AI-generated summary, reviewed by Better Utah staff.

Utah already has a process allowing residents to petition for the creation of a new county, and this bill updates those rules in several important ways. It adds a new pathway that lets a city or town government (called a "petitioning municipality") formally kick off the county-formation process by passing a resolution — but only if that municipality, or a group of municipalities acting together, represents at least one-third of the county's population, and only in counties with more than one million residents. The resolution must explain how the proposed new county could afford to run basic county services and how the county being split would still remain functional. Before any election can be held, the existing county must commission a detailed feasibility study examining costs, population trends, and financial impacts on both the new and remaining county — and the petitioning municipality must pay for that study. The bill also protects large rural landowners (those with 1,500 or more contiguous acres) and property in agricultural, mining, or industrial protection areas, allowing that land to stay in the existing county unless the owner consents to joining the new one; clarifies that both counties share the original county's debts until they work out a formal agreement; and requires the new county to keep transportation sales taxes at the same rate as the county it came from. The practical effect is felt most directly in Salt Lake County, which is the only Utah county currently over one million residents, meaning cities like Salt Lake City, West Jordan, or Sandy could now initiate a county split through their city councils rather than relying on a grassroots voter petition drive.