10-2-701.  Petition for disincorporation — Validity — Certification of petition signatures — Removal of signature — District court order for election.

(1)  Disincorporation of a municipality shall be initiated upon petition.

Terms Used In Utah Code 10-2-701

  • Governing body: means collectively the legislative body and the executive of any municipality. See Utah Code 10-1-104
  • Municipality: means :
(a) a city of the first class, city of the second class, city of the third class, city of the fourth class, city of the fifth class;
(b) a town, as classified in Section 10-2-301; or
(c) a metro township as that term is defined in Section 10-2a-403 unless the term is used in the context of authorizing, governing, or otherwise regulating the provision of municipal services. See Utah Code 10-1-104
  • Signature: includes a name, mark, or sign written with the intent to authenticate an instrument or writing. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
    • (2)  The petition shall bear signatures equal in number to 25% of all votes cast from the municipality at the last congressional election.

    (3)  No signature is valid, for purposes of this section, unless it is that of a registered voter who is a resident of the municipality proposed for disincorporation.

    (4)  The petition containing the specified number of signatures shall be filed with the county clerk for validation by that officer.

    (5)  Within 21 days after the day on which the county clerk receives a petition, the county clerk shall:

    (a)  use the procedures described in Section 20A-1-1002 to determine whether the petition satisfies the requirements of Subsection (2); and

    (b)  certify on the petition whether each name is that of a registered voter from the municipality.

    (6) 

    (a)  A voter who signs a petition under this section may have the voter’s signature removed from the petition by, no later than three business days after the day on which the petition is filed with the county clerk, submitting to the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter’s signature be removed.

    (b)  A statement described in Subsection (6)(a) shall comply with the requirements described in Subsection 20A-1-1003(2).

    (c)  The county clerk shall use the procedures described in Subsection 20A-1-1003(3) to determine whether to remove an individual’s signature from a petition after receiving a timely, valid statement requesting removal of the signature.

    (7)  If the county clerk finds the petition valid, the clerk shall file the original with the district court and furnish a copy to the governing body of the municipality.

    (8)  The district court, upon determining that the petition comports with Section 10-2-701.5 and that it does not offend Section 10-2-710 and is otherwise complete, shall order that the question of dissolution be placed before the voters of the municipality.

    Amended by Chapter 116, 2023 General Session

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