By Carly Ferro
Part 1: Reflections and This Legislative Session: What to Expect
The beginning of 2021 placed the fragility of democracy and a country rooted in white supremacist culture on full display. We celebrated victories by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won races to flip the Senate to a Democratic majority and have made history as the first African American and the first Jewish senators from Georgia.
As Andrea Hasted wrote in the NY Times, "...Mr. Warnock's journey from Black pastor to Black senator is an exercise of a different type of faith: It's a belief that American politics can change from the inside, that the Democratic Party's most loyal voters can see themselves represented in Congress. That there is room to push the country forward within its institutions, rather than diagnosing its problems from outside."
At the same time, this historic win was nearly overshadowed with an insurrection by a mob of domestic terrorists whose intention it was to invade the Capitol Building and stop the Constitutionally mandated counting of electoral votes. The country's polarity is palpable, yet the opportunity to transform and move forward, intentionally, toward a future rooted in equitable access and justice for people and the planet is possible.
The Utah Sierra Club will continue to oppose the pernicious influence of harmful policies, and to champion efforts to advance solutions for people and the planet. This year’s legislative session will be unlike any other in our history. On any given day, the Utah State Capitol is an open resource for the community to connect with their elected officials to interact on the issues important to them and their communities. However, the COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented in its impact and scale, disrupting every fabric of our lives, including our policymaking processes. In short, the upcoming stage will be a unique 45-day Utah quarantine legislative session. Legislators may or may not be at the Capitol. We will not host in-person lobby days, nor will there be green notes and blue notes passed inside the walls. Instead, we will be in front of our computers doing virtually everything possible to stop the bad and support the good!
That being said, we're coordinating with our community partners to ensure collective action. Our efforts will support the place-based solutions and values within our communities and we invite you to join in testifying, contacting your legislators, and taking small actions that are sure to make a significant impact!
So, let's dive into what we can expect from this session. As always, to keep pace with the bills we're tracking, visit our bill tracker at sierraclub.org/utah/legislative.
Bad or Concerning Bills
HB 17 Utility Permitting Amendments (Rep. Handy) While we like many of Rep. Handy's bills this year, this is one we oppose. This legislation would ban communities from preventing or limiting new gas distribution infrastructure for space and water heating, even as the economics of efficient electric space and water heating and cooling become more competitive. Preemption bills like this hurt our communities. When states block local communities from passing their own laws, they silence the voices of the people living there and hurt community health and the environment. Arizona has already passed such legislation. Fact Sheet | Take Action Here
HB 209 Vehicle Registration Fee Revisions (Rep. Christofferson) HB209 proposes to enact one of the highest fees in the nation on EVs, gouging car owners by up to $300 for each electric vehicle, $260 for each plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and $50 for each hybrid electric vehicle. Such fees are premature and may prevent Utah families, municipalities and businesses from choosing clean electric vehicles, while the EV market is still maturing. The Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club is concerned that such fees are premature, and may prevent Utah families and businesses from choosing clean electric vehicles. We simply cannot afford to take one of the most critical solutions to meeting Utah’s air quality goals off the table. State policy should focus on spurring greater adoption of clean, electric and hybrid vehicles, not disincentive them.
HCR 2 Concurrent Resolution on Effect of Federal Land Valuation Model (Rep. Stratton) On its face, it appears to amplify that the current payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) received by the state from the federal government is not up to snuff with our public lands' true market value. While the PILT formula hasn't kept up, we are strongly advocating that this bill remove any language that could suggest a land grab.
We see this bill as a complement to S.J.R. 601, which passed during the sixth special session, and requested a transfer of 217,000 acres of federal lands to state ownership. Because of Utah's infamous affinity for land grabs, we will be closely watching this bill and its implementation intentions.
PILT monies "Payments in Lieu of Taxes” (PILT) are Federal payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to the existence of nontaxable Federal lands within their boundaries. PILT payments help local governments carry out such vital services as firefighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads, and search-and-rescue operations. The payments are made annually for tax-exempt Federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (all bureaus of the Department of the Interior [DOI]), and the U.S. Forest Service (part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) and for Federal water projects and some military installations. PILT payments are one of the ways the Federal Government can fulfill its role of being a good neighbor to local communities. https://www.doi.gov/pilt
HB 79 Mineral and Rock Amendments (Rep. Brooks) Last year, Rep. Brooks passed HB 294. The bill exempted basalt mines up to 50 acres in size from regulatory oversight under the Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining. This means that if a mine is not on Bureau of land Management or State Lands, they may not have to conform to reclamation or bonding practices, leaving lands in a community vulnerable to environmental degradation. This bill does improve the geological definition of basalt but makes no additional improvements that could better support communities and the environment. Of course, we do not support the very foundation of this bill.
