Much like the first flowers of spring, we are cautiously poking our heads back into the world now that the legislative session is done. We worked hard over the last two months to get good policies passed and stop bad policies from becoming law. While this session has certainly taken its toll, we are pleased to say that it has been incredible for the environment. Check out our highlights (we tried to keep it short, we swear) from this year's legislative session below:
Air Quality
HB 420 Halogen Emission Amendments (passed, good)
Sponsors: Rep Andrew Stoddard and Sen Kirk Cullimore
Chlorine and bromine, two halogen pollutants, worsen wintertime inversions on the Wasatch Front by 10-25%. A single company, US Magnesium, accounts for nearly 97% of halogen emissions in this area. In November of 2024, the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) released a report identifying a pollution control technology that could reduce US Magnesium's halogen emissions by 75%. HB 420 authorizes the DAQ to implement an emission control technology once US Magnesium resumes operations. HB 420 passed the final week of the legislative session in a major win for air quality!
HB 525 Clean Truck Amendments (failed, good)
Sponsors: Rep Paul Cutler and Sen Kirk Cullimore
HB 525 targeted emissions from heavy-duty vehicles (dump trucks, haul trucks, semi’s, etc.) built before 2010. Heavy-duty vehicles built before 2010 emit 20 times as much Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) pollution (which contributes to our ground level ozone) as vehicles built from 2010 on because of a significant upgrade in EPA standards. Addressing the pollution from these vehicles would reduce total NOX emissions on the Wasatch Front by roughly 10%.
The original version of this bill prohibited the registration of heavy-duty vehicles built before 2010 in the four Wasatch Front Counties as of 2028. It also provided a tax credit to upgrade those vehicles to cleaner models. After receiving feedback from the trucking industry, we replaced the ban with a $45 registration fee for pre-2010 heavy-duty vehicles. Revenues from the fee would be deposited into the Clean Fuels and Emission Reduction Technology Fund, which would be used for clean truck and ozone-reducing programs. While this bill ultimately didn’t pass, it secured 15 Republican cosponsors, positioning it well for passage in 2026.
SB 124 Landscaping Procurement Amendments (failed, good)
Sponsors: Sen Stephanie Pitcher and Rep Anthony Loubet
This bill proposed a phase-out of gas-powered landscaping equipment and upgrade to electric, zero-emission equipment on state property along the Wasatch Front. We are addressing lawn equipment because they emit 30% more Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) than all industrial activity on the Wasatch Front due to their poorly regulated, inefficient engines. For example, one hour of operating a residential gas-powered leaf blower is equivalent to the emissions from driving 727 miles, or from Ogden to Disneyland!
SB 124 was the last bill to be heard in the House for the 2025 legislative session. Disappointingly, because the legislative rules mandate that voting must end at midnight, the bill was seconds shy of receiving a vote. We were confident that we had the votes we needed to pass this bill, so we are optimistic that we will pass it in 2026!
SB 222 Vehicle Emission Inspection Program Revisions (failed, good)
Sponsors: Sen Stephanie Pitcher and Rep Clinton Okerlund
The Division of Motor Vehicles estimates that roughly 4,500 vehicles are registered outside the Wasatch Front to avoid emissions regulations. When emissions controls in vehicles are disabled, NOX emissions can increase by up to 310 times, and particulate matter (PM) emissions can increase by up to 40 times. This bill allows the DMV to revoke a vehicle owner’s registration if they provide a false or improper address to register a vehicle to avoid an emissions test. It also prohibits the registration of the vehicle until the owner has paid a civil penalty.
This bill ultimately advanced through the Senate and to the House Floor for a vote, but failed due to not receiving funding. We look forward to reintroducing this legislation next year.
Democracy
HB 300 Amendments to Election Law (passed, bad)
Sponsors: Rep Jefferson Burton and Sen Micheal McKell
When this bill was first introduced, it threatened to effectively end vote-by-mail. After thousands of messages from concerned voters and lots of work from vote-by-mail advocates, the worst impacts of this bill - such as requiring voters to request their mail-in ballot and strict voter ID requirements - won’t go into effect until 2029. We ended this session knowing this is a fight we can continue next year.
SB 73 Statewide Initiatives Amendments (passed, bad)
Sponsors: Sen Lincoln Fillmore and Rep Jason Kyle
This bill will implement onerous requirements for citizen-led ballot initiative filers and cost filers $1.4 million to publish the full text of their initiative in a newspaper in every county for 60 days before an election. Filing and passing an initiative in Utah is already harder than any other state in the country, and this bill will severely limit Utahn’s constitutional right to reform their government.
Sponsors: Sen Lincoln Fillmore and Rep Jason Kyle
This joint resolution proposes amending the state constitution to require ballot initiatives that would create a new tax or increase an existing tax to pass by a 60% threshold instead of the existing 50% threshold.
HB 445 Revisions to Election Law (failed, bad)
Sponsors: Rep Doug Fiefia and Sen Daniel McCay
The first version of this bill would have ended Election Day registration in Utah. After a huge outcry from the public and advocates, the bill was substituted to only impose arbitrary deadlines on county clerks which would have made their job harder without any assurance of faster election results.
Energy
HB 212 Advanced Transmission Technologies (passed, good)
Sponsors: Rep Christine Watkins and Sen David Hinkins
This bill encourages Rocky Mountain Power, Utah's primary electric utility, to pursue electricity grid-enhancing technologies before developing new power transmission lines. This may reduce transmission line development on Utah's public lands and allow more renewable energy resources to be developed.
Great Salt Lake
HB 274 Water Amendments (passed, good)
Sponsors: Rep Casey Snyder and Sen Daniel McCay
This bill allows water suppliers to include “conservation” as part of their reasoning as they set water rates, especially for the highest pricing tiers for excessive water use. Tiered pricing was already a requirement, but this bill goes further by saying that pricing can be determined by factors beyond just the cost of delivery. This is a win for sending market-based signals that encourage more responsible water use.
HB 243 Agricultural Water Optimization Amendments (passed, good)
Sponsors: Rep David Schallenberger and Sen Scott Sandall
This bill allows the Agricultural Water Optimization program to dedicate funding to research and offers increased incentives to projects that include drip irrigation and a monitoring or telemetry component – critical as the state works to understand the best pathways for increasing agricultural water consumption.
Funding
$1M for the GSL Commissioner’s Office to lease water rights for the lake. Sadly, this is a small fraction of the $16 M requested but will still be helpful as the Commissioner negotiates voluntary water leases with agricultural producers and other water rights holders.
$150K for Dust Monitoring. While less than requested, this funding will enable DAQ to monitor and analyze Great Salt Lake Dust – what’s in it, where it’s going, and how it impacts our health. The Great Salt Lake lags far behind in dust monitoring infrastructure compared to other saline lakes.
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