Utah: Measure To Ban Police Service Fee Passes

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Utah House has passed a bill that would prohibit police and fire service districts from imposing a fee instead of a property tax increase.

House Bill 226 passed Tuesday on a 54-17 vote. Republican Rep. Wayne Harper of West Valley says it would make a police fee in Salt Lake County illegal.

The fee instituted last year requires businesses in the unincorporated area to pay a service fee based on the size of the business.

It brings in about $10 million to the county.

Harper described the fee as a back-door way to raise revenue without raising taxes.

But Democratic House Minority Leader David Litvack of Salt Lake City calls voiding the fee an attempt by state government to usurp local governmental control.