17-52-204 - County or district attorney review of proposed optional plan -- Conflict with statutory or constitutional provisions -- Processing of optional plan after attorney review.
17-52-204. County or district attorney review of proposed optional plan -- Conflictwith statutory or constitutional provisions -- Processing of optional plan after attorneyreview.
(1) Within 10 days after the study committee submits its report under Subsection17-52-303(3)(d) to the county legislative body recommending a change in the form of countygovernment, the county clerk shall send to the county attorney of the county in which theoptional plan is proposed or, if the county does not have a county attorney, to the district attorneya copy of each optional plan recommended by the study committee in its report under Subsection17-52-303(3)(d).
(2) Within 45 days after receipt of the recommended optional plan from the county clerkunder Subsection (1), the county or district attorney shall send a written report to the county clerkcontaining the information required under Subsection (3).
(3) Each report from the county or district attorney under Subsection (2) shall:
(a) state the attorney's opinion as to whether implementation of the optional plan asprepared by the study committee would result in a violation of any applicable statutory orconstitutional provision;
(b) if the attorney concludes that a violation would result:
(i) identify specifically each statutory or constitutional provision that would be violatedby implementation of the optional plan as prepared by the study committee;
(ii) identify specifically each provision or feature of the proposed optional plan thatwould result in a statutory or constitutional violation if the plan is implemented as prepared bythe study committee;
(iii) state whether, in the attorney's opinion, any of the provisions or features identified inSubsection (3)(b)(ii) are so integral to the proposed optional plan that having previously changedthe specified provision or feature to avoid the violation would have affected the decision of astudy committee member who favored the proposed optional plan; and
(iv) if all the provisions or features identified in Subsection (3)(b)(ii) do not meet thestandard of Subsection (3)(b)(iii), recommend how the proposed optional plan may be modifiedto avoid the statutory or constitutional violation.
(4) (a) If the attorney's statement under Subsection (3) identifies provisions or featuresunder Subsection (3)(b)(ii) that meet the standard of Subsection (3)(b)(iii), the proposed optionalplan may not be the subject of a resolution or petition under Subsection 17-52-206(1), except thatthe study committee may modify the optional plan to avoid the violation and then file a newreport under Subsection 17-52-303(3)(d) that will be treated as any other report under thatsubsection.
(b) If the attorney's statement under Subsection (3) identifies provisions or features underSubsection (3)(b)(ii) that do not meet the standard of Subsection (3)(b)(iii), the optional plan maybe modified by the study committee to avoid the statutory or constitutional violations and then bethe subject of a resolution or petition under Subsection 17-52-206(1).
(5) If the attorney's statement under Subsection (3) does not identify any provisions orfeatures of the proposed optional plan that, if implemented, would violate a statutory orconstitutional provision, the proposed optional plan may be the subject of a resolution or petitionunder Subsection 17-52-206(1).
Amended by Chapter 241, 2001 General Session