S.J.R. 7 Joint Resolution Approving EnergySolutions Constructing and Operating a Landfill for Nonhazardous Solid Waste (Sen. Sandall) This resolution gives the legislature pre-approval for Energy Solutions to open a new Class VI landfill for decommissioned reactor wastes. This continues a legacy of Energy Solutions' attempts to make Utah the dumping ground for the nation.
The Good: Desirable Bills and Resolutions
HB 123 Feasibility Study for Air Quality Laboratory (Rep. Handy) This bill would set in motion a study to evaluate the potential for an air quality laboratory in Utah. This is in line with Utah's Road Map milepost 3. This would direct the Division of Air Quality to perform a feasibility study for the laboratory by November 1, 2021.
S.B. 15 Workforce Solutions for Air Quality Amendments (Rep McCay) Creates a pathway to advance teleworking opportunities for state employees on poor air quality days and encourages agencies to reach a goal of 40% of staff capacity to be teleworking on red air days. This legislation could be scalable to other institutions, organizations, etc. The bill also instructs agencies to articulate between on-site essential and non-essential in their valuation of employees that can telework on red, purple, and maroon air quality days.
HB 145 Clean and Renewable Energy Requirement Amendments (Rep Ward) This bill supports updating and strengthening Utah's clean electricity standard, creating a target of 50% zero-emissions resources by 2030 and making technical changes about the use of renewable energy certificates and cost recovery for the utility.
H.C.R. 5 Concurrent Resolution Encouraging Statewide Emissions Reduction Goals - (Rep. Handy) This resolution sets both greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emission reduction goals to help inform key electric, utility, and environmental decisions in Utah. The resolution would specifically endorse Milepost #1 in the Utah Roadmap on Climate and Clean Air, calling for a 50% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 and an 80% reduction by 2050.
H.C.R. 3 Concurrent Resolution Regarding Native American Mascots and Equality in Public Schools (Rep. Weight) This resolution recognizes the harm done by using Native American mascots, encourages schools to retire those mascots, and encourages the State Board of Education and local education agencies to provide instruction in Native American culture and history. We are encouraging action on this bill in solidarity with local Missing & Murdered Indigenous Peoples advocates who cite the psychological and related physical harm these stereotypes promote.
Additional solidarity work includes support of SB 10 Place Name Amendments (Sen. Iwamoto) authorizes the Division of Indian Affairs to help facilitate the application template for tribes, counties, and communities to use to apply for names to be changed. As well as, HB 41 Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls Task Force (Rep. Romero) with hopes that this task force can retain its appropriations this year to move forward with its implementation.
Behind the Curtain: Ugly Initiatives and Plain Bad Ideas
Department of Natural Resources and Department of Environmental Quality Merger: One major issue that we are vehemently opposed to is merging the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). It is egregious to impose a shuffling of major agencies that support public health during a pandemic when access to legislators is limited, and the public engagement is strained. Fundamentally, placing the DEQ under the DNR when they have disparate core missions and responsibilities is sure to be a disservice to public health and natural resource management. Letter and Talking Points to Follow.
Another under the radar issue: There may be a push to send more money to the Richmond, CA. coastal port battles. There is still $53 million within the legislature that Sen. Hinkins may be attempting to allocate to Attorney General Reyes' lawsuit again.
Part 2: How to Stay Informed and Participate in This Year’s Session
The 2021 Legislative Session runs from January 19th to March 5th. The State Capitol is open to the public, but they are offering virtual participation, which we encourage. You can learn how to participate in public hearings hosted via zoom video conferences by visiting https://le.utah.gov/Documents/VirtualMeetingInstructionsV6.pdf
It will be more important than ever for the Utah Sierra Club to be the watchdog for environmental and working family protections. Here are three simple things you can do to prepare for this upcoming, unprecedented session.
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Sign up for updates and action alerts from our Legislative Updates .
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Stay up-to-date on our priority bills this session at Sierraclub.org/utah/legislative
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Know who to contact in the popular committees where environmental bills are heard -- House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee 2021 & Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee 2021
If you have questions in the meantime, contact me at Carly.Ferro@sierraclub.org!
As always, thank you for your commitment to healthy communities and a healthy environment.