H.B. 247 Great Salt Lake Related Amendments: transcript

Will be. Thank you. Yes. And I do have a handout if we could have that passed out. I think it's a really good handout. It's gonna be helpful to you.

Thank you. It's nice to be here, you know, every now and again, you kind of stray outta your pathway and look For, for some new place. You know, it's a great committee. Everybody brought their waiters today. That's right. We had a lot of water bill. That's Right. Um, thank you committee.

So some couple of de decades ago, I don't know, maybe two decades or three decades ago, there came a time when the legislature thought to itself, we need some money for our protected species account. Um, in particular that the use of that account is in general, when there is a species that the state is afraid is going to be listed as a threatened species or going to be listed as an endangered species. And the state wants to take action to protect that species as best as it can before it gets that listing on a federal level. But then that in order to do something useful, that account would need some money. You know, and the legislature at the time hit on this solution. They said, ha, Brian Shrimpers, they've got a lot of money. And so they put a tax on the, on the Brian Shrimp industry. It's kind of, I guess you can think of it like a, um, a severance tax. If you sever the Brian shrimp from the lake, you're gonna pay a tax. Um, and then, and then the money from that was put into this species protection account and, and used for that purpose. And the time went on. It's been used for that for a long time. Um, this bill would, would redo. There's been some changes to that. The situation just recently, um, and this bill kind of is, is making some additional changes because of the changes that we made last year. The net effect of the bill would take that brine shrimp tax and instead move it, uh, so that it would go to state sovereign lands and would be used, um, for the purpose of if there were water rights that the state wished had had a chance to lease to go into the Great Salt Lake, as well as other projects that directly benefit the brine shrimp. This becomes possible to consider because of changes that were made last year that has an alternate source of funds that go into that species protection account. So that is where this handout is gonna come in. Super handy to you. So if you'll look at the back of this handout, um, here, it kind of shows where we were pre last year. The tax produced around $800,000 a year. And our, what we had done for quite some time is take 125,000 of that each year for the Great Salt Lake advisory, uh, committee and just give them that 125,000. And the rest went into the Species protection account. Last year we placed a new tax on largely Solar Farms, but some other energy installations as well. At the time that we put that in place, it, we weren't sure exactly. I mean, it's always, when you put a new tax, you don't know for sure how it'll work out. But it was estimated that at the time that that amount would be around $6 million a year. So quite a bit larger than the amount that we previously were putting into the Species Protection account. And so that meant that we were then, that's just a new tax. We're just getting started doing it, uh, right now. But then the, the way we have the law set now is both of those, uh, sources, if you will, would, would go to that same thing. So what this bill, uh, would do then would be to say, well, we have this new source that we think is coming in, uh, that we think it's quite a bit larger than what it was before. And that will make sure that we still have enough and, and in fact, more than what we have before in the Species Protection account. But then we would redirect the brine shrimp tax to, we'd still keep exactly the same about the Salt Lake Advisory Committee. That part wouldn't, wouldn't change one bit. It would still go to that group, same as it has before, but the remainder of the Brine Shrimp tax would then go to the Sovereign Lands account from which the state would use it either for, and it just lists out the two purposes, either for the purpose of leasing a water right to go into the lake, which then does benefit the brine shrimp population or for any other projects that they felt like would be helpful to the health of the brine shrimp population. Which secondarily then does also provide a protection to the other species which rely on the brine shrimp population. Um, this Bill Wa was, I should say, uh, heard and received a favorable recommendation from the Legislative water development, uh, committee, uh, prior to the session. So I appreciate their, um, input on it. A concern came up, uh, which I want to address in the first sub, um, in that, and that comes from speaking with the Mining Association and they're concerned is because they're one of the groups that, um, has an interest in making sure that species don't become endangered species. And so they want that fund to still have some things in it. And their concern was that with the passage of the big beautiful bill, um, on a federal level, it might be that the amount that was going to go into that new fund for the Solar Farm tax would not be what we had estimated before that. It might be less than that. So in the substitute, the only thing the substitute has in it is a delayed implementation date by a year. Instead of implementing it this summer before we know how that's gonna go. It just moves it back, back farther than I'd want. But, but what makes sense? It just moves it back to July of 2027. That gives us a whole year to see whether we were wrong or right. I think there will still be more than there was there before in that fund. Um, so that the Species of Protection account still comes out a whole and ahead of where they were. If that turns out to not be the case, then we have a whole nother session to, to, to think about again, what what makes sense with the money that we have available. So that's what's in the bill and is what is in the substitute. And I'm open to questions.

Yeah. Thank you. Uh, welcome to our committee, Ray. Thank you. I mean, uh, Representative Ward. Um, so does it make sense instead of doing a substitute to just delay running the bill?

