AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.

Water planning requirements for local governments, which affect when cities, counties, and special districts can require developers to hand over water rights as a condition of building approval, would be updated under this bill. Starting January 1, 2028, a municipality, county, or special district would be barred from imposing a "water exaction" — a requirement that a developer provide water interests before a project is approved — unless it has completed a written plan documenting the community's reasonable future water needs over the next 40 years; currently, no such written plan is explicitly required before imposing this kind of exaction. The state engineer would be required to create official rules setting standards for these plans, covering factors such as population growth estimates, drought impacts, risks from natural disasters or climate change, water conservation efforts, and per-capita water use, and these rules would have to be shared with legislative committees before taking effect. The bill also includes a coordination clause ensuring that if a related bill, S.B. 284, also passes, both bills' water exaction rules for counties and cities will line up consistently under the same numbering and requirements.