H.B. 125 Department of Natural Resources Related Modifications Amendments: transcript

Oh, Okay. Yeah, that helps Mr. Chair. Thank you, uh, Mr. Chair and Committee. Uh, this bill is just making a few changes on the aquatic invasive species amendments. Uh, if you ever have been to Lake Powell, you see those, uh, muzzles everywhere. And as the lake is dropping it and you get into some of those canyons, it's, it even smells bad. And, uh, and we gotta make sure we keep those out of any other waters in our state. Uh, so the only place they exist right now are in Lake Powell. And, you know, we have these dip tanks. And over the years, uh, before we had the dip tanks, we had to, you know, spray the hot water in the ballas and an engine compartment just to make sure, uh, they were killed. And if you, you had to have your boat out of the water so long before they'd let you back in, uh, without having that done. So we've gotten better at it with technology, with the dip tanks, but this just makes a few clarifications, has to do with blow up, uh, uh, boats and vehicles that are non-motor, non-motorized stuff, uh, that exempts them, uh, from needing to be, uh, uh, get the, uh, you know, you have to do the certificate. If you have a boat, you're having to do the education every year, get your little sticker to put on your boat. But this exempts the blowups from doing that. Uh, and, uh, the other thing it does is if you, uh, if you rent, uh, you know, a blow up type vehicle or non-motorized at a lake, and the, and that vehicle never leaves the lake. You don't have to do the, the, uh, education before you use that, that vehicle. And, uh, the other item it does too, is if you, uh, if you rent a boat, like if, uh, Representative Koford rents a boat, uh, somewhere, but she doesn't drive it, somebody else is doing the driving, it's just the driver of the boat that's gonna have had to have done the education on that. So it's on a rental, uh, situation where it's an actual vehicle. I've got, uh, uh, Mr. Rubeck here with me to, he's gonna fill in the blanks. Uh, whatever I've missed. So go ahead. Go ahead.

Uh, thank you Mr. Chair Members committee. Uh, deputy Chief White Ock, DNR law enforcement. Uh, the representative covered it pretty well. We, uh, have a couple other types of muscles that we're seeing pop up in surrounding states. And so this bill also clarifies that if those muscles are observed or found in Utah, that we have the same a abilities to regulate and, uh, kind of protect against the spread of those muscles as well. As far as the concessionaire items that, uh, Representative Shipp mentioned that would include both the non inflatables and motorized boats. So basically if, if I'm at Bear Lake and rent a boat to fish or otherwise boat for recreational purposes, and that boat never leaves Bear Lake, uh, the person renting that boat and the livery owner aren't required to have that person take the education course. And so we've, we've, uh, tried to limit the requirement to take that education course to the, uh, instances where it's a legitimate biological concern, so that those that are transporting boats across the state, uh, specifically motor boats across the state, they're educated on what those a IS concerns are. And that's our presentation.

Did I hear you say representative? That this, uh, if, if, uh, Representative Koford and I Uintah Bullfrog and rented a boat and she was the boat driver that she would've had to have previously taken this test

Yes. Either previously Representative Ulbrich or at the location, she could take it on the spot.

Can you tell me a little bit about the test? I mean, how long it takes and is it online or what, how does that work? Yeah,

Okay. So those old days of me going to Bull Rock, renting a boat, just going out and raising Kane, those are days are gone. I've gotta do this first. That's right. And you raised a lot of Kane. I know. So Yes, I did. Good touch On that. Good touch On that. You don't see the,

Uh, Mr. Chair? Yeah. Uh, Mr. Wyatt here would like to comment on it as well. Go ahead.

So with the amendment that we kinda worked on last night, if that vessel's boated, or excuse me, if that vessel's rented from Lake Powell and doesn't leave Lake Powell and isn't transported on a highway, then the education course wouldn't be required there. Um, what, what the addition is that you're referencing is there's times that boat Liveries will rent a vessel for, uh, various means, whether it's, um, business related things where the person who rented the boat doesn't actually drive the boat. And that was kind of a, a hole that we identified yesterday in the, in the bill that we just wanted to clarify that point. So, um, if it doesn't leave the water, if it's rented from the water doesn't leave that water, the education course isn't required. However, if you rent that boat from Utah County, the boat livery owner has someone that drives that boat for you down at Lake Powell, the person operating that boat would need to have that certification. That person who rented it would not.