So I don't think so. I think it's, to me, it's time to have the brine shrimp assessment go to really what, to me makes more sense, which is projects that directly benefit the brine shrimp and that benefit the lake. To me, that's a, a very important purpose that we have put a significant amount of one-time money into. But, uh, we haven't really made an ongoing commitment. And although this is a small amount, it's a really important step to have some ongoing commitment, um, to get some water rights into the lake. I think there's a lot of, um, redundancy built into it. I mean, the amount that was projected to go into it was quite a bit higher, much higher, six times as high. More than six times as high as what they're getting right now. So even if it's somewhat less, I think there's plenty of cushion. I'm confident that there's gonna be more in there than what there was before. And this was just, uh, what the, the folks from the Mining Association said, do well, this would give us a chance to, to make sure that before it got carried out, That way you do the assessment now and, but just not implement it for another year.

So, okay. Is that right?

Yeah. The assessment is the, as the amount of the assessment doesn't change, and really we just say we are, we're gonna, we are, we're fully planning to make this change. We've said we're gonna make this change, but we've just given ourselves a runway. See how it goes before it goes. And then there's chance to change our mind if not, but I think it is time in my mind to start making some kind of ongoing commitments to water that goes into the lake. And this is the impetus for the bill.

Thank you Mr. Chair. Representative Board, uh, have you spoken with, uh, uh, state Forestry and fire on this bill? And will this affect their current operations and use of the funds at all?

The, I have spoken with our different departments and my understanding is that they, they're good at using the money in these different circumstances and that they're okay with these changes.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you. Representative Ward, I, if I look at your chart, I'm trying to grasp this, uh, you're effectively, it takes $675,000 out of the, the, um, endangered Species Act and, and puts it more directly to, to the lake through these expenditures to benefit the brine shrimp fishery, which is beneficial to the lake generally. Is that correct?

That that's exactly right.

So, but can you help, just to help me understand that? 'cause I thought a lot of, there was a lot of Endangered Species Act funding that also Uintah the lake also, but maybe I'm wrong about that. And is it, how much is really changing? Is it opposed to, is it going in the lake just under a different account or is it, was it not going into the lake at all?

Well, the species protection account doesn't have anything about it that is specific to the lake. It, it, it's not Required to be spent there. Oh no, it is, I mean its purpose is endangered species writ large anywhere across the state.

But is there not some of that that is going to the lake already, like for the year grieve and stuff like that?

There, there could well be, but each project just comes up one at a time. Projects that, some projects where there's a species on the lake, it may, may well go there at the discretion of the, the division managing the account. Others would go to places far away from the lake and the endangered species protection account would, would still be rightfully at their discretion to decide which projects were of the highest importance to the state.

Okay. So right as we sit here today, your understanding is that 6 75 would not have already been going to the lake under some other,

So representative, I'm not sure which portion of that may have been going to species that were close to the lake.

Alright. But certainly none of it would've been going to a water right.

To the lake. Right. So there, ah, there could have been some individual species that you did something to protect some small amount of their habitat.

I see. But it wouldn't have been going to the lake for the Health of the Lake necessarily. Appreciate The help there. Thank you.

Uh, Representative Ward, uh, just as a matter of clarification, it was more than a solar farm tax, Uh, and I'm, it was more than a solar farm Tax. It was basically all renewables. It was Representative Snyder's bill and, uh, was to help mitigate all, all sorts of endangered species. Correct?

Yes. I just wanted to clarify your chart. Yes, it was, it was from Representative Snyder's bill and it was all renewables. And it was kind of at his suggestion that this would be a reasonable thing to do subsequent to that action that we took last year. That, um, this, I just wanted to make the committee aware of that.

Yes, that's correct. Thank

Thank you Mr. Chair members of this committee. It's, uh, great to be back.

Yes, Tim Hawks representing the Brian Shrimp industry. I bet it's great to be back among friends and on my favorite committee. Really a lot of great times and memories here. So, um, I wanted to speak in on behalf of the Brian Shrimp industry. I specifically represent the Great Salt Lake Brian Shrimp Cooperative. It represents about 85% of the industry locally. And just to remind the committee, uh, Brian Shrimp are harvested from the Great Salt Lake in a very sustainable way. It's an important local source of jobs. It, it actually benefits the birds that rely on that species as well. And that brine shrimp gets exported all over the world where it plays a really critical role in, in global food supply. Um, the good representative, uh, talked about some of the history of this. And I'm not here to say we, we love as an industry to pay an a special tax, um, particularly where the severance stuff just doesn't apply. But we paid it for a long, long time. And, and the one thing that's really chafed us, or one thing that's really chafed us about it is that, uh, historically anyway, a lot of the money, if not all the money's gone to a very worthy cause, which is endangered species mitigation. But it doesn't go to benefit the lake. And where we're in a situation where Great Salt Lake is imperiled, it's nice to see this money. If the industry is gonna have to pay this royalty. It's nice to see that money come back to protect the resource, uh, that generates the funds to begin with. Um, and that's needed. Uh, and so for those reasons, we appreciate the good sponsor and wanna, uh, express our support for the bill.

I apologize. I just thought we were good. Next. Okay.

