Climate Utah update - Legislative news
- Tom Moyer
- Feb 22
- 2 min read
Great Salt Lake bills are moving forward with bipartisan support. Rep. Koford's HB348 and HB410 both passed committee unanimously. Both help facilitate getting agricultural water to the lake. Rep. Okerlund's HB328 - Water Usage Modifications limits spray irrigation in new construction to help reduce municipal water use. It passed committee 7-2 and heads to the House floor. This would be a good one to contact House members on to ask them to vote yes.
Sen. Blouin's SB250 - Great Salt Lake Amendments would move $200 million from the Water Infrastructure Restricted Account (used for water development projects like the Bear River Project) and redirects it to the Great Salt Lake account to buy or lease water rights for the lake. This bill was held in the Senate Natural Resources Committee for further discussion. If your Senator is on that committee, it would be great to let them know you want the bill to be heard again.
There was a brief attempt to use Rep. Albrecht's HB328 - Utah Energy Generation and Transmission Planning to gut the Utah Community Renewable Energy program. There were lots of calls and emails to Rep. Albrecht, and he withdrew the provision at the committee hearing. Thank you to everyone who reached out, and to those who were ready to testify against it in committee.
Rep. Ward's HB470 - Building Inspection Amendments will get its first hearing this week in the House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee. It requires municipalities to allow online permitting and third-party inspection for home renovations. This is a big deal for speeding the process and cutting costs for rooftop solar installations. If your representative is on that committee, please ask them to vote yes.
Interns
Our Climate Utah interns got to meet with Rep. Auxier last week to discuss Great Salt Lake bills. Come join us next week at the Grow the Flow Student Day on the Hill on Monday the 23rd!
Bill Trackers
Our bill tracker focuses on the highest priority legislation on climate change, clean energy, air quality, and the Great Salt Lake. You can also keep up on a wider range of environmental topics with bill trackers from:
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