Senate reconsiders and adopts substitute to House Bill 53 addressing appraisal rules, telecom valuation language

The Utah Senate on the floor reconsidered and substituted House Bill 53, then approved the first substitute version that revises multi‑county appraisal trust provisions and adds a provision to address telecommunications valuations.

Senator MacKay, the floor sponsor, explained the substitute as adding an allowance to handle discrepancies in valuing telecommunications providers and their property evaluations. "If anybody that's really interested in tax policy wants to scroll down the line ... this was a policy we are adding to deal with telecommunications valuations," the sponsor said while explaining the substitute.

The bill traces to proposals to assist county appraisal processes. Senator Hankins, recounting an experience in Carbon County, described problems with an unqualified appraiser and said communities have needed professional appraisers to correct prior valuations. "They've been hiring firms to come in and pay in $100,000 to have them come and do the job that he should have been able to do," Hankins said, urging support for the bill because counties need professional help.

After floor debate and the substitute explanation, the chamber voted that First Substitute House Bill 53 pass. The clerk announced the final tally as 28 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent. The Senate will return the substitute to the House for further consideration.

The action followed an earlier sequence in which the Senate had passed the original House Bill 53, then moved to reconsider and accept a substitute that incorporated the telecommunications valuation language. The record shows the Senate moved carefully to ensure a substitute was properly adopted and that the bill's technical language matched the policy intent.

What happens next: the bill, as substituted, will be returned to the House for further consideration. The Senate’s action was procedural and legislative; no additional directives to state agencies or specific implementation dates were recorded on the floor during this session.