We are three weeks in and bills are happening fast and furious now. Most of the bills we were expecting to see have been released now, and everything is up to date on our legislative tracker. You can also sign up for notifications on the bills you're most interested in on the Utah legislature's web page.
The next two weeks are the best times to meet with your legislators. The crunch of the first few weeks is done, and the budget whirlwind hasn't started yet. Several of us met with Rep. Auxier this week, and others met with Rep. Okerlund. Both are new in their positions and are glad to hear from constituents about the issues they care about. You can look up your district and contact information for your legislators here. If you don't get an answer, keep pestering (nicely)! You can also just show up in-person during floor time and ask for them. If your representative sponsored a bill that you support, please write and thank them!
Bills to watch:
HB340 - Solar Power Amendments (Rep. Ward)
This bill removes permitting obstacles to small-scale "balcony" solar. It creates a new category of small portable solar generation devices that is exempt from interconnection requirements. It also establishes basic safety requirements and provides liability protections for electrical corporations. It advanced unanimously out of the House Public Utilities and Energy Committee and now goes to the House floor.
HB212 - Grid Enhancing Technologies (Rep. Watkins)
This bill promotes the use of grid-enhancing technologies by Rocky Mountain Power to improve the efficiency and reliability of Utah's electrical grid. These can include advanced sensors, dynamic line rating systems, and other innovations designed to optimize the performance of the electrical transmission and distribution network. It also passed unanimously out of committee and now goes to the House floor.
SB124 - Landscaping Procurement Amendments (Sen. Pitcher)
This bill phases out the use of gas-powered lawn equipment at state government facilities, starting with the smallest facilities in July, 2025. After a couple of revisions, it passed unanimously out of the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee and now goes to the Senate floor.
HB240 - Halogen Emissions Amendments (Rep. Stoddard)
This is probably the most significant air quality bill this session. In 2023, the Utah Legislature directed the Utah Division of Air Quality (DAQ) to track halogen emissions and develop an emissions reduction plan for these pollutants. Chlorine and bromine are two halogens of particular concern because their interacting chemistry worsens wintertime inversions on the Wasatch Front by 10-25%. This bill implements the DAQ's recommendations. It was just introduced this week and hasn't been given a committee assignment yet.
Bills of concern:
HB241 - Solar Power Plant Amendments (Rep. Jack)
This bill adds new restrictions on utility-scale solar projects, requiring a minimum lot size and setbacks from property lines, residences, rivers, and streams. It intrudes on the ability of landowners to make decisions about their own property, and it places new obstacles to the fastest-growing source of electricity generation in the state. Utah Clean Energy has a good action alert for writing your legislators in opposition. It has been assigned to the House Public Utilities and Energy Committee but hasn't been scheduled for a hearing yet.
HB348 - Department of Natural Resources Funding Amdmts (Rep. Snider)
This bill adds a new tax of 0.11 cents / kWh (about 4%) on solar and wind facilities of 1 megawatt or more on the Rocky Mountain Power system. It also adds a tax on DC transmission lines of 500 kilovolts (kV) of $10,000 per kV annually. It singles out the cleanest (and fastest-growing) electricity sources to penalize. The bill was scheduled to be heard this week in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee but was pulled from the agenda, which is a hopeful sign of opposition to it.
You can also see bill trackers on a wider range of environmental topics from:
Upcoming Events:
Follow the Utah CCL spreadsheet calendar that we are updating continuously with events from CCL and other groups that you might be interested in.
2/11 9:00 am (and every Tuesday): HEAL Utah Lobby Days. Utah Capitol
2/11 5:30 pm: Student Lobby Training with Grow the Flow. Marriott Library, room 1715.
2/12 6:00 pm. CCL writers workshop.
2/13 8:30 am (and every Thursday): Great Salt Lake Lobby Days with Grow the Flow
2/15 9:30 am: CCL Wasatch Back monthly meeting. Hugo Coffee, 1794 Olympic Parkway, Park City
2/15 8:30 am (and every Saturday): Town Halls with Reps Ward, Cutler, Garff-Ballard, and Sen. Weiler. South Davis Community Facebook page
2/19 2:00 pm: Stewardship Utah Day on the Hill. Utah State Capitol Beehive Room
2/19 6:00 pm: CCL LDS Action Team meeting. Details and Zoom link in the CCL calendar.
2/20 9:00 am: Student Lobby Day with Grow the Flow
3/4 - 3/5: CCL Conservative Climate Leadership Conference & Lobby Day. Washington, DC.
3/7: Utah legislative session ends
1/23 6:00 pm: Stewardship Utah Legislative Preview. Mestizo Coffee House, Salt Lake City.
1/25 2:00 pm: Rally for the Great Salt Lake. Utah Capitol
3/8 10:00 am: CCL monthly meeting. In-person at the Murray library and online. Join CCL to receive meeting invites.
3/20-3/21: Intermountain Sustainability Summit. Weber State University.
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