Two good bills will be heard in the House Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Committee tomorrow, 2/24 at 8:00 am.
Senator Fillmore's SB78 - Energy Storage Innovation, Research, and Grant Program Act. This bill creates a $5 million grant fund in support of energy storage deployment, for both nonresidential and residential energy storage projects. This bill has already passed the Senate. Action Utah SB78 Fact Sheet. Representative Arent's HB235 - Voluntary Home Energy Information Pilot Program. This bill provides homebuyers a "home energy performance report" to provide education about the estimated annual energy costs and emissions of the home. Action Utah HB235 fact sheet. Good bills stuck in committee:
Representative Briscoe's HCR11 - Concurrent Resolution Supporting the Utah Roadmap for Positive Solutions and Leadership on Climate and Air Quality. This resolution supports the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Team; and encourages individuals, corporations, and state entities to reduce emissions, using the Utah Roadmap as a guide. It is currently stuck in the Rules Committee and there is resistance to letting it out. Action Utah HCR11 fact sheet. Representative Ward's HB194 - Clean and Renewable Energy Requirement Amendments. This bill would require Rocky Mountain Power, our largest electricity provider, to achieve at least 50% zero emissions electricity (including solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear energy, carbon capture and sequestration, and other resources) so long as these resources are cost-effective. It has been assigned to the House Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Committee, and has not yet been given a date for a hearing. Action Utah HB194 fact sheet. Good bill coming up:
Senator Cullimore has a resolution drafted to endorse carbon pricing at the federal level. It is modeled on the Climate Leadership Council's Carbon Dividends plan. This will likely get a bill number and be made public in the next few days. It may be assigned to a committee and given a hearing very quickly. We will be mobilizing to testify in favor of it as soon as that happens. 2020 legislative tracker See our 2020 legislative tracker for the up to date status of all climate-related bills. Tips for communicating with legislators:
You can look up contact information for your legislators here. Put the ask and the title of the bill in the subject line, eg - "Please support HB194 - Clean and Renewable Energy Requirement Amendments." Be sure to identify yourself as a constituent and include your address. If you have a personal story on how this impacts you, include it. Otherwise, you can be brief and simply state your position on the issue. Legislators always like hearing from polite, respectful constituents. They want your input and feedback.