KAYSVILLE — In what seemed an unusual turn of events, Dewey Reagan, President of Reagan Outdoor Advertising, assured the Davis Chamber Legislative Affairs Committee on Wednesday that he would agree to amend HB272 to exclude Legacy Parkway. The bill has created concern over the possibility billboards and scenic byway status of the parkway.

“This bill didn’t have anything to do with Legacy,” said Reagan. “Our industry’s issue is not with Legacy but other areas.”

Reagan explained how the bill came about after a property owner in Naples, Utah, requested one of his signs be moved.

“We got permission from the city of Naples to move the sign,” Reagan said. “But when we went to UDOT we were told we couldn’t move it because it was a Scenic Byway and had not been segmented for commercial use.”

After surveying the road, Reagan discovered the stretch of byway encompassed a large area and went through some heavily commercial sites.

“We tried to get the Scenic Byway Committee to look at it, but they wouldn’t even put us on the agenda to discuss the issue,” he said. “It was very frustrating to us as a business. We got very concerned that the committee has no elected official oversight but were empowered to make the decisions on whether to segment. Many businesses (besides Reagan) are affected by this.”

Reagan insisted the purpose of the legislation was to revise the oversight of the committee and make it possible to segment areas that are not scenic.

“We never considered Legacy,” said Reagan. “It’s unique and much different than US 40 going through Vernal. I personally surveyed all of our signs to see if we could move them onto Legacy and we cannot. I’m currently looking at an amendment that exempts out Legacy given its unique nature.”

However, some concern remained over the bill. “Obviously to exempt Legacy is great for us but there are many byways throughout the state,” said Kaysville Mayor Neka Roundy.

The committee voted to oppose the bill as currently written.

Another controversial bill, HB122, involving the GRAMA laws (public access to government records) has also surfaced.

“Who likes to have an invasive dental procedure?” asked Vaughn Jacobsen with the Ogden Standard Examiner. “Nobody likes to be investigated (either). But it is part of the civic dialog. It (GRAMA) is a time=tested process that shows no abuses.”

Jacobsen said the bill seeks to limit access to records by adding the words, “anticipated and pending” litigation. Like going to the dentist, Jacobsen said it is for the good of the whole to have the work done whether one likes it or not.

“This is a restriction on the press who keeps public officials working in the public’s best interest,” he said. “We need that tool in the toolbox. The Attorney General’s Office doesn’t want anybody second guessing anything they’re working on.”

Committee member and attorney Todd Weiler agreed the language in the bill isn’t satisfactory.

“I’ve seen this from all angles, and if nothing more we need to get the ‘anticipated’ language out,” said Weiler. “It is too broad. It is almost a ‘Big Brother’ who can say, ‘we anticipate’ litigation. I oppose it just on that word.”

The committee voted to oppose HB122.

Chris Williams from the Davis School District asked for support of his bill, HB66 which would equalize the funding for education across the state.

“It is timely and very appropriate for the state to equalize funding,” said Williams. “Ask yourself, should your children or grandchildren have less funding just because of where you’ve chosen to live?”

The committee unanimously voted to support HB66 and will meet with legislators on Capitol Hill Thursday.