Ashley Soltysiak, ashley.soltysiak@sierraclub.org, 616-485-8290
Salt Lake City, UT-- The non-partisan environmental group today released a comprehensive environmentally focused review of the 2019 Utah State Legislative Session. The Utah Sierra Club considered committee and floor votes for the year’s top 20 bills, reflecting a range of conservation issues including reduction of plastics, nuclear waste, water conservation, public lands, and climate change. Unfortunately, averages for both chambers were failing. The Senate had an average of 54.14% and the House had an average of 51.55%. See the complete scorecard here.
Utah Sierra Club’s Director, Ashley Soltysiak, expressed disappointment in her statement:
“We applaud legislation supporting public transit, air quality monitoring, anti-idling ordinances, and improved water conservation practices. But, when the legislature approves nearly $55 million for a Mexican coal port, refuses to consider tax credits for electric vehicles or carbon pricing, and diametrically shifts nuclear waste policy in the wrong direction, the outlook for Utah’s environment is bleak. Incremental progress is simply not enough.”
Soltysiak continued, “Paying lip service to environmental issues doesn’t do our beautiful state or its people justice. With so many unique ecosystems and burgeoning opportunities to build community, it is disappointing that our state legislators continue to maintain the status quo instead of enacting meaningful change. By refusing to take progressive and decisive action, our leaders continue to widen disparities, threaten our wild places, and disproportionately burden already marginalized communities.
Soltysiak concluded, “The bottom line? Failing averages in the House and Senate translate directly to poor public health and poor environmental quality in Utah’s future. Utah simply needs more environmental champions to defend the natural heritage that enriches and unites all Utahns.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.