Uh, thank you chair. Thank you members of the committee. My name is Alex Rampton. I go to Skyline High School. I'm a senior at Skyline High School and I'm a member of the Youth Coalition for Great Salt Lake. We are a youth led advocacy group that's working to save the great Salt Lake by informing the public, collaborating with diverse stakeholders, performing acts of service, and advocating for effective legislation, which is what brings me here today. And I'm here to speak in support of HB 2 47 because it will bring on average about $600,000 or $700,000 to the lake annually and in perpetuity, which is exactly what we need right now. Uh, that's a vital right now because the great Salt Lake is drying up and as it dries up, it'll cast toxic dust into the air that we breathe. My home, my family, the community that I've lived in for my whole life is rooted in the Salt Lake Valley. And I don't wanna watch them breathe in toxic dust over the next several decades. Um, I want my future to be in Utah and I don't want to deal with that either. So that's why I think it's so important that we act now to restore Great Salt Lake. Um, to fill it back up, um, we got a mound of work ahead of us and I think that it's great that we can, if we can start with this Bill. Uh, thank you very much and thank you Rep Ward for, um, involving the youth coalition in this bill. I really appreciate the opportunity.

Good afternoon chair and Members of meeting. Speak into

My name's Ava. I am also with Youth Coalition for Great Salt Lake. I also go to Skyline High School and I wanna speak in support of this bill as the youth. The health of the Great Salt Lake matters significantly to me. It's currently on track to dry up in just a few years, and if that happens, it's going to significantly impact the health of all Utahans. I am a climber and outdoor enthusiast and so I really want to continue to live in Salt Lake for many more years, but I worry about the effects that that could have on my health if the lake is still not getting the water that it needs. And so this bill would significantly help that problem by funding it in perpetuity. And I'm just here to encourage you to all vote yes on it. Thank you so much for your time.

Chair? Uh, I'd like to make a motion that we pass out favorably sub

Oh, I, I was going To, oh, okay. I know. Sorry. You Guys expect, but now I'm nervous. Sub one HB 2 47.

I would indeed. Um, first of all, uh, I'd like to commend the, the Good sponsor as well as the, the Youth Coalition for the Great Salt Lake. I've appreciated the emails. Um, I assume the other members of the committee have received them as well and I think that the engagement, uh, is exactly what we need to see from everybody in the public. Um, I, I would love to agree with the, the comment that it's, it's nice to see that the tax is drawn from the Brian ship shrimp industry being put back into, uh, that same industry and making the, not just the lake hole, but the, the, the Brian Chimping industry as well. And I think this is a great bill and I think we should all vote in favor.

I would like to, to patent, make a motion that we pass out favorably HB 2 47, uh, substitute one First, have motions in order. Would you like to speak to it? I, I think I've said enough. Thank you.

Hey, thank you Mr. Chair and thank you committee. I do have a little graphic handout. Is that all right if my intern passes that Out? Yes, we can just bring that around the outside. And I, I see a third substitute online, or you, what's your intention with that? My Intention is to not move that substitute, and so there's been some, uh, discussions overnight and that will not move forward. So I'll just be speaking to the current version of the bill. Great, thank you. Which is the second substitute? Yep. Uh, so thank you committee. This bill is a continuation of some, uh, work that we've done, uh, the last couple of years, um, rearranging how we spend some of the money that we get in. And a couple years ago, a bill was passed that put a new tax on renewable energy resources. And then that money is now, uh, directed towards, um, our Species Protection account. The Species Protection account is an important account that we maintain here in the state, so that when a species is, um, starting to suffer, starting to have something that's not going well for it, that the money from that can come be used, uh, to help that species habitat or whatever else it needs. And hopefully then it doesn't get to the point where it's listed as threatened or endangered because we've taken action ahead of time. Um, part of the money that goes into that fund has for some years come, uh, from an assessment on the brine shrimp, uh, industry. Um, but the possibility that's been opened up, uh, with the other new larger source of income to go into that Species of Protection account is to rethink that, that brine shrimp assessment money. Um, and, and what this bill does is it redirects it, um, back, so it would still stay in the, it would stay in the state sovereign, it would move to the State Sovereign Lands account, um, from which it could then be used either for water rights to go leasing of water rights to go into the Great Salt Lake, um, which is a, in my mind, a regional or a statewide purpose, as well as if there were other specific things, um, that were needed for, to protect the Brian Shrimp, uh, population would be the use of, of that money. So the handout just as best as I could, it kind of shows how, how the money goes now, uh, from that assessment, it goes to the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council and Endangered Species Protection. And then the bill would, would redirect it, but hopefully with, and I think with full expectation that the Species Protection account would, in the end, still have considerably more to work with than they've had be, uh, before the, as the different parties who are interested in these or depend on them for things that are important to them, have looked at it, there's been some concern that we don't want to, that we do wanna make sure that what we anticipate, which is a larger amount of money coming into the Species Protection account does pan out, uh, that way. Um, which I think there is good reason to believe that, but, but because we don't want to jump the gun and then find out that didn't work out like we thought the bill in the version that you had before you does in fact have a, a delayed implementation date on it, clear to out, to a year and a half, uh, from now. And that's just to make sure that it goes, how we think, uh, that it's going to go. It's it's next year in July when it would switch over. Um, but we think there is a good amount of cushion in there, but that's the reason that that is in there. And we do need to make sure that that takes place. That's important, uh, to make sure that that takes place. Um, and I think that's what's in the bill, but I, so I'd be happy to try and answer questions from the committee.

