USBC hosted a webinar on January 10 that was chalk full of information on bills to watch in the 2024 legislative session that kicks off this week. You can view the webinar slides by clicking here. You can watch the recorded webinar here.
Here is a quick summary of what to expect in the 2024 session.
Great Salt Lake
Tim Hawkes is General Counsel to the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative and recently served in the Utah House of Representatives from 2015 to 2022. He gave a short tutorial on the easy-to-navigate Utah Legislature website, how to track bills and guidelines on how to “think like a power broker” when you engage your legislators.
Most of the bills regarding the Great Salt Lake are refinements of existing policy.
SB 18 – Water Modifications: Ensures that conserved water can be shepherded to Great Salt Lake.
GSL Commissioner Reporting Requirements (the bill is yet to be numbered): Adds a reporting requirement on the effectiveness of water banking, ag optimization, watershed enhancement and secondary metering.
GSL Mineral Extraction Amendments (the bill is yet to be numbered): Follow up to last session’s legislation regarding mineral extraction on Great Salt Lake (royalty rates, administration, emergency levers).
HB-61: Water Measuring and Accounting Amendments: Sets standards for telemetry and water use accounting.
Tim has launched the Great Salt Lake Business Council with the goal of strengthening the business voices for the health of the GSL. Two objectives of the group are to provide ready access to good information and provide effective opportunities to engage. To sign up, email Tim at thawkes@gsla.us.
Utah Clean Energy (UCE)
Josh Craft, Government and Corporate Relations Manager at Utah Clean Energy will be busy on several fronts at the legislature. Two major topics include:
Fair and Stable Compensation for Rooftop Solar (sponsor Senator Wayne Harper R-Taylorsville). The bill would modify the current export credit rate to provide compensation at a set percentage of retail rates for solar exported to the electricity grid.
UCE is seeking a state appropriation of at least $1 million to help homebuilders achieve ultra-energy efficient building envelopes. This would fund an existing state energy efficiency incentive program created by SB 188 of 2022.
See slides #32-33 for additional bills to watch.
To track clean energy related bills throughout the session, visit UCE’s bill tracker https://utahcleanenergy.org
Western Resource Advocates (WRA)
Nick Schou, Utah Government Affairs Manager for WRA has his eye on bills and funding relating to the electrification of medium and heavy-duty (MHD) vehicles. MHD vehicles make up about 6% of all vehicles but have an outsize impact on air quality. Since Ozone and PM 2.5 SIP attainment processes are ongoing in Utah – WRA is looking into long-term fixes. He encourages us to track initiatives through the Beehive Emissions Reduction Plan that is being managed through the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Sign up for updates here.
Healthy Environment of Utah (HEAL Utah)
Melanie Hall, policy director for HEAL Utah is following legislation on clean air and energy and transportation.
Clean Air and Energy: HEAL will be supporting legislation designed to promote renewable energy production and reduce vehicle emission such as a clean truck incentive program and a framework for reducing diesel emissions at Utah Inland Ports. Reducing diesel emissions is key because areas throughout the State of Utah are in nonattainment status, resulting in negative health impacts and a degraded quality of life for the residents.
Transportation: HEAL is also supporting legislation for the expansion of public transit and ensures streets are designed with pedestrians and cyclists in mind, thus improving safety and reducing roadway fatalities.
Learn more about HEAL’s legislative priorities or find ways to get involved here:
Website: https://www.healutah.org/
Bill Tracker: https://www.healutah.org/legislative/
Community Lobbying: https://www.healutah.org/lobby/
Climate Utah
Climate Utah, run by climate activist, Tom Moyer, keeps a very thorough Utah environmental bill tracker at climateutah.org.
We encourage you to stay informed on legislation and watch for additional updates from USBC during the 2024 Session.