§ 17B-1-506. Withdrawal petition requirements.

(1) Each petition under Section 17B-1-504 shall:

(a) indicate the typed or printed name and current address of each owner of acre-feet of water, property owner, registered voter, or authorized representative of the governing body signing the petition;

(b) separately group signatures by municipality and, in the case of unincorporated areas, by county;

(c) if it is a petition signed by the owners of land, the assessment of which is based on acre-feet of water, indicate the address of the property and the property tax identification parcel number of the property as to which the owner is signing the request;

(d) designate up to three signers of the petition as sponsors, or in the case of a petition filed under Subsection 17B-1-504(1)(a)(iv), designate a governmental representative as a sponsor, and in each case, designate one sponsor as the contact sponsor with the mailing address and telephone number of each;

(e) state the reasons for withdrawal; and

(f) when the petition is filed with the local district board of trustees, be accompanied by a map generally depicting the boundaries of the area proposed to be withdrawn and a legal description of the area proposed to be withdrawn.

(2)

(a) The local district may prepare an itemized list of expenses, other than attorney expenses, that will necessarily be incurred by the local district in the withdrawal proceeding. The itemized list of expenses may be submitted to the contact sponsor. If the list of expenses is submitted to the contact sponsor within 21 days after receipt of the petition, the contact sponsor on behalf of the petitioners shall be required to pay the expenses to the local district within 90 days of receipt. Until funds to cover the expenses are delivered to the local district, the district will have no obligation to proceed with the withdrawal and the time limits on the district stated in this part will be tolled. If the expenses are not paid within the 90 days, or within 90 days from the conclusion of any arbitration under Subsection (2)(b), the petition requesting the withdrawal shall be considered to have been withdrawn.

(b) If there is no agreement between the board of trustees of the local district and the contact sponsor on the amount of expenses that will necessarily be incurred by the local district in the withdrawal proceeding, either the board of trustees or the contact sponsor may submit the matter to binding arbitration in accordance with Title 78B, Chapter 6, Part 2, Alternative Dispute Resolution Act; provided that, if the parties cannot agree upon an arbitrator and the rules and procedures that will control the arbitration, either party may pursue arbitration under Title 78B, Chapter 11, Utah Uniform Arbitration Act.

(3) A signer of a petition may withdraw or, once withdrawn, reinstate the signer's signature at any time before the public hearing under Section 17B-1-508 by submitting a written withdrawal or reinstatement with the board of trustees of the local district in which the area proposed to be withdrawn is located.

(4) If it reasonably appears that, if the withdrawal which is the subject of a petition filed under Subsection 17B-1-504(1)(a)(i) or (ii) is granted, it will be necessary for a municipality to provide to the withdrawn area the service previously supplied by the local district, the board of trustees of the local district may, within 21 days after receiving the petition, notify the contact sponsor in writing that, before it will be considered by the board of trustees, the petition shall be presented to and approved by the governing body of the municipality as provided in Subsection 17B-1-504(1)(a)(iv) before it will be considered by the local district board of trustees. If the notice is timely given to the contact sponsor, the petition shall be considered to have been withdrawn until the municipality files a petition with the local district under Subsection 17B-1-504(1)(a)(iv).

(5)

(a) After receiving the notice required by Subsection 17B-1-504(2), unless specifically allowed by law, a public entity may not make expenditures from public funds to support or oppose the gathering of signatures on a petition for withdrawal.

(b) Nothing in this section prohibits a public entity from providing factual information and analysis regarding a withdrawal petition to the public, so long as the information grants equal access to both the opponents and proponents of the petition for withdrawal.

(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a public official from speaking, campaigning, contributing personal money, or otherwise exercising the public official's constitutional rights.

Amended by Chapter 297, 2011 General Session