Laid on. Thank, thank you. I'd like the public comment if anybody's willing to, uh, talk about that delayed implementation. I'm, I'm, I, uh, I if it's a good now, it should be good. Good. So I, I I, I, I appreciate some further blessing on that if possible. Thank you. Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Tim Hawks, uh, represent the Great Salt Lake branch from cooperatives. So that's about 86% of the, uh, the industry out there on Great Salt Lake. Um, came here ready to fight, uh, over the third sub, so I appreciate that it wasn't moved. Um, I'll, I'll just say broadly speaking, we're supportive of this. I mean, we have to pay this tax and there's, we have questions and concerns about that. We've paid it for a long time. Um, but the move that it does here is it is it moves it from endangered species. Mitigation is something we don't contribute to at all. You know, we actually, if anything, we help on the endangered species front, so it's always sort of chafed us that we get tagged for that. Um, and it moves it back to account, the more directly protects the resource from which it's derived, which the revenue's derived, and that seems to be a good thing for us. So that's why we're broadly supportive. Um, I will say to Senator Stratton's question, I, I don't like the delayed implementation date. Um, and, and, uh, lemme just explain why. So we just had a big brain shrimp harvest. It means that there's a windfall this year. So normally this is generating about eight, $800,000 a year. Um, with the windfall this year, it'll generate almost $1.3 million, um, of revenue. And so that means that the Endangered Species Mitigation Fund is getting this extra infusion of $500,000 this year. They still get the solar tax credits and all the other things that was set up to get last year. So they get a lot of money. And we, the Great Salt Lake situation is, is situation that that stuff's pretty urchin. And with that delayed implementation date, it means that next year's royalty will also go into the Endangered Species Mitigation Fund. And that means it's not till 2028 that the revenue that's generated by the Brian Shrimp Royalty, um, can be used directly through the Sovereign Lands Management account to protect the resource from which it's derived. Now on balance, we support it. We appreciate the good sponsor, but, uh, we do have that concern about the delayed implementation date. Our preference would be no delayed implementation date for that portion of the bill. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Brian Summers president of the Utah Mining Association. I'm also a member of the, uh, endangered Species Mitigation Funder Species Protection Account Advisory Board. Um, so here to speak on behalf of Representative Ward Bill, we appreciate him working with us. Um, you know, to the point of the delayed implementation date, a lot of that, as the representative explained, is to make sure that the revenues that we believe are going to go into the SPA actually materialize. A lot of those are theoretical at this point. They've not showed up. And so we wanna make sure that the projects that we're doing statewide, uh, to deal with species issues that are important for all industries, uh, here in the state, especially heavy industries, extractive and mining industries, energy industries, uh, can continue. And we make sure that we don't have a, a diminishment in that. Um, you know, the, the anticipation is that it, future date, obviously, all these Brian Shrimp revenues will go into the Sovereign Lands account, but that delayed implementation allows us to have a little bit of a runway to ensure that, uh, those revenues from Representative Snider and Senator ML'S bill last year, which most of you supported, um, actually materialize. And we don't, you know, have a, a, a cliff essentially for this year and for next year. So we would appreciate your support, uh, of the second substitute. Thank you.

Ahead. Hello, Mr. Chair and the committee. Ricky Reko Browning, president of the Utah Petroleum Association, and also an advisory committee member on the Species Protection Account. Um, I wanna echo the comments that Mr. Summers made, um, of appreciating the efforts from the sponsor. There's been a lot of back and forth in trying to find the right balance. I can completely understand the frustration that the brain shrimp, uh, industry has about paying a tax that does not go back to directly supporting them. Our severance taxes are often going to far flung efforts and needs of the state that don't always represent our industry as well. So I understand that chafing. That being said, um, we do have a number of projects in the energy mineral development and natural resource space that have a close, uh, nexus with species issues where we need to ensure that we are protecting a number of species in a responsible way to allow development of those projects. And those are long-term multi-year commitments. And so, yes, we understand that there's some additional revenue that is hopefully coming into this fund. We truly hope that that does happen, but we also can't risk those multi-year efforts should there be instability in the fund. Um, so we support the delayed implementation. We hope that should there be, um, a shortfall in the revenue that is anticipated to come, that we can come back and revisit this next year and ensure that both the lake and the rest of the species statewide, that are important for all of the state's economic development are being properly looked after. Thank you for your support. Appreciate it.

