Loretta Park

It's the tale of two bills in the quest to rectify how towns are incorporated.

Both want to stop incorporation of towns, similar to what is happening in the Powder Mountain area. Many Ogden Valley residents are upset they do not have a voice or a choice in becoming a town.

House Bill 164, sponsored by Rep. Mel Brown, R-Coalville, was unanimously approved by the House floor. It now heads to the Senate for further consideration.

Senate Bill 25, sponsored by Sen. Dennis Stowell, R-Parowan, was unanimously approved by the House Political Subdivision Committee and now heads for the House floor.

Stowell is co-sponsoring Brown's bill and Brown is co-sponsoring Stowell's bill.

Both are in response to House Bill 466, which was sponsored by Brown last session and changed how a town could be incorporated.

"This bill changes my faux pas from last year," Brown said.

Stowell said he would prefer to have Brown's bill become law.

Both bills requires at least five property owners to sign a petition, which is filed with the county clerk.

Both prohibit the filing of a petition if the petition signers own more than 40 percent of the land in the area.

Brown's bill requires another petition to be filed that has the signatures of at least 50 percent of the registered voters.

Stowell's bill also requires a petition to be filed, but it has to have the signatures of the majority of registered voters.

Brown's bill goes into effect if two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate approve it.

Stowell's bill did the same before committee meeting, but Rep. Gage Froerer, R-Huntsville, made an amendment that he called "The Powder Mountain Amendment." It pushes the effective date to Jan. 1, 2008.