Desk pounding and antics of frustration aside, a committee of lawmakers approved proposed legislation reworking the state's incorporation laws Wednesday.
The group narrowly defeated an amendment that would have current petition sponsors essentially start over.Although it failed, the move to strike a grandfather clause protecting existing incorporation efforts signaled to current petitioners their applications are perhaps not as secure as they'd like.
"I hate to see these people who have spent hours and hours" circulating petitions to start over "just because we couldn't craft a law that was sensible in the first place," said Rep. Brian R. Allen, R-Salt Lake City.
The committee's actions are in response to a Nov. 7 Utah Supreme Court ruling that called the state's existing incorporation statute inoperable and placed all future efforts on hold until the Legislature fixes the law.
"I feel it's tantamount that we protect the work that has been done," agreed Rep. Sue Lockman, R-Kearns, who spearheaded the move to rework the statute.
Her proposed legislation establishes an incorporation review committee, consisting of two county and city representatives, along with one at-large member, that would ultimately make a recommendation to county commissioners after evaluating proposed boundaries and project finances.
The draft eventually passed the legislative State and Local Affairs Committee, with one amendment from Sen. Dave Buhler, R-Salt Lake City, allowing a property owner to opt out of an incorporation when they don't receive municipal services. In effect, Buhler's actions exempt Kennecott and Alliant TechSystems from current action to incorporate Magna and Kearns.
One of the primary criticisms of the proposed legislation is that it only applies to first-class cities, those of at least pop. 700,000, essentially leaving the rest of the state in limbo.
"At this time, this is where the situation exists," Salt Lake County Commissioner Mary Callaghan said. She said other counties were presented with the draft statute but opted not to support it in favor of further consideration.
The group debated Lockman's draft for nearly three hours Wednesday, with argument punctuated by lawmakers' frustration at their unfamiliarity with the proposal.
"This is such a complicated issue, and I'm not sure we understand it," Rep. Afton Bradshaw, R-Salt Lake City, said. "I would very much like to see it pass. I'm not sure we're ready."
Others agreed, suggesting the committee simply take no action.
"We're not going to solve these problems here today - I guarantee it," Allen said. But co-chairman Rep. Jordan Tanner, R-Provo, admonished the committee about simply passing the proposal on with no opinion, suggesting it threatens the future of the incorporation reform.
At one point, Tanner told lawmakers to "get serious" and pounded his desk to bring order to room.