Um, yeah, Terry Camp, I'm the Vice President of Public Policy for the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. Uh, we also serve on the Species Protection Account Advisory Board, and we also support the sub and the delayed implementation. Um, I will say a lot of money in the Species Protection account will still be going to Great Salt Lake. Um, you know, we obviously have Wilson's Fowl Rope, beard, gre, snowy plover that are all in discussion for Endangered Species Act listing. Um, some of those petitions have already started, so a lot of that money is really critical to having the science and the data to make sure that we know about their population sizes and can, can help inform, you know, those decisions by the Fish and Wildlife Service. So the idea that none of this money is going toward the lake, I don't think it's true either, but, um, again, we, we appreciate the, the sponsor working with our advisory group and making sure that, um, the account is, you know, not, not taken away from in the immediate term. And we think this is a reasonable compromise. Thanks.

Yes. Yeah. My name is Liam Mount Lafa. I'm 20 years old and a sophomore at the University of Utah. I wanna first thank the Utah State Legislature for all you have already done to help save Great Salt Lake, as well as Representative Ward for sponsoring House Bill 2 47 Great Salt Lake related amendments. I speak in support of this excellent bill. As the founder of Youth Coalition for Great Salt Lake, which I started three and a half years ago. Group focuses on informing the public collabor with diverse stakeholders, supporting effective legislation and engaging in community service to save great Salt Lake. I founded this group because I have asthma and I was concerned about the detrimental economic and air quality effects that are occurring because of the loss of Great Salt Lake. I'm especially excited about this bill as Representative Ward has stated that it came directly out of a meeting the Youth Coalition for Great Salt Lake had with House Majority Leader, Representative Snider, and with Representative Ward. I co clearly state that the youth of Utah, including myself, then I'm opining a little bit and I apologize. Um, I can clearly state that we care deeply about this issue and are extremely concerned about our present future in this state as a result of what happens with Great Salt Lake. We had over a hundred youth talking about Great Salt Lake at Youth Lobby Day for Great Salt Lake a couple weeks ago. I specifically ask you to vote yes on H bill B 2 47 today because it just makes sense. This Bill does not call for any additional money from the legislature. It simply gives, I mean, we've talked about this, uh, dear moving of money from the Brian Trim tax that is already collected annually in order to get that money to Great Salt Lake. Specifically, it's used in order to buy water leases and help the lakes BRI shrimp. I know that you're all aware of the importance of saving Great Salt Lake and subsequently this beautiful state. So voting yes on this excellent bill is another important step in this essential endeavor. Thank you.

Uh, my name is Alex Marshall. I'm a freshman at Skyline High School, and I'm here as part of Youth Coalition for the Great Salt Lake. Um, to express my support of this bill and explain why I think it's a really key piece of legislation, um, this bill is not like other bill, unlike other bills that we have in Utah that takes the revenue made from a certain industry and reinvests it back into that industry, like how gas taxes are used to, um, build better roads and support transportation infrastructure in the same way this bill would support and protect the ecosystem that Brian Shrimp and the industries built around them rely on. Um, so it would really help Utah's economy because, um, a lot of money comes from Brian Shrimp to Utah's economy every year. Um, additionally, I'm here because the future of Great Salt Lake is something that's deeply personal to me. I have lived in Utah all of my life, and I really see a future here. However, if the Great Salt Lake were to dry completely, that future would be taken away from me due to toxic dust that would make Utah unlivable for me. I have a family member who has respiratory issues and the dust coming off of the exposed lake beds worsen those issues to the point that she had to move to a different state. And those respiratory issues run throughout my family, and I do not wanna see my family split across the us, um, because the air becomes unbreathable for us. Um, so the future of Utah is really dependent on the Great Salt Lake, and I am depending on you as my lawmakers to treat the Great Salt Lake as an utmost priority. And by supporting HB 2 47, you are doing that, well help boost Utah's economy. Um, so thank you very much and I appreciate that all that you guys have done for Great Salt Lake and for Utah as a whole. So I really appreciate that.

Um, I'm 14. 14. Very impressive. Thank you for coming. Appreciate your testimony.

Thank you so much, chair and Senator Vickers. And man, I'm following up some great speakers today. I don't know if I could say anything better. Um, but Carmen here with Heal Utah. Um, we are here in favor of HB 2 47 Today. I wanna thank you for the opportunity to join virtually. Um, we are grateful to the sponsor, all of our legislators, our governor, our regulators, and now our federal partners for their continued commitment to protecting and restoring the great Salt Lake. Directing and adjusting revenue from Brian Shafer Realties and other extractive industry taxes. To support the lake directly is a responsible and regenerative approach that helps ensure these industries contribute directly to the long-term health of our lake and demonstrates good stewardship. Without this funding and support, the drying Lake would continue to impact our health environment and our economy for worse, air pollution or lack of lake effect, like we saw this winter. Um, a recent report came out, um, this past month that showed the cheapest way to deal with our dust issues from a drying lake is to fill the lake back up. So we are excited to see continued commitment. We understand that restoring this lake is going to take time. It's not gonna happen overnight in one session or with one bill. So we are so encouraged by the continued improvements and partnerships in Utah and how we manage and invest in our great Salt Lake. We thank you for your time and your continued work in saving our namesake lake. Thank you all so much for your time today.

