H.B. 379

1

WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICTS -
2 TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS
3 2000 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: Carl W. Duckworth
6 AN ACT RELATING TO SPECIAL DISTRICTS; MAKING TECHNICAL CHANGES TO
7 REFLECT PREVIOUS REPEAL OF STATUTORY LANGUAGE.
8 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
9 AMENDS:
10 17A-2-1404, as last amended by Chapters 13 and 368, Laws of Utah 1998
11 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
12 Section 1. Section 17A-2-1404 is amended to read:
13 17A-2-1404. Establishment of district -- Petition -- Effect of defects.
14 (1) Before any water conservancy district is established under this part, a petition must be
15 filed in the clerk's office of the court vested with jurisdiction in a county in which all or part of the
16 lands within the proposed water conservancy district are situated.
17 (2) A petition for the establishment of a water conservancy district situated in a single
18 county must be signed by the following number of owners of land within the county and within
19 the proposed district:
20 (a) not fewer than 20% of the owners of land outside the limits of any incorporated city
21 or town; and
22 (b) not fewer than 5% of the owners of land within the limits of each incorporated city or
23 town.
24 (3) A petition for the establishment of a water conservancy district situated in more than
25 one county must be signed by the following number of owners of land within each county and
26 within the proposed district:
27 (a) not fewer than 10%, or 500, whichever is less, of the owners of land outside the limits

28 of any incorporated city or town; and
29 (b) not fewer than 5% of the owners of land within the limits of each incorporated city or
30 town.
31 (4) The property identification number of each tract of land that is owned by a petitioner
32 and is within the proposed water conservancy district must be listed opposite the petitioner's name.
33 (5) (a) If a petitioner signs a petition, both as owner of land situated within and outside a
34 municipality, the petitioner's name shall be counted only as an owner of land situated outside a
35 municipality.
36 (b) A signing petitioner is not permitted to withdraw his name after the petition is filed.
37 (6) A district may not be formed under this part unless the taxable value of land within the
38 proposed district, together with improvements on the land, exceeds $500,000.
39 (7) The petition shall set forth:
40 (a) the proposed name of the district;
41 (b) that property within the proposed district will be [benefited by the accomplishment of
42 the purposes enumerated in Section 17A-2-1403 ] benefitted by conserving, developing, and
43 stabilizing supplies of water for domestic, irrigation, power, manufacturing, and other beneficial
44 uses;
45 (c) a general description of the purpose of the contemplated improvement and of the
46 territory to be included in the proposed district;
47 (d) a general designation of the district's divisions and the number of directors proposed
48 for each division; and
49 (e) a request to organize the district by the name proposed.
50 (8) The description of a water conservancy district's territory, as set forth in the petition,
51 need not be given by metes and bounds or by legal subdivisions, but it must be sufficiently detailed
52 to enable a property owner to ascertain whether his property is within the territory proposed to be
53 organized as a district.
54 (9) The territory of a proposed water conservancy district:
55 (a) may include area within an existing water conservancy district; and
56 (b) need not be contiguous, provided it is so situated that the organization of a single
57 district for the territory described is calculated to promote [one or more of the purposes enumerated
58 in Section 17A-2-1403 ] the conservation, development, or stabilizing of supplies of water for

59 domestic, irrigation, power, manufacturing, or other beneficial uses.
60 (10) (a) No petition with the requisite signatures may be declared void because of alleged
61 defects, but the court may permit the petition to be amended to conform to the facts by correcting
62 any errors in the description of the territory or other errors.
63 (b) Similar petitions or multiple copies of the same petition:
64 (i) may be filed and together shall be regarded as one petition; and
65 (ii) if filed prior to the hearing on the first petition, shall be considered by the court to be
66 filed with the first petition.
67 (11) In determining whether the requisite number of landowners have signed or are
68 considered to have signed the petition, the court shall be governed by the names as they appear
69 upon the tax roll, which is prima facie evidence of land ownership.
70 (12) All provisions of this part that establish, govern, or state the requirements and
71 procedure for the creation of a water conservancy district:
72 (a) are superseded by the provisions of Title 17B, Chapter 2, Part 2, Creation of Local
73 Districts, with respect to the creation of a water conservancy district; and
74 (b) remain valid to the extent they establish, govern, or state the requirements or procedure
75 for the organization of a subdistrict.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-10-00 10:11 AM

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

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel