Utah Legislators earn failing marks in the Utah Sierra Club 2019 Legislative Scorecard
By Ashley Soltysiak
The Utah Sierra Club released a comprehensive environmentally focused review of the 2019 Utah State Legislative Session. The Utah Sierra Club considered committee and floor votes for the year’s top 20 bills, reflecting a range of conservation issues including reduction of plastics, nuclear waste, water conservation, public lands, and climate change. Unfortunately, averages for both chambers were failing. The Senate had an average of 54.14 percent, and the House had an average of 51.55 percent.
We applaud legislation supporting public transit, air quality monitoring, anti-idling ordinances, and improved water conservation practices. But, when the legislature approves nearly $55 million for a Mexican coal port, refuses to consider tax credits for electric vehicles or carbon pricing, and diametrically shifts nuclear waste policy in the wrong direction, the outlook for Utah’s environment is bleak. Incremental progress is simply not enough.
Paying lip service to environmental issues doesn’t do our beautiful state or its people justice. With so many unique ecosystems and burgeoning opportunities to build community, it is disappointing that our state legislators continue to maintain the status quo instead of enacting meaningful change. By refusing to take progressive and decisive action, our leaders continue to widen disparities, threaten our wild places, and disproportionately burden already marginalized communities.
The bottom line? Failing averages in the House and Senate translate directly to poor public health and poor environmental quality in Utah’s future. Utah simply needs more environmental champions to defend the natural heritage that enriches and unites all Utahns.
Ashley Soltysiak is director of the Utah Sierra Club.
The viewpoints expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent.
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