Energy Assessments

Utah Code tit. 11, ch. 11-42a, pt. 11-42a-P2

in effect

Utah Code § 11-42a-201 Resolution or ordinance designating an energy assessment area, levying an assessment, and issuing an energy assessment bond -- Notice of adoption.

11-42a-201. Resolution or ordinance designating an energy assessment area, levying an assessment, and issuing an energy assessment bond -- Notice of adoption. (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, and subject to the requirements of this part, at the request of a property owner on whose property or for whose benefit an improvement is being installed or being reimbursed, a governing body of a local entity may adopt an energy assessment resolution or an energy assessment ordinance that: (i) designates an energy assessment area; (ii) levies an assessment within the energy assessment area; and (iii) if applicable, authorizes the issuance of an energy assessment bond. (b) The governing body of a local entity may, by adopting a parameters resolution, delegate to an officer of the local entity, in accordance with the parameters resolution, the authority to: (i) execute an energy assessment resolution or ordinance that: (A) designates an energy assessment area; (B) levies an energy assessment lien; and (C) approves the final interest rate, price, principal amount, maturities, redemption features, and other terms of the energy assessment bonds; and (ii) approve and execute all documents related to the designation of the energy assessment area, the levying of the energy assessment lien, and the issuance of the energy assessment bonds. (c) The boundaries of a proposed energy assessment area may: (i) include property that is not intended to be assessed; and (ii) overlap, be coextensive with, or be substantially coterminous with the boundaries of any other energy assessment area or an assessment area created under Title 11, Chapter 42, Assessment Area Act. (d) The energy assessment resolution or ordinance described in Subsection (1)(a) is adequate for purposes of identifying the property to be assessed within the energy assessment area if the resolution or ordinance describes the property to be assessed by legal description and tax identification number. (2) (a) A local entity that adopts an energy assessment resolution or ordinance under Subsection (1)(a) or a parameters resolution under Subsection (1)(b) shall give notice of the adoption of the energy assessment resolution or ordinance or the parameters resolution by publishing a copy of the resolution or ordinance for the local entity's jurisdiction, as a class A notice under Section 63G-30-102, for at least 21 days. (b) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(a), a local entity is not required to make any other publication or posting of the resolution or ordinance. (3) Notwithstanding any other statutory provision regarding the effective date of a resolution or ordinance, each energy assessment resolution or ordinance takes effect on the later of: (a) the date on which the governing body of the local entity adopts the energy assessment resolution or ordinance; (b) the date of publication or posting of the notice of adoption of either the energy assessment resolution or ordinance or the parameters resolution described in Subsection (2); or (c) at a later date as provided in the resolution or ordinance. (4) (a) The governing body of each local entity that has adopted an energy assessment resolution or ordinance under Subsection (1) shall, within five days after the effective date of the resolution or ordinance, file a notice of assessment interest with the recorder of the county in which the property to be assessed is located. (b) Each notice of assessment interest under Subsection (4)(a) shall: (i) state that the local entity has an assessment interest in the property to be assessed; and (ii) describe the property to be assessed by legal description and tax identification number. (c) If a local entity fails to file a notice of assessment interest under this Subsection (4): (i) the failure does not invalidate the designation of an energy assessment area; and (ii) the local entity may not assess a levy against a subsequent purchaser of a benefitted property that lacked recorded notice unless: (A) the subsequent purchaser gives written consent; (B) the subsequent purchaser has actual notice of the assessment levy; or (C) the subsequent purchaser purchased the property after a corrected notice was filed under Subsection (4)(d). (d) The local entity may file a corrected notice if the entity fails to comply with the date or other requirements for filing a notice of assessment interest. (e) If a governing body has filed a corrected notice under Subsection (4)(d), the local entity may not retroactively collect or adjust the amount of the levy to recapture lost funds for a levy that the local entity was prohibited from collecting, if applicable, under Subsection (4)(c). Amended by Chapter 435, 2023 General Session

Utah Code § 11-42a-202 Designation of energy assessment area -- Requirements.

11-42a-202. Designation of energy assessment area -- Requirements. A local entity may not include property in an energy assessment area unless the owner of the property located in the energy assessment area provides to the local entity: (1) evidence that there are no existing delinquent taxes, special assessments, or water or sewer charges on the property; (2) evidence that the property is not subject to a trust deed or other lien on which there is a recorded notice of default, foreclosure, or delinquency that has not been cured; (3) evidence that there are no involuntary liens, including a lien on real property or on the proceeds of a contract relating to real property, for services, labor, or materials furnished in connection with the construction or improvement of the property; and (4) the written consent of each person or institution holding a lien on the property. Enacted by Chapter 470, 2017 General Session

Utah Code § 11-42A-203 Levying an assessment within an energy assessment area-- Prerequisites.

11-42A-203. Levying an assessment within an energy assessment area-- Prerequisites. (1) If a local entity designates an energy assessment area in accordance with this chapter, the local entity may: (a) levy an assessment within the energy assessment area; and (b) collect the assessment by: (i) directly billing the property owner; or (ii) inclusion on a property tax notice issued in accordance with this section and Section 59-2-1317. (2) If a local entity includes an assessment on a property tax notice as described in Subsection (1)(b) and bills for the assessment in the same manner as a property tax, the assessment constitutes a lien, is enforced, and is subject to other penalty provisions, in accordance with this chapter. (3) If a local entity includes an assessment on a property tax notice, the county treasurer shall, on the property tax notice: (a) clearly state that the assessment is for the improvement provided by the local entity; and (b) itemize the assessment separately from any other tax, fee, charge, interest, or penalty that is included on the property tax notice in accordance with Section 59-2-1317. Enacted by Chapter 470, 2017 General Session

Utah Code § 11-42a-204 Limit on amount of assessment.