Hello. Um, good morning. Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

We can barely hear you. There you go. All right. I'll talk louder. Is that better? That's better, yes. Thank you. Um, my name's Elizabeth Curt Thompson, and I live in Logan and I'm here representing Mormon Women for Ethical Government, or MWE for short. And M WEG is a grassroots organization dedicated to building a more peaceful, just and ethical world. Um, HB 2 47, as we've all heard, um, would redirect brine shrimp royalty revenue to the Sovereign Lands Management account, and, um, limit this funding's use to projects that directly benefit the Great Salt Lake, um, such as the leasing of water rights and supporting the brine shrimp population. We believe that this targeted lake specific funding proposal would play an important part in solving this ongoing crisis of the drying of Great Salt Lake and to mwe. We believe that governments and all of us as members of society have an obligation to exercise responsible stewardship of the Earth. That HB 2 47 is a great step in the right direction towards responsible stewardship of Great Salt Lake, and we urge a yes vote on HB 2 47.

Oh, thank you Chair. I, uh, well, let me do this. I, I would like to move House Bill 2 47, second substitute with a favorable recommendation.

Thank you. I I appreciated the, uh, the discussion today, the work of the good sponsor. And I think the reason I asked that question about the delayed, I, I wanted to point out that we have this remarkable ecosystem in our state. It deals with so many different levers and, and what we're doing here is we're focusing on water rights, the Great Salt Lake, but a water right is greatly impacted, for example, by forest health and, and and, and what we're doing in our watersheds and, and what we're doing with our public lands. And this is something we've been, we, we all know, and I look around this, this and I look Senator Hinkins and then the things we've been working on with our stewardship Public Lands Commission for years and, and what we, you know, our federalism and all that, we're doing it, it is an all hands on deck and, and upstream from the water, right? Is, is having a a, a water right, that has vi vitality and, and, and muscle to it. And, and, and, and that goes, it's really, it's, it's, it expands. I appreciate we need to expand the, the, the, the, the notion that it's much more, this is an important piece, but it's much more than water right's. The great Salt Lake. It's, it's, it's frag mighty around Utah Lake. It's part of this whole ecosystem that we need to be aware of. And I appreciate the, the, the comments and also the recognition that we have been working hard over a billion dollars we put in, in, into this. It was great effort and it was, it was, uh, helpful and I think sat helpful and a compliment to all the work that's been done to have the president of the United States weigh in. So this is, I think from top to bottom, side to side, across the board effort that's taking place. And this is one piece a a another piece that we can move that's been vetted and coordinated. And, uh, it's in a good place. I just thank you for

Well, You might be able to move it faster, but problem is you've got also the Colorado River you gotta realize we've got endangered species in that river, four of them that, uh, if we don't protect them, we're gonna stop taking water outta the Colorado River. And if you don't realize it, starvation Reservoir, a Deer Creek Reservoir, strawberry Reservoir, Utah Lake, all that water's coming from the Colorado River. A lot of it, you know, other than the contributors. But, uh, so we've gotta make sure that we take care of the Colorado River. And we're in a fight right now with the downstream states, California, Arizona, and Nevada. And so if we don't protect species, I mean all works. And Senator Stratton is right. That's, you know, it's a unique situation. And because that would, that water would cease to come and we get a lot of water from there. And so that, and that comes, ends up in the Great Salt Lake. And so if you stop that head waters and also the drinking water and Salt Lake comes from the Central Utah Water Project, which comes from those same lakes and stuff like that. So we've just gotta be real careful that we don't. But, you know, he's alluding to a lot of the timber and stuff that's along the Wasatch front here that needs to be harvested. Not just the fire danger, but it's also the evaporation of the water that never gets, hits the ground with the conifer trees and stuff like that. We need to make sure we get more Aspen, our state, our new state tree, and, and so, you know, we, we really do need to take care of the Great Salt Lake, but it all starts at the headwaters. We just need to keep that in mind. And so

Motion to adjourn. Non debatable. All in favor say aye. Aye.

Madam Reading Clerk first Substitute House Bill 2 47. Great Salt Lake funding amendments by Representative Ward. This bill was served in Natural Resources, agriculture and Environment with a vote of 13 0 1

