SALT LAKE CITY — Groups from the right and the left united to oppose a bill creating a new agency to oversee big development projects in the state.
Senate Bill 337, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, creates the "Beehive Development Agency," which he described as coordinating between government entities and overseeing major development projects in the state. It would also oversee some big housing efforts in the state.
"Utah needs to enhance its ability to respond quickly and efficiently to significant economic development opportunities," Sen. Cullimore said Monday in a hearing on the bill before the Senate Economic Development Committee. "That could be a wide variety of things. It could be potentially a nuclear plant, it could be large manufacturing or really grand-scale mixed-use developments."
The bill had the backing of Governor Spencer Cox's office. But activists, advocates and even government groups lined up to oppose it. Some complained the bill stepped all over local officials' ability to plan their communities.
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"Confidence and trust in the legislature is at an all time low, and I think this bill will tip a lot of people over the edge," said Maryann Christensen of Utah Legislative Watch. "It’s too much of a power grab."
Cristy Henshaw, the chair of the Utah County Republican Party, blasted the bill as "a merger of state and corporate power." The Utah Eagle Forum said the bill was being rushed through on the final week of the legislative session with no clear understanding of the agency's implications.
Zach Frankel, the head of the Utah Rivers Council, said the bill potentially could push through controversial water projects harming the Great Salt Lake.
"We only have six more days to stop this essentially communist bill which creates a central government entity to hijack taxes, which enjoys taxation without representation because none of its members will be elected into office," he said. "It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat, everyone should oppose this bill."
But Sen. Cullimore did modify the bill to preserve some local control (but once a local government agency gives consent to a project, they cannot take it back).
"A major concern for us is the preemption of local control," said Brandy Grace, the CEO of the Utah Association of Counties. "We feel like elected county officials, local officials know their communities at best."
Sen. Cullimore said he was willing to keep negotiating on the bill. That earned enough votes to clear the Senate committee. SB337 advanced on a close 3-2 vote.
"I feel like we need to have the opportunity to keep it moving and get it in the right place because I really do believe it’s important to the future of Utah," said Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, the committee's chair.
The bill now moves to the full Senate for a vote. Given that it is the final week of the legislative session, it is unlikely the bill will get another hearing. Instead, it's expected to be voted on by the House of Representatives under a suspension of the rules.