Well, only because my name's been used in so many, um, sentences this morning, and it's early. I have taken the course a number of times, actually. And there is a quiz. You have to answer those questions, right? Oh, okay. In order to get your sticker. So just wanna clarify that there, it's not just a random, I mean, there, there's, there's some accountability. So I appreciate it. It's a good reminder every year about in the AC species and I know we're trying to keep them in Lake Powell, so appreciate it. Yeah. Thank you for Clarifying my, but I'm also grateful that I don't have to do that for my blowup paddle board because that's silliness. So thank you for making the exception on a couple of items. Okay.

Apparently my mic is still on so we need to move amendment. I'm sorry. Is it two? Two? And of course I've forgotten the bill member already. 1 25. Um, I make a motion that we move First Amendment house Bill. 1 25 Second Amendment right. Second Amendment house. Bill, why You said two? I'm telling you, is it eight o'clock this morning? It's, It's early. It's it's early leave for my boat driver. I'll try right now. I would not be by driving a boat this morning. Mr. Chair. I'd like to fix that ahead. I'd move ahead. Two for house Bill 1 25.

I'm gonna waive. Okay.

Gonna do a little better this time. Mr. Chair, I'd like to move house bill 1 25 as amended with a favorable recommendation. And that motion's in order. Would you like to speak to? No, I appreciate the sponsors. Good work on it.

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair and Committee. Happy to be here again. Uh, it's always a great committee. These natural resource committees are, uh, it's very critical that we keep our waters clean from these, uh, invasive species. Uh, we've done a lot of work on it in the past. And this, uh, this actually, this bill didn't quite make it through the session last year, but since then we've added some things to it that were important to have. So, uh, what this bill does is it, uh, it exempts, uh, non-motorized, inflatable, uh, vessels, uh, from needing to do the, uh, aquatic the, the education and so forth with these and the cleanup. So if you're using, uh, an inflatable, non-motorized, uh, paddle, paddle board or, uh, something that's, uh, blow up, it, it exempts those. Uh, and also, uh, what it does is it, uh, if you have, uh, if you rent, uh, vessels, you know, uh, if, if you go to say Lake Powell or somewhere in you're wrestle, uh, gonna rent a vehicle or a vessel, uh, if you, if that's gonna be returned there and you're renting it there and it stays there, uh, so you're renting it from a livery, a rental place, then it's not necessary for you to do the education and so forth because you're not in control of the boat. Uh, now if you rent it somewhere and then you're taking it there and then leaving, that's a different story and you're gonna have to do the education and so forth. One of the other things is, as many times, uh, we found out that, uh, there might be somebody that's going to rent the boat, uh, the vehicle, but they're not gonna be the one that drives the boat. So if they're just somebody that's renting it, but not driving, only the person that's driving is gonna need to be, uh, uh, taking the education. Anybody that's 12 years old or older has to take the education. If they're gonna be pilot, you know, if you got the personal wave runners and things like that, they've gotta, they've gotta have it, uh, as well. Uh, one of the other exemptions that we have in here is for, uh, if, if you're at a vessel on the Great Salt Lake, uh, that's used in the brine shrimp industry, uh, and it's, and you're using it there and it's not leaving the lake or anything, you're just using it for harvesting the brine shrimp, that's all gonna be exempt from the, from the education on it. And I believe that covers, uh, all of the changes in there, uh, thing here.

So I have a question. I have some folks here from DNR that could answer some of the questions that maybe I can't, but I'm open to questions.

Thank you Mr. Chairman. I would like to make a motion that we delete title and body, uh, house Bill 1 25 for substitute and replace it. Oh, it's already been replaced Or no? No, we, we need to And Yeah. Delete title and Body House bill 1 25 and replace it with first substitute House bill 1 25. Okay. Thank you. Senator Motion is that we delete title and Body House Bill 1 25 and replace it with first substitute house bill 1 25.

And Mr. Chair, if I might, to please the, the change we, we'd had a, a few different amendments on the original bill and with the last amendment, we were adding the exemption on the brine shrimp industry. And so, uh, we decided that it'd probably be better to do a sub instead of another amendment. So that's what the change was.

