Thursday, February 21, 2008

MORNING COMMITTEES

This morning a tax incentive to support solar energy projects will be reviewed by the HOUSE REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE. HB201 offers an income tax credit of up to $2000 a year for investing in utility-sized solar projects. It's being proposed by St. George City Light & Power. Also in Revenue and Taxation is HB383, Statewide Capital Outlay Equalization. This bill would create a fund for school districts to use for constructing and renovating buildings. The money in the fund would come from a special property tax levied by all school districts, plus $27 million from income tax revenue in the Uniform School Fund. The State School Board would manage it.

A bill that changes the rules for incorporating a new town is on the HOUSE POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS agenda. Fourth Substitute HB164 prohibits filing a petition to incorporate a new town if the petition sponsors own more that 40% of the area that's up for incorporation. A public hearing would have to be held before the petition was filed. Larger counties could do financial feasibility studies of proposed towns. The bill would affect only future incorporations. Previously filed petitions would be subject to the law in effect when those petitions were filed. Recently some proposed incorporations have been criticized for lack of community input.

SENATE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES will consider third Substitute HB131 today. It sets up a grant program in the Department of Health for community organizations to provide health services to low income and medically-underserved populations. The services would need to be culturally and linguistically suited to recipients. The goal is to help the underserved find good health care, including screenings, and learn to manage their own daily health needs.

IN THE SENATE

SB81, Illegal Immigration will be debated on the Senate floor this morning at 11:00. The sponsor has been working with business and religious groups in hopes of improving the bill. Among the many issues are: verification of employee citizenship by employers, falsification of documents, transporting and harboring undocumented individuals, and denial of social services.

For more information, visit your legislature — in person or online at www.le.utah.gov

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY

Yesterday Substitute SB84, Net Metering Programs, sponsored by Senator VanTassell, passed 3rd Senate reading 25-0-4. Now it goes to the House.

This bill will allow larger renewable energy projects, up to 2 megawatts, including solar photovoltaics and geothermal, to sell the excess power they generate back to the power grid. The Salt Palace solar photovoltaic facility is likely to be the first project to use the new program.

It was described by Senator Van Tassell on the Senate floor as the result of several months' work with many stakeholders, including the advocacy group Utah Clean Energy, the Public Service Commission, the Committee of Consumer Services that represents utility consumer interests, rural electric co-ops, Rocky Mountain Power, and the Governor's energy advisor.

SB195, a proposal to prohibit spending leftover campaign funds for a candidate's personal use, got a second hearing before SENATE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS yesterday. Senator Bell, the bill's sponsor, brought a substitute bill that took out the reference to personal use by current officeholders, which the committee thought was too hard to define. The substitute still requires former candidates and office-holders to spend their leftover funds for political purposes, or give them to the state General Fund or a non-profit. They would also have to file a year end report or face a $1,000 fine. Senator Bell thought this disclosure alone ("half a loaf") would still discourage hoarding funds and personal use.

Three Senators, Jenkins, McCoy and Romero, agreed. The League of Women Voters also spoke in favor of the bill, saying most voters would be surprised and dismayed to learn that their contributions can be spent for personal use. But Senators Buttars, Hickman and Knudson voted no, burying the bill in committee on a 3-3 tie.

In other committee action yesterday, HB325, a bill to require school policies that discourage bullying and hazing, passed. So did SB238 which enacts strong measures to keep Dreissena or zebra mussels out of Utah waters. The mussels clog up water systems and filter out nutrients and green algae needed by native species and sport fish to survive. It's virtually impossible to eradicate them after they're established.

Sandy Peck
League of Women Voters