H.B. 567 Outdoor Recreational Infrastructure Grant Program Amendments: transcript

Go ahead. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, it's a pleasure to, before you be, before you this morning. This is a, a really simple bill, but I think it's a, a much needed clarification. Uh, for our outdoor recreation infrastructure grant program. This just allows us to use these funds, um, if we have waters, recreational waters that are not currently usable due to algal blooms or other issues. Uh, this allows the grant program to be utilized to take care of those issues. And that concludes my presentation.

Yeah. Thank you. Uh, representative. Um, have you discussed this with outdoor recreation? Uh, as far as that funding be able to use with that?

Yeah. Yes, Sir. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you, chair. I was just gonna make the same motion,

Um, I'm just trying to get through before Casey has a chance to vote against it. So, I, I mean, the good representative from Paradise, sorry.

Is there a chance we could go to consent on this one? It's a pretty clean, simple bill.

I, I'd like to recommend, uh, HP 5 67 for the consent calendar or for consent. Okay.

Tar. I wasn't gonna vote no today, but I will vote no on consent. So I think, uh, we've gotta have the debate on the policy and there's 200 bills on the board, so,

11, article 11, section nine of Utah Constitution. Uh, the legislature may not grant the right to construct and operate a street railroad telegraph telephone or electric light plant to tell you how old that particular provision is within a city or a town without the consent of the local authorities who have control of the street or highway proposed to be occupied for such purposes. There is actually a constitutional prohibit, uh, provision in here that, uh, requires them to work with local governments, uh, in or in order to do something like this. I think that your concern about, um, uh, being more explicit about the, um, tax treatment is something that we're, uh, very willing to address, um, as we meet this morning and try and get some of these final items worked out. Thank you for bringing that up, Mr. Chair, and I really appreciate you quoting the Constitution on that, because that is something many of us forget. One thing that I feel that is, especially as it relates to that constitutional provision, is that we require permission at the beginning. And rarely, when we were opening those plants, did we think long enough term on how we would deal with some of these long-term tax implications when the value of the tangible personal property decreased enough that it wasn't so that it wasn't meeting its burden, uh, or its need to service. And so that's the only part that I'm hopeful that we can figure out. I mean, as I've talked to Senator Owens and I've been out and toured the rural counties and talked to them about this issue, that's the one that keeps coming back is, and it's the one that weighs on my mind. 'cause I still haven't solved it. It's how we keep these centrally assessed assets, and while we're starting new right, maybe we can find ways, uh, to lead out in solving that problem is all I is all I can hopefully get to. 'cause it is easy. I'll say this, it's easy for locals in the initial to say yes. What is hard is to anticipate the elected officials that are in office 30, 40, 50 years down the road looking back and saying, boy, I wish we'd done this differently. So, but I appreciate you. That's, that constitutional provision is key. So, um, hopefully, uh, anyways, appreciate you bringing that up.

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. My name is Tom Carter. I'm with Rocky Mountain Power and due to time constraints, I've been nominated to speak on behalf of Rocky Mountain Power, the Utah Rural Electric, rural, the Utah Rural Electric Co-Op Cooperative Association in the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems. Uh, we wanted to thank the sponsor for addressing some of our concerns around service territory integrity through the amendments, and also his commitment to continue to work and meet with us today about our additional concerns. And that is my, those are my comments.

That's it. But we are going to work together. Yeah. We're committed to that. Okay.

Uh, Mr. Chairman, basically the primary thing we're working on is there's some structural uncertainty for the utilities, especially the co-ops and munis that could potentially impact some finance infrastructure. But we've worked very closely with the sponsor and we think that there's a, a viable path forward. So we're feeling very confident about that.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Uh, HB 5 67 is a clarification or a modification to our, um, recreational infrastructure, uh, in grant program. What it allows, uh, lately we've been seeing a lot of algal blooms that have made our recreational waters unusable. Uh, and what this bill does is it allows us to use the grant program to improve, uh, or restore bodies of water that are deemed unusable due to algal blooms or other, um, uh, issues with with water quality. Um, and that's pretty much the whole bill. So with that, I'd entertain any questions.

Thank you Mr. President. This bill updates Utah out Utah's outdoor recreational infrastructure grant program to better support the development and improvement of trails, trailheads, boat ramps and other recreational facilities across the state. Outdoor recreation contributes billions to Utah's economy each year and and investments in infrastructure help communities safely accommodate the growing number of residents and visitors enjoying our public lands. Ultimately this bill supports both economic development and quality of life. Ensuring Utahans and visitors alike can continue to enjoy safe, accessible outdoor recreation opportunities for years to come. Without I'm open to any questions.

Thank you. I'd move that. Uh, house Bill 5 6 7 pass.