MINUTES OF THE
SENATE NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE, AND ENVIRONMENT STANDING COMMITTEE
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 • 2:00 p.m. • 415 State Capitol


Members Present:
Sen. Margaret Dayton, Chair
Sen. Allen M. Christensen
Sen. David P. Hinkins
Sen. Jani Iwamoto
Sen. Peter C. Knudson
Sen. Evan J. Vickers
Sen. Brian Zehnder

Staff Present:
Mr. J Brian Allred, Policy Analyst
Ms. Paula Morgan, Committee Secretary

Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.

Chair Dayton called the meeting to order at 2:07 PM.
1. S.B. 50 Animal Shelter Amendments (Knudson, P.)
Sen Knudson presented the bill.
Gene Baierschmidt, Executive Director, Humane Society of Utah, spoke in favor of the bill.
John Ziegler, citizen, Critical Care Anesthesiologist, spoke in favor of the bill.
Rep. LaVar Christensen spoke in favor of the bill.
Sundays Hunt, Utah State Director, United States Humane Society, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION: Sen. Iwamoto moved to pass S.B. 50 out favorably. The motion failed with a vote of 3-4-0.
Yeas - 3Nays-4Abs-0
Sen. J. Iwamoto
Sen. P. Knudson
Sen. B. Zehnder
Sen. A. Christensen
Sen. M. Dayton
Sen. D. Hinkins
Sen. E. Vickers
Sen. Hinkins assumed the chair.
2. S.B. 69 State Sovereign Lands Amendments (Dayton, M.)
Sen. Dayton presented the bill
Jason Curry, Public Information Officer, Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands, explained the bill.
MOTION: Sen. Dayton moved to pass S.B. 69 out favorably. The motion passed with a vote of 7-0-0.
Yeas - 7Nays-0Abs-0
Sen. A. Christensen
Sen. M. Dayton
Sen. D. Hinkins
Sen. J. Iwamoto
Sen. P. Knudson
Sen. E. Vickers
Sen. B. Zehnder
3. S.B. 61 Water Rights Adjudication Amendments (Dayton, M.)
Sen. Dayton presented the bill.
John Maybe, Attorney, Executive Water Task Force, explained the bill.
MOTION: Sen. Dayton moved to replace S.B. 61 with 1st Substitute S.B. 61. The motion passed with a vote of 6-0-1.
Yeas - 6Nays-0Abs-1
Sen. A. Christensen
Sen. M. Dayton
Sen. D. Hinkins
Sen. J. Iwamoto
Sen. P. Knudson
Sen. B. Zehnder
Sen. E. Vickers
Kent Jones, State Engineer, Utah Division of Water, spoke in favor of the bill.
Amanda Mendenhall, Utah Association of Realtors, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION: Sen. Dayton moved to pass 1st Substitute S.B. 61 out favorably. The motion passed with a vote of 7-0-0.
Yeas - 7Nays-0Abs-0
Sen. A. Christensen
Sen. M. Dayton
Sen. D. Hinkins
Sen. J. Iwamoto
Sen. P. Knudson
Sen. E. Vickers
Sen. B. Zehnder
John Maybe, Attorney, acknowledged contributions of Dallin Jensen who recently passed away.
4. S.B. 45 Water Law Amendments -- Diligence Claims (Dayton, M.)
John Maybe, Water Attorney, explained the bill.
Kent Jones, State Engineer, spoke in favor of the bill.
Sterling Brown, Utah Farm Bureau, spoke in favor of the bill.
Randy Parker, State Director, USDA Rural Development, spoke in favor of the bill.
Greg Fabiano, Utah Association of Realtors, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION: Sen. Dayton moved to pass S.B. 45 out favorably. The motion passed with a vote of 5-0-2.
Yeas - 5Nays-0Abs-2
Sen. M. Dayton
Sen. D. Hinkins
Sen. J. Iwamoto
Sen. E. Vickers
Sen. B. Zehnder
Sen. A. Christensen
Sen. P. Knudson
Sen. Dayton resumed the chair.
5. S.B. 96 Canal Amendments (Hinkins, D.)
Sen. Hinkins presented the bill
MOTION: Sen. Hinkins moved to amend S.B. 96 with Amendment #1. The motion passed with a vote of 6-0-1.
Amendment 1
S.B. 96
Page 4, Lines 103 through 106 
103
                (e) (i) The property owner and government entity, or other condemning entity, may agree
104
        in advance of arbitration that the arbitration is binding and that no de novo review may occur.
(ii) The private property owner and facility owner of a water conveyance facility, as described in Section 73-1-15.5, may agree in advance of arbitration that the arbitration is binding and that no de novo review may occur.
105
                (f) Arbitration by or through the Office of the Property Rights Ombudsman is not
106
        necessary before bringing legal action to adjudicate any claim.

Page 5, Line 149 through Page 6, Line 156 
149
                (1) As used in this section:
150
                (a) "Facility owner" means an individual, entity, mutual water company, or
151
        unincorporated organization :
        (i) operating { or owning: } a water conveyance facility;
152
                { (i) } (ii) owning any interest in a water conveyance facility; or
153
                { (ii) } (iii) having a property interest in { which } real property based on the presence of the water conveyance facility { operates } located and operating on the real property .
154
                (b) (i) "Water conveyance facility" means a ditch, canal, flume, pipeline, or other
155
        watercourse used to convey water used for irrigation and any related easement for the ditch,
156
        canal, flume, pipeline, or other watercourse.

Yeas - 6Nays-0Abs-1
Sen. A. Christensen
Sen. M. Dayton
Sen. D. Hinkins
Sen. J. Iwamoto
Sen. E. Vickers
Sen. B. Zehnder
Sen. P. Knudson
Lynn Pace, Utah League of Cities and Towns, spoke to the bill.
Mike Ostermiller, Utah Association Realtors, spoke to the bill.
David Spatafore, Holladay City, spoke in favor of the bill.
Mark Stratford, Assistant Attorney, Ogden City, spoke in favor of the bill.
Sterling Brown, Utah Farm Bureau, spoke in favor of the bill.
Brent Bateman, Property Rights Ombudsman, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION: Sen. Hinkins moved to pass S.B. 96 out favorably. The motion passed with a vote of 6-0-1.
Yeas - 6Nays-0Abs-1
Sen. A. Christensen
Sen. M. Dayton
Sen. D. Hinkins
Sen. J. Iwamoto
Sen. E. Vickers
Sen. B. Zehnder
Sen. P. Knudson
MOTION: Sen. Christensen moved to adjourn at 3:35PM. The motion passed with a vote of 6-0-1.
Yeas - 6Nays-0Abs-1
Sen. A. Christensen
Sen. M. Dayton
Sen. D. Hinkins
Sen. J. Iwamoto
Sen. E. Vickers
Sen. B. Zehnder
Sen. P. Knudson