S.B. 30

1

ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT OF
2 UTAH TRANSIT AUTHORITY
3 1997 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: Millie M. Peterson
6 AN ACT RELATING TO SPECIAL DISTRICTS; REQUIRING THE ELECTION OF CERTAIN
7 PUBLIC TRANSIT DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS; PROVIDING FOR
8 NOMINATING PROCEDURES; PROVIDING FOR TRANSITION AND ELECTION
9 PROCEDURES; PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TRANSIT DISTRICT
10 REGIONS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
11 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
12 AMENDS:
13 17A-2-1038, as last amended by Chapter 224, Laws of Utah 1995
14 ENACTS:
15 17A-2-1038.1, Utah Code Annotated 1953
16 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
17 Section 1. Section 17A-2-1038 is amended to read:
18 17A-2-1038. Board of directors -- Selection -- Appointment -- Qualifications --
19 Quorum -- Compensation -- Terms.
20 (1) (a) All powers, privileges, and duties vested in any incorporated district shall be
21 performed by a board of directors.
22 (b) The board may delegate the exercise of any duty to any of the offices created under this
23 part.
24 (2) Members of the board of directors shall be selected as follows:
25 (a) If 200,000 people or less reside within the district boundaries, the board of directors
26 shall consist of directors appointed by the legislative bodies of each municipality, county, or
27 unincorporated area within any county on the basis of one director for each full unit of regularly

1 scheduled passenger routes proposed to be served by the district in each municipality or
2 unincorporated area within any county in the following calendar year.
3 (b) The number of service miles comprising a unit shall be determined jointly by the
4 legislative bodies of the municipalities or counties comprising the district.
5 (c) Directors shall be appointed and added to the board or omitted from the board at the
6 time scheduled routes are changed, or as municipalities, counties, or unincorporated areas of
7 counties annex to or withdraw from the district using the same appointment procedures.
8 (d) Municipalities, counties, and unincorporated areas of counties in which regularly
9 scheduled passenger routes proposed to be served by the district in the following calendar year is
10 less than a full unit, as defined in Subsection (a), may combine with any other similarly situated
11 municipality or unincorporated area to form a whole unit and may appoint one director for each
12 whole unit formed.
13 (3) [(a)] If more than 200,000 people reside within the district boundaries, the board of
14 directors shall [consist of:] be selected as provided in Section 17A-2-1038.1.
15 [(i) one director appointed by each entire county within the district;]
16 [(ii) one director appointed by each municipality or combination of municipalities annexed
17 to the district that:]
18 [(A) are located inside a county where the entire county did not incorporate into the district
19 as an entire county; and]
20 [(B) have a population of at least 26,000 people who reside within the district; and]
21 [(iii) one additional director for each 120,000 people who reside:]
22 [(A) within the county, municipality, or combination of municipalities; and]
23 [(B) within the district.]
24 [(b) (i) Directors representing counties shall be designated and appointed by the county
25 executive with the consent and approval of the county legislative body.]
26 [(ii) the county legislative body may confer with mayors within the county.]
27 [(c) Directors representing a municipality or combination of municipalities shall be
28 designated and appointed by the chief executive officer of the municipality or municipalities with
29 the consent of the legislative body of the municipality or municipalities.]
30 [(d) The appointment of directors shall be made without regard to partisan political
31 affiliation from among citizens in the community.]

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1 [(e) Population shall be determined by the official United States Census, or, with the
2 consent of the district, any other census agreed upon by the legislative bodies of the municipalities
3 or counties comprising the district.]
4 [(f) Each director shall be a bona fide resident of the municipality, county, or
5 unincorporated area or areas which the director is to represent for at least six months before the
6 date of appointment, and must continue in that residency to remain qualified to serve as a
7 director.]
8 [(g) (i) Except the initial directors, the terms of office of the directors shall be three years
9 or until their successors are appointed and qualified.]
10 [(ii) At the first meeting of the initial directors, the directors shall designate by the drawing
11 of lots 1/3 of their number to serve for one-year terms, 1/3 for two-year terms, and 1/3 for
12 three-year terms.]
13 [(iii) A director may not be appointed for more than two successive full terms.]
14 [(iv) Vacancies shall be filled by the official appointing the member creating the vacancy
15 for the unexpired term, unless the official fails to fill the vacancy within 60 days.]
16 [(v) If the appointing official does not fill the vacancy within 60 days, the board of
17 directors of the authority shall fill the vacancy.]
18 [(h)] (4) Each director may cast one vote on all questions, orders, resolutions, and
19 ordinances coming before the board of directors.
20 [(i)] (5) A majority of all members of the board of directors are a quorum for the
21 transaction of business.
22 [(j)] (6) The affirmative vote of a majority of all directors present at any meeting at which
23 a quorum was initially present shall be necessary and, except as otherwise provided, is sufficient
24 to carry any order, resolution, ordinance, or proposition before the board of directors.
25 [(k)] (7) The district shall pay to each director:
26 [(i)] (a) an attendance fee of $25 per board or committee meeting attended, not to exceed
27 $75 in any calendar month to any director; and
28 [(ii)] (b) reasonable mileage and expenses necessarily incurred to attend board or
29 committee meetings.
30 [(l)] (8) Members of the initial board of directors shall convene at the time and place fixed
31 by the chief executive officer of the entity initiating the proceedings.

