholder text, and committee amendment markers to finalize the bill text.

Introduced → Amended Excerpts 3/3/2026 19:03:52 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to coordinate with a separate bill (S.B. 284) regarding local land use modifications. The primary change is shifting the deadline for municipalities and counties to submit a written water planning document from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2028. This amendment also clarifies the interaction between these two bills to ensure consistent implementation of water exaction rules.

TIMELINE

The required deadline for local governments to complete a written water planning document was delayed by one year, moving from January 1, 2027, to January 1, 2028.

TECHNICAL

A new section was added to explicitly coordinate this bill with S.B. 284, ensuring that provisions in both laws work together effectively.

Water Planning Amendments

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