Thank you Mr. Chair and committee. Uh, deputy Chief Wyatt Ock, DNR Law Enforcement. Um, been working on this bill the last couple years with the representative. Uh, does a lot of things as far as, uh, simplifying things for the public that makes sense on the biological side as well. And, uh, just want to commend the sponsor on both, uh, being open to our input as well as the input of the public. As you've seen, there's been a handful of amendments and a substitution ultimately, um, as we've kind of navigated this bill to try to best serve the public as well as not put the, the resource of water resources at risk. So just wanted to extend my appreciation for that.

I hope so. This late in the session. My name is Sierra Nelson and today I am the Vice Chair of the Utah Sportsman's Caucus and I or Caucus Advisory Council. And I wanted to express our support for this bill as well and our support for the sponsor, bringing it forward. Nobody wants the STD of the Sea, but at the same time, we have to make sure that it's a manageable thing and that we can still have plenty of recreation and, and fishing and everything else. So we'd hope that you'd give this a favorable recommendation. And I really appreciate you guys giving me some time today. Have a great day, guys.

Okay. And Mike Michael Larson, Utah Association Conservation Districts. This is a, another concern that the conservation districts throughout the state of hud and I believe this bill does a, a good job of balancing between the two. And we're in full support of, and a urge to pass out, out with favorable recommendation. Thank you.

Yeah, I'd like to just make a motion that we pass out, uh, house bill 1 25. First substitute with payable recommendation.

Yeah, thank you Committee, Mr. Chair. And appreciate the motion. Uh, it's really important to protect our waters, but also to do things, uh, that make common sense as well, as far as making sure people understand what they need to do and, and who needs to take the education, which is, which is critical for those that are doing a lot of boating. And so I appreciate the motion. Thank you.

I would just like to say, you know, that we, we spent a lot of money to try to keep these, uh, invasive mussels out of our water systems. And it's already, we already know that it's in Lake Powell and a lot of these, uh, things here are exempting so that they don't, we are making it to where we, they have to wash their boats off when they leave and different stuff. And, uh, you know, some of these could have slowed down the process of things that actually are gonna cause the trouble. They may not get a chance to get into these boat washes or whatever. And so they head down the road sneak out 'cause they're tired of waiting there for an hour or two to get through. And so because we're washing things, it's these inflatable things that just, you know, causing the slowdown of the process. And so it's something that, that's not probably gonna be the problem of spreading it. And so I think that's kind of wise to be able to accelerate the, the main problems of washing the actual boats. That would be the problem. And so I think this is a great idea. And so I'd ask urge everyone to support this.

I'm over here. I had a, I had a, a video come to me talking about evasive species and things. You know, we have so many challenges. I've been for, for a few years. I've been saying I, I wanna live the day that I can do what my grandpa did in Utah Lake. We have evasive species there and everywhere else. I wanna be able to catch up automobile trout again in Utah Lake. Well, there's a video now on social media where the other day we'd see some nuns, a fellow caught at Bonneville Trout in Utah Lake. And, uh, it was, it was, it was awesome to see. And as we keep chipping away and charity your point, 60 bills and what we're doing and perspective, I'm grateful for all the committee members as well and what we bring, we're making some good progress. And, uh, it's, it's, but it's the incremental improvements that are so important. So I just wanted to offer that. That's kind of a parting, uh, thing to celebrate. It's in this committee that, that, that took place.

Before I do that, I would just like to

And, and, uh, so with that, I make a motion we adjourn.

Yeah. Thank you Mr. Speaker pro tem. A little lighter note from our last discussion. This is about aquatic invasive species amendments. Now many of you probably, I would bet everybody in this body has had a visit to Lake Powell and if you've been in the recent years, there's these aquatic ma species, uh, muzzles that attach themselves to the boats, to the cliffs. And they actually, if you get into any slot canyons, they smell pretty bad. So what this bill is doing is just, uh, making a few changes to how we deal with quada muscles. Uh, right now you have to take, uh, uh, some education and, uh, pass a little test, uh, and you put a little sticker on your boat for those of you that do boating, what this bill is doing is it's removing the requirement for that for non-motorized blow up vessels like your paddle boards, uh, rafts, things like that, that are non-motorized. Uh, it this requires the education requires anybody that's 12 years old or older to take the education. But one of the things that's also changing is, and by the way, lake Powell is the only water body in the state of Utah that has a problem. Mr. Speaker pro tem with these muscles and we have gone to great lengths to try and keep them out of our freshwater lakes around the state. And so we have the dip tanks and the methods for keeping your bolts clean so we don't get 'em in our other water bodies. Uh, but with this bill, if you rent, uh, it it, it has an exception for, uh, rental places. Like, uh, if you go to, uh, to Lake Powell that's infested and you rent a boat and you don't remove it from the lake, you just rent it there, you use it and you take it back to the rental, you don't have to take the education because you're not leaving that lake with, with the vessel. Uh, and so that has to do with any, uh, rental places on any of our lakes where the boat does not leave. It also has a provision in there that uh, if you rent the boat, but you're not gonna be the driver of the boat, only the driver of the boat has to take the education. So there's been a few little changes here that our DNR law enforcement wanted to make and I think that's probably adequate explanation. Mr. Speaker Pro tem, thank you.