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1 [(m)] (9) Immediately upon convening, the board of directors shall elect from its
2 membership a president, vice president, and secretary who shall serve for a period of two years or
3 until their successors shall be elected and qualified.
4 [(n)] (10) At the time of a director's appointment or during a director's tenure in office, a
5 director may not:
6 [(i)] (a) hold any elected public office with the United States, the state, or any political
7 subdivision of either; or
8 [(ii)] (b) any employment, except as an independent contractor, with a county or
9 municipality within the district.
10 [(o)] (11) Each director shall:
11 [(i)] (a) take an oath of office before entering the office; and
12 [(ii)] (b) file a copy of the oath with the lieutenant governor and the secretary of the
13 district.
14 Section 2. Section 17A-2-1038.1 is enacted to read:
15 17A-2-1038.1. Election of members of board directors -- Establishment of transit
16 district regions -- Candidate qualifications -- Nominating committee duties -- Filling of
17 vacancies.
18 (1) Beginning on the first Monday in January, 1999, each public transit district serving a
19 population of more than 200,000 people shall have a board of directors consisting of 13
20 members. Those persons serving on the board of directors of the district on July 1, 1997 continue
21 as the board of directors until the first Monday in January, 1999.
22 (a) Ten members shall be elected from ten transit board regions within the public transit
23 district's boundary that are apportioned on the basis of population. Each region shall be as nearly
24 equal in population as practicable and shall be of a compact form. Every part of the district shall
25 be included in a transit board region.
26 (b) The remaining three members shall be elected as provided under Subsections (13)
27 through (18).
28 (2) (a) The board of directors shall apportion transit board regions for public transit
29 districts serving populations over 200,000 for the purpose of electing members that represent
30 regions. Before dividing the district, the board of directors shall:
31 (i) using official United States Census population figures, prepare a districting proposal,

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1 that shows the boundaries of the proposed election regions;
2 (ii) hold a public hearing or other forum to allow any interested person to provide input
3 on the proposal; and
4 (iii) revise as they consider necessary based on the input received and hold a public
5 hearing or other forum to allow any interested person to provide input on any substantial changes
6 to the proposal.
7 (b) After the initial apportionment, public transit board regions shall be apportioned by the
8 board of directors in conjunction with the decennial United States Census Bureau report and the
9 state's redistricting process as it occurs every ten years.
10 (3) (a) (i) If any area of the district is omitted from the plan established in this section,
11 inadvertently or because of the complexity of the census bureau information supplied, the county
12 clerk of the affected county, upon discovery of the omission, shall attach the area to the appropriate
13 transit board region according to Subsections (ii) and (iii).
14 (ii) If the area is surrounded by a transit board region, the area shall be attached to that
15 region.
16 (iii) If the area is contiguous to two regions, the area shall be attached to the region that
17 has the least population.
18 (b) Any attachment made under this section shall be certified in writing and filed with the
19 lieutenant governor.
20 (c) In questions of interpretation of region boundaries described in this section, the official
21 maps on file in the lieutenant governor's office shall serve as the indication of the intent in drawing
22 the transit board region boundaries.
23 (4) Following enactment of the board of directors districting plan under this section, the
24 board of directors shall file with the lieutenant governor's office official maps which accurately
25 show the boundaries of the transit board regions as established in this section.
26 (5) Each county clerk shall:
27 (a) obtain copies of the official maps for the clerk's county from the lieutenant governor's
28 office; and
29 (b) establish the voting districts within each of the transit board regions.
30 (6) The terms of the members of the board of directors shall be apportioned so that as close
31 to half of the members as possible will be voted on at each general election. The initial elected

