House Bill 356 is the controversial legislation requiring most counties to have fully districted council seats and redraw their district maps if they have any at-large representatives.
HB356, which Gov. Spencer Cox signed into law March 27, set a June 1 deadline for counties to form a commission to draw new boundaries.
Both Summit and Wasatch counties are subject to the new law, but Wasatch County has no plans to comply.
County Manager Dustin Grabau told KPCW “Local News Hour” host Leslie Thatcher he’s not worried.
“Technically, you’re breaking the law,” Thatcher said.
“I think that’s more of a technical matter and one that we don’t have a lot of concern about,” Grabau said.
He said the county decided not to follow the law because state leaders have promised to amend it so Wasatch County is no longer affected.
“Wasatch County hasn’t formed the committee yet, largely just because we have coordinated with multiple state officials, and they’ve assured us that they were going to amend the bill so that we don’t need to redistrict,” he said.
When Cox signed the bill, he also promised a special session to address what he called the bill’s “unintended consequences.” So far, that session hasn’t materialized.
The state legislature convened for an extraordinary session in late May, but HB356 was not on the agenda.
Grabau said he’s not aware of any consequences the county could face for flouting the law.
“We feel like, largely, it’s an exercise that would be a waste of effort for all of the mayors, all of the council and staff – and just one that we’re just not interested in right now,” he said.
He said he expects a special session in late summer or early fall.
Summit County, meanwhile, has formed its committee. It includes every mayor in the county, plus a resident of the unincorporated county and the county clerk. The mayor of Hideout is also on the committee because the Wasatch County town recently annexed 350 acres of uninhabited Summit County land.