Representative Board. Thank You, Mr. Speaker, colleagues. This bill is a continuation of some work, uh, over the last couple of years regarding our species protection account here in the state, and will result in more appropriate use of the funds that we currently get from our brine shrimp assessment. There's a beautiful little blue handout on your desk that shows visually how these monies will be used if this bill passes. Um, a couple of decades back, the legislature was looking for a way to get some funds to use when a species was potentially going to be listed as threatened or endangered, to try and help that species out so that it didn't become, uh, threatened or endangered. And at the time, it seemed to the legislature that the brine shrimp folks had quite a bit of money. Um, so they put a tax, um, on the brine shrimp industry and then used that money for two things, uh, $125,000 a year. Uintah fund a great Salt Lake Advisory Council on the remainder of that money went into that species protection account and was used to help, uh, species around the state. It wasn't really located to the lake. It could be used for species anywhere in the state. Um, but last year, um, this, uh, legislature led by our good majority leader, led an effort to get some other new funding into that species protection account. And we passed a bill that put a tax on some new, uh, renewable energy projects, which is expected to get a considerably larger amount of money each year into that account. And that opened up the possibility, um, for us to consider, uh, whether or not there'd be a more appropriate use for this assessment that was being placed on the Brian Shrimp. So, uh, all this bill does is then redirect the money, uh, from the Brines Shrimp assessment into the Sovereign Lands account. And from there, that money will be used either for leasing water rights for the purpose of having that water flow into the lake, or it can also be used for other projects that would help protect the health of the Brines shrimp population. The Species Protection account is still anticipated to have sizably larger amount of money available for their use. Um, even with this, um, redirection. Uh, but I think it is a more appropriate use of the money to help a little water go into the lake each year, um, and to help protect the Brian Shrimp population. And that is my presentation. Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to move se second substitute HB 2 47 in my name, Representative Snider. I have that, uh, that motion as an order. Would like to speak to it. Yeah, I would. I, uh, Mr. Speaker, this is a fantastic bill. I really appreciate what the good representative from Davis County is doing here. I also appreciate his willingness to entertain this debate. As many of you know, a couple of months ago, US Magnesium officially filed for bankruptcy and is a, as a function of them filing for bankruptcy, they, there is potential collateral damage on two other industries on this lake, uh, broken arrow, which provides most of the road salts for this state. And Cargill Minerals, which has one of its largest processing plant for fertilizers on the South Shore Lake. Those companies relied on water that was prior to, had flowed through US Magnesium. Unfortunately, when US Magnesium went into bankruptcy and did not enter into a, uh, agreement with the state of Utah as to how water would be used on the lake, they forced themselves unwittingly and not of any fault of their own, into a higher tax bracket, which would ultimately lead them to be not economically viable. As we're dealing with important issues on the lake, uh, and having good partners like Cargill and, uh, broken Arrow here, this bill simply says you have had this problem dealing with water from no fault of your own. We will, we for one year, while the state figures out how to assess them with the current water that's now owned by the state, uh, they, their tax liability will be frozen at its current rate. And then in a year from now, when the new agreement comes forward will be, uh, adjusted. So that's the essence of the substitute. Mr. Speaker,

Thank you. I'm supportive of this motion. This is another issue that needs to get taken care of, uh, with the lake this year.

Waive. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Um, I rise in support of this bill. Um, the Brian Shrimp or, you know, you think of them as shrimp, you know, get too excited, but they provide essential nutrients to the millions of migratory birds who use our lake. And I, I learned in doing some other research that our lake is of hemispheric importance to birds in North and South America. I mean, and all over North America. Um, and so I think it's very important that we keep our brine shrimp healthy and, uh, thriving. And so for that reason, I support this bill. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this bill has, uh, substituted, I think, uh, the sponsor has worked well with the brine shrimp industry and, uh, he's outlined a program that will get funding for water rights to the Great Salt Lake, still maintain the brine ship shrimp industry. And, uh, I think it's a unique way to help the Great Salt Lake. And I'm saying that as a southern Utah guy. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Will the sponsor yield to a question? Representative Ward, will you yield to a question? Yes. Um, I'm not understanding what's to be done with the Sovereignty Lands Management account and funding that goes there to lease a water, right for the Great Salt Lake. Would you mind explaining that to me please?

Yeah, sure. So in, in that, that account, um, already, um, with our division of Forestry, fire and Lands does make grants for different purposes where the legislature has by statute said, this money needs to be given out for this purpose. So they're good at managing that sort of fund and they report to the legislature regularly. So we're not putting the money in a new place where there isn't reports back to us. Having reports back from them is already a part of what they do by their statutory duties. And this will just say that these funds will then go into their keeping and that they will then use those funds for two specific purposes. And those purposes just as set out in the bill, are to lease water rights to go into the lake or for any other projects whose purpose is to protect the health of the brine shrimp population as a whole. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Uh, thank you colleagues. I'll wa

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd like to move se second substitute HB 2 47 in my name, Representative Snider.

as an order. Would like to speak to it. Yeah, I would. I, uh, Mr. Speaker, this is a fantastic bill. I really appreciate what the good representative from Davis County is doing here. I also appreciate his willingness to entertain this debate. As many of you know, a couple of months ago, US Magnesium officially filed for bankruptcy and is a, as a function of them filing for bankruptcy, they, there is potential collateral damage on two other industries on this lake, uh, broken arrow, which provides most of the road salts for this state. And Cargill Minerals, which has one of its largest processing plant for fertilizers on the South Shore Lake. Those companies relied on water that was prior to, had flowed through US Magnesium. Unfortunately, when US Magnesium went into bankruptcy and did not enter into a, uh, agreement with the state of Utah as to how water would be used on the lake, they forced themselves unwittingly and not of any fault of their own, into a higher tax bracket, which would ultimately lead them to be not economically viable. As we're dealing with important issues on the lake, uh, and having good partners like Cargill and, uh, broken Arrow here, this bill simply says you have had this problem dealing with water from no fault of your own. We will, we for one year, while the state figures out how to assess them with the current water that's now owned by the state, uh, they, their tax liability will be frozen at its current rate. And then in a year from now, when the new agreement comes forward will be, uh, adjusted. So that's the essence of the substitute. Mr. Speaker,

