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SB26-157 • 2026

Determination of Town Abandonment

The act allows for a county, a landowner in the town, or a registered elector in the town to apply to the secretary of state (secretary) to determine a town is abandoned when a town: Has no board of t

Budget Elections Housing Land
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Sen. N. Hinrichsen, Sen. R. Pelton, Rep. M. Martinez, Rep. T. Winter, Sen. J. Bridges, Sen. J. Carson, Sen. M. Catlin, Sen. J. Coleman, Sen. J. Gonzales, Sen. C. Kipp, Sen. L. Liston, Sen. J. Marchman, Rep. J. Bacon, Rep. A. Boesenecker, Rep. J. Caldwell, Rep. M. Carter, Rep. M. Duran, Rep. A. Flanell, Rep. R. Keltie, Rep. M. Lindsay, Rep. B. Marshall, Rep. T. Mauro, Rep. J. McCluskie, Rep. K. Nguyen, Rep. J. Phillips, Rep. N. Ricks, Rep. E. Sirota, Rep. M. Soper, Rep. B. Titone
Last action
2026-05-26
Official status
Governor Signed
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Determination of Town Abandonment

The act allows for a county, a landowner in the town, or a registered elector in the town to apply to the secretary of state (secretary) to determine a town is abandoned when a town: Has no board of trustees or town clerk; Is unable to hold an election; and Owns or operates infrastructure critical for the treatment or delivery of water to residents.

What This Bill Does

  • The act allows for a county, a landowner in the town, or a registered elector in the town to apply to the secretary of state (secretary) to determine a town is abandoned when a town: Has no board of trustees or town clerk; Is unable to hold an election; and Owns or operates infrastructure critical for the treatment or delivery of water to residents.
  • The act authorizes the department of public health and environment to transfer up to $100,000 from the small communities water and wastewater grant fund to the department of public safety to cover the cost of operation and maintenance of a town's water system if an application for abandonment of the town has been filed with the secretary and the town has a water system that is failing or is likely to fail.
  • (Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

J.001

SEN Appropriations

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB157_J.001 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Appropriations.

  • SB157_J.001 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Appropriations.
  • SB26-157 be amended as follows: 1 Amend printed bill, page 5, before line 14 insert: 2 "SECTION 3.
  • Appropriation.
  • For the 2026-27 state fiscal year, 3 $100,000 is appropriated to the department of public safety.
L.001

SEN Local Government & Housing

Passed [*]

Plain English: SB157_L.001 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Local Government & Housing.

  • SB157_L.001 SENATE COMMITTEE OF REFERENCE AMENDMENT Committee on Local Government & Housing.
  • SB26-157 be amended as follows: 1 Amend printed bill, page 2, strike lines 9 and 10 and substitute "any town 2 government; such town may be determined to be abandoned as follows: 3 OR".
  • 4 Page 3, line 3, after "WATER" insert "TREATMENT OR" 5 Page 4, line 11, strike "HAS" and substitute "OWNS OR OPERATES".
  • 6 Page 4, line 12, after "FAIL," insert "AS DETERMINED BY THE 7 DEPARTMENT,".

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-26 Governor

    Governor Signed

  2. 2026-05-21 Governor

    Sent to the Governor

  3. 2026-05-21 House

    Signed by the Speaker of the House

  4. 2026-05-21 Senate

    Signed by the President of the Senate

  5. 2026-05-09 House

    House Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  6. 2026-05-08 House

    House Third Reading Laid Over Daily - No Amendments

  7. 2026-05-07 House

    House Second Reading Special Order - Passed - No Amendments

  8. 2026-05-07 House

    House Committee on Appropriations Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole

  9. 2026-05-05 House

    House Committee on Transportation, Housing & Local Government Refer Unamended to Appropriations

  10. 2026-04-29 House

    Introduced In House - Assigned to Transportation, Housing & Local Government

  11. 2026-04-29 Senate

    Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments

  12. 2026-04-28 Senate

    Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee

  13. 2026-04-28 Senate

    Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole

  14. 2026-04-22 Senate

    Senate Committee on Local Government & Housing Refer Amended to Appropriations

  15. 2026-04-08 Senate

    Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Local Government & Housing

Official Summary Text

The act allows for a county, a landowner in the town, or a registered elector in the town to apply to the secretary of state (secretary) to determine a town is abandoned when a town:
Has no board of trustees or town clerk;
Is unable to hold an election; and
Owns or operates infrastructure critical for the treatment or delivery of water to residents.
The act authorizes the department of public health and environment to transfer up to $100,000 from the small communities water and wastewater grant fund to the department of public safety to cover the cost of operation and maintenance of a town's water system if an application for abandonment of the town has been filed with the secretary and the town has a water system that is failing or is likely to fail.
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)