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S.B. 117

             1     

EMINENT DOMAIN AMENDMENTS

             2     
2006 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Chief Sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson

             5     
House Sponsor: David Ure

             6     
             7      LONG TITLE
             8      General Description:
             9          This bill modifies provisions related to eminent domain.
             10      Highlighted Provisions:
             11          This bill:
             12          .    requires the taking of property by a county, city, or town to be approved by the
             13      legislative body of the county, city, or town;
             14          .    requires the governing body of a political subdivision intending to take property by
             15      eminent domain to provide written notice to property owners of each public meeting
             16      to approve the taking and allow property owners the right to be heard regarding the
             17      proposed taking;
             18          .    modifies the duty to negotiate with a property owner and the duty to notify the
             19      property owner of certain rights and limitations with respect to an anticipated
             20      eminent domain action; and
             21          .    clarifies that those duties apply to each person seeking to acquire property involving
             22      the potential use of eminent domain if the property cannot be acquired in a
             23      voluntary transaction.
             24      Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
             25          None
             26      Other Special Clauses:
             27          None

             28      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             29      AMENDS:
             30          78-34-4, as last amended by Chapter 161, Laws of Utah 1981
             31          78-34-4.5, as enacted by Chapter 223, Laws of Utah 2004
             32     
             33      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             34          Section 1. Section 78-34-4 is amended to read:
             35           78-34-4. Conditions precedent to taking.
             36          (1) Before property can be taken it must appear:
             37          [(1)] (a) that the use to which it is to be applied is a use authorized by law;
             38          [(2)] (b) that the taking is necessary to such use;
             39          [(3)] (c) that construction and use of all property sought to be condemned will
             40      commence within a reasonable time as determined by the court, after the initiation of
             41      proceedings under this chapter; and
             42          [(4)] (d) if already appropriated to some public use, that the public use to which it is to
             43      be applied is a more necessary public use.
             44          (2) Property may not be taken by a county, city, or town unless the legislative body of
             45      the county, city, or town approves the taking.
             46          (3) (a) As used in this Subsection (3), "governing body" means:
             47          (i) for a county, city, or town, the legislative body of the county, city, or town; and
             48          (ii) for any other political subdivision of the state, the person or body with authority to
             49      govern the affairs of the political subdivision.
             50          (b) Before voting to approve the taking of property, the governing body of each
             51      political subdivision intending to take property shall provide written notice to each owner of
             52      property to be taken of each public meeting of the political subdivision's governing body at
             53      which a vote on the proposed taking is expected to occur and allow the property owner the
             54      opportunity to be heard on the proposed taking.
             55          Section 2. Section 78-34-4.5 is amended to read:
             56           78-34-4.5. Negotiation and disclosure required before eminent domain action.
             57          Each person who seeks to acquire property by eminent domain or who intends to use
             58      eminent domain to acquire property if the property cannot be acquired in a voluntary

             59      transaction shall:
             60          (1) before voting to approve the taking of property or initiating an eminent domain
             61      action, make a reasonable effort to negotiate with the property owner for the purchase of the
             62      property; and
             63          (2) as early in the negotiation process under Subsection (1) as practicable but no later
             64      than 14 days before [the] voting to approve the taking of property or filing [of] an eminent
             65      domain action, unless the court for good cause allows a shorter period before filing:
             66          (a) advise the property owner of the owner's rights to mediation and arbitration under
             67      Section 78-34-21 , including the name and current telephone number of the property rights
             68      ombudsman, established in Section 63-34-13 ; and
             69          (b) provide the property owner a written statement explaining that oral representations
             70      or promises made during the negotiation process are not binding upon the person seeking to
             71      acquire the property by eminent domain.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 10-18-05 11:27 AM

Based on a limited legal review, this legislation has not been determined to have a high
probability of being held unconstitutional.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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