Thank you. Will the sponsor yield to two questions?

Will the sponsor yield? Yes, Sponsor yields.

Thank you. Um, how often are they required to take this test? Currently?

Once a year, every year. Okay. So the bill is not changing the timeline on that. It's already an annual test. That's correct. It's an annual test.

Thank you

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Uh, I rise in support of this bill. Uh, this is something that I've been concerned about for a couple years. Last year, the good sponsor made some efforts to resolve this issue, uh, that, uh, didn't get passed at the end of the session and uh, it's very ironic. Um, but uh, I had some of my, uh, kids, adult children and my in-laws, uh, and his, my son-in-law and his adult siblings who were tubing on an inner tube. And uh, they were asked for their aquatic evasive species proof of, uh, compliance while they were tubing. This exempts them from that particular requirement, which I think is entirely appropriate and I wholeheartedly support. Thank you Mr. Speaker.

I'll waive Summation is waived.

Yes. Uh, we, uh, added to that, uh, aquatic, uh, invasive muscles into these, into this bill. It was in another bill. And, uh, and so we, uh, added that this afternoon for the invasive muscles that are in infested in Lake Powell. And we don't want to get it in our other waterways. And so there's, uh, water, uh, a lot of things here. Uh, record keeping for boat liberties and, and, uh, requirements.

Uh, yeah, that was the, uh, the Department of Natural Resource Amendments and this department, uh, rulemaking authority clarifies that rulemaking authority can be enacted outside an advisory board and is also a division of law enforcement work periods, uh, that updates the language regarding the work pay period of DNR law enforcement employees to align with standard practices and an 80 hour, uh, in a two, uh, week period, or 160 hours in a four week period. Also, electronic records allows the state engineer to maintain its official records, either physical or electronic form. Also field notes and computations and maps, uh, both physical and electronic maps documents on public records also covers mineral lease and royalty contracts, uh, water litigations. And this, the, the big part of this bill is, uh, $5 million fiscal note for it adds language to allow DNR to fund ongoing litigation expenses concerning the water, uh, state's water interests. It also lifts the cap of $10 million on secondary water metering. There's some of the larger municipal things that went over the 10 million and there's, uh, money there that we set aside, the 265 million that we set aside from arpa. And so that'll allow them to, uh, put in more meters to check on the, uh, outside watering. And so it's also better tracks the investment and also the USG board, uh, makeup, it changes that it adds. Goes from seven to eight members. Also clarifies, uh, S'S longstanding duties, uh, watershed restoration initiative recommended from the appropriations repeal in this section and also alternative energy development tax credits. And with that I'm open to questions.

Thank. Thank you Mr. President. We do have a sub online.

Further communications. Mr. President the following or transmitted for further consideration. The house passed as substituted fourth substitute Senate Bill 2 78 Development authority modifications by Senator Stevenson. The house passed as substituted second substitute Senate Bill 1 49 licensing modifications by Senator Weiler. The house passed as amended, second substitute Senate Bill 3 0 4 protective order amendments by Senator Stratton. The house passed as substituted and amended fourth substitute Senate bill one 70 Vitamin K amendments by Senator Plumb. The house passed has substituted second substitute Senate Bill 180 4 Justice System Amendments by Senator Vickers pitcher.

Guy didn't understand that. Respectfully signed. Edward Mus. Edward Mueller, chief clerk.

Thank. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Uh, I move to not concur with the Senate amendments.

Yeah, the uh, in talking with our budget folks that's got a fiscal note in it that needs to be removed because it was funded in the bill of Bills. So we're asking them to recede from their amendments as well.