§ 63J-1-504. Fees -- Adoption, procedure, and approval -- Establishing and assessing fees without legislative approval.

(1) As used in this section:

(a)

(i) "Agency" means each department, commission, board, council, agency, institution, officer, corporation, fund, division, office, committee, authority, laboratory, library, unit, bureau, panel, or other administrative unit of the state.

(ii) "Agency" does not mean the Legislature or its committees.

(b) "Fee agency" means any agency that is authorized to establish fees.

(c) "Fee schedule" means the complete list of fees charged by a fee agency and the amount of those fees.

(2) Each fee agency shall adopt a schedule of fees assessed for services provided by the fee agency that are:

(a) reasonable, fair, and reflect the cost of services provided; and

(b) established according to a cost formula determined by the executive director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget and the director of the Division of Finance in conjunction with the agency seeking to establish the fee.

(3) Except as provided in Subsection (6), a fee agency may not:

(a) set fees by rule; or

(b) create, change, or collect any fee unless the fee has been established according to the procedures and requirements of this section.

(4) Each fee agency that is proposing a new fee or proposing to change a fee shall:

(a) present each proposed fee at a public hearing, subject to the requirements of Title 52, Chapter 4, Open and Public Meetings Act;

(b) increase, decrease, or affirm each proposed fee based on the results of the public hearing;

(c) except as provided in Subsection (6), submit the fee schedule to the Legislature as part of the agency's annual appropriations request; and

(d) where necessary, modify the fee schedule to implement the Legislature's actions.

(5)

(a) Each fee agency shall submit its fee schedule or special assessment amount to the Legislature for its approval on an annual basis.

(b) The Legislature may approve, increase or decrease and approve, or reject any fee submitted to it by a fee agency.

(6) After conducting the public hearing required by this section, a fee agency may establish and assess fees without first obtaining legislative approval if:

(a)

(i) the Legislature creates a new program that is to be funded by fees to be set by the Legislature;

(ii) the new program's effective date is before the Legislature's next annual general session; and

(iii) the fee agency submits the fee schedule for the new program to the Legislature for its approval at a special session, if allowed in the governor's call, or at the next annual general session of the Legislature, whichever is sooner;

(b) the Division of Occupational and Professional licensing makes a special assessment against qualified beneficiaries under the Residence Lien Restriction and Lien Recovery Fund Act as provided in Subsection 38-11-206(1); or

(c)

(i) the fee agency proposes to increase or decrease an existing fee for the purpose of adding or removing a transactional fee that is charged or assessed by a non-governmental third party but is included as part of the fee charged by the fee agency;

(ii) the amount of the increase or decrease in the fee is equal to the amount of the transactional fee charged or assessed by the non-governmental third party; and

(iii) the increased or decreased fee is submitted to the Legislature for its approval at a special session, if allowed in the governor's call, or at the next annual session of the Legislature, whichever is sooner.

(7)

(a) Each fee agency that wishes to change any fee shall submit to the governor as part of the agency's annual appropriation request a list that identifies:

(i) the title or purpose of the fee;

(ii) the present amount of the fee;

(iii) the proposed new amount of the fee;

(iv) the percent that the fee will have increased if the Legislature approves the higher fee;

(v) the estimated total annual revenue change that will result from the change in the fee;

(vi) the account or fund into which the fee will be deposited; and

(vii) the reason for the change in the fee.

(b)

(i) The governor may review and approve, modify and approve, or reject the fee increases.

(ii) The governor shall transmit the list required by Subsection (7)(a), with any modifications, to the Legislative Fiscal Analyst with the governor's budget recommendations.

(c) Bills approving any fee change shall be filed before the beginning of the Legislature's annual general session, if possible.

(8)

(a) Except as provided in Subsection (8)(b), the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, established in Section 53C-1-201, is exempt from the requirements of this section.

(b) The following fees of the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration are subject to the requirements of this section: application, assignment, amendment, affidavit for lost documents, name change, reinstatement, grazing nonuse, extension of time, partial conveyance, patent reissue, collateral assignment, electronic payment, and processing.

Amended by Chapter 310, 2013 General Session