11-42a-204. Limit on amount of assessment. (1) An assessment levied within an energy assessment area may not, in the aggregate, exceed the sum of: (a) the contract price or estimated contract price; (b) overhead costs not to exceed 15% of the sum of the contract price or estimated contract price; (c) an amount for contingencies of not more than 10% of the sum of the contract price or estimated contract price, if the assessment is levied before the completion of the construction of the improvements in the energy assessment area; (d) capitalized interest; or (e) an amount sufficient to fund a reserve fund. (2) A local entity may only use the proceeds of an energy assessment bond or any third-party financing to refinance or reimburse the costs of improvements authorized under this chapter if the property owner incurred or financed the costs no earlier than three years before the day on which the local entity: (a) adopts a parameters resolution; (b) adopts an energy assessment resolution or ordinance; or (c) assigns the energy assessment lien. Amended by Chapter 431, 2018 General Session

Utah Code § 11-42a-205 Installment payment of assessments.

11-42a-205. Installment payment of assessments. (1) In an energy assessment resolution or ordinance that a local entity adopts under Subsection 11-42a-201(1)(a), the governing body may provide that some or all of the assessment be paid in installments: (a) in accordance with the resolution or ordinance; and (b) over a period not to exceed 30 years from the effective date of the resolution or ordinance. (2) (a) Each governing body that adopts an energy assessment resolution or ordinance that provides for the assessment to be paid in installments shall ensure that the resolution or ordinance provides that the unpaid balance of the assessment bears interest at a fixed rate, a variable rate, or a combination of fixed and variable rates, as determined by the governing body, from the effective date of the resolution or ordinance or another date that the resolution or ordinance specifies. (b) Each governing body that adopts an energy assessment resolution or ordinance that provides for the unpaid balance of the assessment to bear interest at a variable rate shall ensure that the resolution or ordinance specifies: (i) the basis upon which the rate is to be determined from time to time; (ii) the manner in which and schedule upon which the rate is to be adjusted; and (iii) a maximum rate that the assessment may bear. (3) Interest payable on assessments may include: (a) interest on energy assessment bonds; (b) ongoing costs that the local entity incurs for administration of the energy assessment area; (c) a trustee's fees and expenses; and (d) any costs that the local entity incurs with respect to: (i) securing a letter of credit or other instrument to secure payment or repurchase of bonds; or (ii) retaining a marketing agent or an indexing agent. (4) A property owner shall pay interest imposed in an energy assessment resolution or ordinance annually or at more frequent intervals as the resolution or ordinance provides, in addition to the amount of each installment. (5) (a) At any time, a property owner may prepay some or all of the assessment levied against the owner's property. (b) A local entity may require that a prepayment of an installment include: (i) an amount equal to the interest that would accrue on the assessment to the next date on which interest is payable on a bond issued or a loan made in anticipation of the collection of the assessment; and (ii) the amount necessary, as determined by the governing body or the officer that the governing body designates, to ensure the availability of money to pay: (A) interest that becomes due and payable on a bond or loan described in Subsection (5)(b)(i); and (B) any premiums that become payable on a loan that is prepaid or on a bond that is called for redemption in order to use the money from the prepaid assessment installment. Amended by Chapter 431, 2018 General Session

Utah Code § 11-42a-206 Assessment fund -- Uses of money in the fund -- Treasurer's duties.

11-42a-206. Assessment fund -- Uses of money in the fund -- Treasurer's duties. (1) Unless a local entity has assigned an energy assessment lien to a third-party lender under Section 11-42a-302, the governing body of each local entity that levies an assessment under this part on benefitted property within an energy assessment area, or the local entity's designee, may establish an assessment fund. (2) The governing body or the local entity's designee, as applicable, shall deposit into the assessment fund all money paid to or for the benefit of the local entity from an assessment and interest on the assessment. (3) The local entity may only expend money in an assessment fund for paying: (a) local entity obligations; and (b) costs that the local entity or the local entity's designee incurs with respect to the administration of the energy assessment area. (4) (a) The treasurer of the local entity or the local entity's designee, as applicable, is the custodian of the assessment fund, subject to Subsection (4)(c)(i). (b) The treasurer of the local entity or the local entity's designee, as applicable, shall: (i) keep the assessment fund intact and separate from all other local entity funds and money; (ii) invest money in the assessment fund in accordance with Title 51, Chapter 7, State Money Management Act; and (iii) keep on deposit in the assessment fund any interest the local entity receives from the investment of money in the assessment fund and use the interest exclusively for the purposes for which the governing body or the local entity's designee established the assessment fund. (c) The treasurer of the local entity or the local entity's designee, as applicable, may: (i) arrange for a trustee bank to hold the assessment fund on behalf of the local entity; and (ii) pay money out of the assessment fund subject to Subsection (3). Enacted by Chapter 470, 2017 General Session

Source: Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel (le.utah.gov)URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title11/Chapter42A/11-42a-P2.html?v=C11-42a-P2_2017032820170328Fetched: 10/26/2026