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1 members of the board of directors shall serve two or four-year terms. Terms shall be selected by
2 lot at the first meeting of the initial elected board of directors. After terms are apportioned, except
3 for the filling of unexpired terms, the term of each member of the board of directors is four years.
4 (7) (a) A member shall:
5 (i) be and remain a registered voter in the transit board region from which the member was
6 elected; and
7 (ii) maintain his primary residence within the transit board region from which the member
8 was elected.
9 (b) Each individual who wishes to become a candidate for the board of directors shall
10 submit a written request for consideration to the nominating committee by April 30 of the year in
11 which that district will elect a member of the board of directors.
12 (8) (a) By March 31 of the year in which a member of the board of directors who
13 represents a district term expires, a nominating committee shall be appointed consisting of the
14 following three members, each to serve a one-year term:
15 (i) one member, appointed by the Utah League of Cities and Towns, who is a mayor in a
16 municipality where a vacancy will occur; and
17 (ii) two members, appointed by the Utah Association of Counties, who are county
18 commissioners in a county where a vacancy will occur.
19 (b) The nominating committee shall elect one member of the committee to serve as chair.
20 (9) (a) The chair, or another member of the nominating committee designated by the chair,
21 shall schedule and convene all nominating committee meetings.
22 (b) Any formal action by the nominating committee requires the approval of at least two
23 members.
24 (c) Members of the nominating committee shall serve without compensation, but they may
25 be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties as established by
26 the Division of Finance under Section 63A-3-107.
27 (10) The nominating committee shall:
28 (a) prepare a list of candidates for membership on the board of directors;
29 (b) ensure that the list includes appropriate background information on each candidate;
30 (c) by August 1 of each regular general election year, select two candidates for the board
31 of directors for each transit district board of directors position subject to election in that year; and

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1 (d) certify the names of the two candidates for each transit district board of directors
2 position to the lieutenant governor.
3 (11) The lieutenant governor shall:
4 (a) conduct a lottery to determine the order of the candidates' names on the ballot; and
5 (b) certify the names and order of the names to the county clerks for placement on the
6 nonpartisan section of the ballot.
7 (12) (a) If a vacancy occurs on the board of directors for any reason other than the
8 expiration of a member's term, the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall fill
9 the vacancy by appointment of a qualified member to serve out the unexpired term.
10 (b) The lieutenant governor shall issue a certificate of appointment to the appointed
11 member and certify the appointment to the board.
12 (13) By March 31 of the year in which a member of the board of directors with an at-large
13 term expires, the governor shall:
14 (a) appoint an at-large member nominating committee consisting of seven members, each
15 to serve a one-year term;
16 (b) ensure that:
17 (i) two members of the at-large member nominating committee serve as a mayor in a
18 municipality within the district;
19 (ii) two members of the at-large member nominating committee serve as a county
20 commissioner in a county within the district;
21 (iii) one member of the at-large member nominating committee is employed as a
22 professional planner in land use or transportation;
23 (iv) one member of the at-large member nominating committee is a member of the
24 Transportation Commission;
25 (v) one member of the at-large member nominating committee is a member of the public
26 at large; and
27 (vi) each member of the at-large member nominating committee is a resident of the transit
28 district and has been a resident for at least six months; and
29 (c) designate one member of the at-large member nominating committee to serve as chair.
30 (14) (a) The chair, or another member of the at-large member nominating committee
31 designated by the chair, shall schedule and convene all at-large member nominating committee

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1 meetings.
2 (b) Any formal action by the at-large member nominating committee requires the approval
3 of at least four members.
4 (c) Members of the at-large member nominating committee shall serve without
5 compensation, but they may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their
6 official duties as established by the Division of Finance under Section 63A-3-107.
7 (15) The at-large member nominating committee shall:
8 (a) prepare a list of candidates for at-large membership on the board of directors;
9 (b) ensure that candidates for at-large positions on the board of directors have experience
10 and expertise in public land use or transportation planning;
11 (c) submit a list of up to five but no fewer than three candidates for each at-large transit
12 district board of directors position to the governor by August 1; and
13 (d) ensure that the list includes appropriate background information on each candidate.
14 (16) By September 1 of each regular general election year, the governor shall:
15 (a) for each at-large transit district board of directors position subject to election in that
16 year, select two candidates for the board of directors from the lists submitted by the at-large
17 member nominating committee; and
18 (b) certify the names of the two candidates for each at-large transit district board of
19 directors position to the lieutenant governor.
20 (17) If the governor fails to select two candidates for each at-large transit district board of
21 directors position by September 1, the at-large member nominating committee shall:
22 (a) select the two candidates; and
23 (b) notify the lieutenant governor of its selections by September 15.
24 (18) The lieutenant governor shall:
25 (a) conduct a lottery to determine the order of the candidates' names on the ballot; and
26 (b) certify the names and order of the names to the county clerks for placement on the
27 nonpartisan section of the ballot.
28 Section 3. Effective date.
29 This act takes effect on July 1, 1997.


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Legislative Review Note
as of 12-3-96 2:32 PM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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