Waive. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Um, I rise in support of this bill. Um, the Brian Shrimp or, you know, you think of them as shrimp, you know, get too excited, but they provide essential nutrients to the millions of migratory birds who use our lake. And I, I learned in doing some other research that our lake is of hemispheric importance to birds in North and South America. I mean, and all over North America. Um, and so I think it's very important that we keep our brine shrimp healthy and, uh, thriving. And so for that reason, I support this bill. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this bill has, uh, substituted, I think, uh, the sponsor has worked well with the brine shrimp industry and, uh, he's outlined a program that will get funding for water rights to the Great Salt Lake, still maintain the brine ship shrimp industry. And, uh, I think it's a unique way to help the Great Salt Lake. And I'm saying that as a southern Utah guy. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Will the sponsor yield to a question? Representative Ward, will you yield to a question? Yes. Um, I'm not understanding what's to be done with the Sovereignty Lands Management account and funding that goes there to lease a water, right for the Great Salt Lake. Would you mind explaining that to me please?

Yeah, sure. So in, in that, that account, um, already, um, with our division of Forestry, fire and Lands does make grants for different purposes where the legislature has by statute said, this money needs to be given out for this purpose. So they're good at managing that sort of fund and they report to the legislature regularly. So we're not putting the money in a new place where there isn't reports back to us. Having reports back from them is already a part of what they do by their statutory duties. And this will just say that these funds will then go into their keeping and that they will then use those funds for two specific purposes. And those purposes just as set out in the bill, are to lease water rights to go into the lake or for any other projects whose purpose is to protect the health of the brine shrimp population as a whole.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Uh, thank you colleagues. I'll wa

Now to the bill. Thank you Mr. President. Uh, this bill is a continuation of previous work regarding the Species protection account. It will result in a more appropriate use of the funds that we currently get from our brine ship assessment. A few decades back, a tax was placed on the brine ship, uh, producers that was used to fund the Species Protection account. Uh, last year the legislature passed a bill, put a considerably larger amount of money into the Species protection account, gave them the opportunity to dedicate more funds towards, uh, brine shrimp and around the lake. The bill continues to fund the GSL Advisory Committee, but then redirects the remaining funds to be used for leasing water rights for the purpose of having water flow into the lake or for other projects that would help protect the health of the brine shrimp population. The Species Protection account is still anticipated to have a significantly larger amount of money available for their use. This bill also helps out some of our other industries on the lake so they're not in, in injured by the closure of US Mag. It freezes Cargills and broken arrows tax liability to its current rate for one year. This gives them a one year period to negotiate a direct contract with the state so they can maintain their current royalty tax rate without, I don't.

Any questions Mr. President?

Thank you Mr. President. We had a discussion in committee on the, uh, Brian Shrimp tax adjustment. Could, could the sponsor explain what's taking place there in the substitute? Senator Sandall, you yield?

Yes, I'll yield and I'm, go ahead. Happy to that question. So there was negotiation with the Brian Shrimp industry over the last few days and I failed to mention that sub five actually is the result of an agreed, agreed upon solution wherein the brine ship tax will revert back to what it was four years ago.

Direction of that? I just wasn't sure which way it went.

So thank you for the question. Thank you Mr. President.

Waive summation to move that fifth substitute house bill 2 47 pass.

Senator Vickers Baldry Lewin Aye. Bramer bus cu Cullimore Escamilla Fillmore Grover Aye. Harper Kinins Ipson Johnson. K Juab McKay Mikel Aye. Milner Musman Owens picture Aye. Lum re Aye. Aye. Sandal Stevenson Stratton Vickers priority list Bier Wilson. Aye. Winterton President Adams Aye.

Thank you Mr. President. Um, a year or two ago I worked on a bill, um, working on what, what qualifies as an approved absence and Representative Albrecht saw, saw the bill and, and added to it just, just a little bit, making sure. Um, for years we've always been really good at excusing kids for football and, and basketball and cheerleading. And what we're doing is just broadening that policy. You'll see that programs that are tied to Utah State for high school kids are listed shooting sports and mountain biking. Um, without, I'm open for questions.

Thank you. I'll waive summation and move under suspension of the rules that this bill pass.

Uh, thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to concur

Yes, I would. There were two good changes that, uh, took place, um, in the Senate. When the bill left here, there was still some battling back and forth about how fast it would be implemented and what the, the rate would be. On the Brian Shrimp assessment. The parties involved came to a a, a better agreement so the money will go sooner and the Brian Shrimp assessment will return to the rate that it was four years ago. The other agreement, uh, the other bit that is put in the bill, relates to a settlement. Uh, that the, that we are just in the process of finalizing with some lands that are directly adjacent to the Salt Lake, um, which will be a great step forward, uh, for our, our state. They've been working on it for many years and now is our chance to bring that to a good conclusion and this just allows that to happen. Um, and that's what's in this substitution.