HB491 Midterm Vacancy Bill Unanimously Passes House

Photo on Heraldextra.com.  Thursday Oct. 27, 2011.

When Rep. John Dougall heard about the way the Orem City Council had chosen a new mayor last year, he decided to try to make sure it didn't happen again.

And so House Bill 491 was born. It was unanimously approved on Friday by the House, and now moves on to the Senate with only four full business days left in the session. Billy Hesterman Daily Herald

 "HB 491 requires a municipality and local school board to interview potential appointees in a public meeting; prohibits the discussion of filling a midterm vacancy in a closed meeting; and. . . . .HB 491 Text

In 2011 Orem City Council interviewed applicants to replace the mayor in a closed meeting and then the council selected Evans to be the city's new mayor in a closed meeting.  HB 491 will prohibit that from happening in the future.

Dougall said he’s carrying the legislation on behalf of a local newspaper whose editors were concerned about the city councils’ actions. Dougall was lambasted at the end of the 2011 Legislature for sponsoring HB477, a bill aimed at reforming the decades-old GRAMA.  Bob Bernick Utah Pulse.com