More than 1,000 bills were introduced in the 2026 Utah Legislature’s general session, and Wasatch County municipalities are still sorting through which of the 540 bills that passed will affect operations.  Midway City Planner Katie Villani tracks the 45-day session each year. Villani said she often relies on the Utah League of Cities and Towns — a social services organization based in Salt Lake City — to determine the scale of impact certain bills will have on municipal operations.  At the start of the session, Villani observed that property taxes and affordability were recurring themes. The session’s closure has seen a shift in noteworthy topics for Villani, who noted multiple bills regarding taxation, land use and water.  House Bill 236 was introduced by Sen. Daniel McCay from Salt Lake City and Rep. Karen Peterson from Clinton, both Republicans. The bill makes truth-in-taxation amendments that will affect municipalities such as Midway and was signed by Gov. Spencer Cox on March 23. Those truth-in-taxation amendments specifically address property tax increases.  “We haven’t raised taxes in a long time, so we really haven’t gone through the truth-in-taxation process, but this bill would require earlier notice of that,” Villani said.  Before a local government can raise property taxes, the fiscal year taxing entity must state in a public meeting between May 1 and June 13 that there is a planned tax increase. The entity must also state the tax rate, the approximate dollar amount and the purpose for the additional tax.  The bill may provide more transparency in and earlier notice of truth-in-taxation processes.  One bill may affect Midway soon when it comes to land use. Senate Bill 284, sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore from Salt Lake City and Rep. Jill Koford from Weber County, both Republicans, will not yet affect Midway, because of the county’s size.  Wasatch County is currently a fourth-class county due to its size of more than 39,000 residents. But projected growth will soon launch the county into the third class, which requires a population of 40,000 or more. Becoming a third-class county means that there would be changes to financial reporting and how the county tracks municipal services.  That future classification will mean S.B. 284 will affect Midway — a fifth-class town with more than 6,000 residents. The bill from Fillmore and Koford regards local land use and water planning modifications, and it would mean that a legislative body like a city council can act on a proposed land use regulation without waiting for a recommendation from the planning commission if certain circumstances are met.  There is also a provision on structure height.  “(It) basically says that municipalities like Midway can regulate the number of habitable stories in the structure and overall height, but it makes an exception for land uses approved in applications for commercial lodging on or before Sept. 1, 2025,” Villani said.  Then there are more targeted bills that require municipalities to adopt written plans to impose water exactions. H.B. 439 modifies provisions related to the planning of future water supply. That bill was relocated to S.B. 284 and became a part of the legislation.  “Certain cities described in the legislation may not designate the city’s legislative body as an appeal authority,” Villani said. “That seems to be kind of along the trend of the state limiting local authority, which has been concerning to a lot of municipalities including Midway.”  Gov. Cox signed S.B. 284 on March 18.  “I think the most influential for a lot of cities like us is land use … and water is a big one,” Villani said.  Villani said Midway City is still digesting the hundreds of bills that passed in the 2026 legislative session. The general session ended on March 6. Updates about bills of interest to the Wasatch Back will be announced during upcoming City Council meetings. The post Midway sifts through hundreds of new state laws affecting taxes, land use and water appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less