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MINUTES OF THE HOUSE

NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE, & ENVIRONMENT STANDING COMMITTEE
Room W125, West Office Building, State Capitol Complex

February 2, 2007


Members Present:    Rep. Roger E. Barrus, Chair
    Rep. Kerry Gibson, Vice Chair
    Rep.     Sylvia Andersen
    Rep. Mel Brown
    Rep. Jack Draxler
    Rep. Carl Duckworth     Rep. James Gowans
    Rep. Neal Hendrickson
    Rep. John Mathis
    Rep. Mike Noel
    Rep. Patrick Painter
    Rep. Phil Riesen
    Rep. Richard Wheeler

Members Absent:    Rep. Glenn Donnelson
    Rep. Steve Sandstrom
    
Staff Present:    Brian Allred, Policy Analyst
            Carrie Griffith, Committee Secretary
    
Note:        List of visitors and a copy of handouts are filed with committee minutes

Rep. Barrus called the meeting to order at 2:07 p.m.

MOTION:    Rep. Noel moved to approve the minutes of the January 31, 2007 meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Andersen, Rep. Painter, and Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.

S.B. 47    Department of Agriculture Amendments (Sen. M. Dayton) (Rep. P. Painter)

Sen. Dayton explained the bill to the committee.

Spoke for the bill:     Kyle Stevens, Deputy Commissioner, Department.of Agriculture and Food

MOTION:    Rep. Draxler moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 37, Line 1123 :    

             1123          (2) The [Soil] Conservation Commission shall be comprised of
{   12   }        15       members [as


2.    Page 37, Lines 1133 through 1134 :    

             1133      executive director's designee;
{   and   }

    
  (f) the chair and the vice chair of the State Grazing Advisory Board created in Section 4-20-1.5;

    (g) the president of the County Weed Supervisors Association; and  

             1134          
{   (f)   }        (h)       seven district supervisors who provide district representation on the commission on


    The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Andersen, Rep. Painter and Rep.     Wheeler absent for the vote.

MOTION:     Rep. Gibson moved to pass out the bill favorably as amended. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Andersen, Rep. Painter and Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.

H.B. 145    Farmers Market Exemptions (Rep. R. Menlove)

Rep. Menlove explained the bill to the committee.

Spoke for the bill:    Todd Bingham, Utah Farm Bureau Federation

Spoke against the bill:    Kyle Lamalfa, organizer of Farmer's Market in SLC--Rose Park area

MOTION:    Rep. Gowans moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously.

MOTION:    Rep. Gowans moved to place the bill on the consent calendar. The motion passed unanimously.

H.B. 300    Fireworks Display Fee Amendment (Rep. R. Menlove)

Rep. Menlove explained the bill to the committee.

Spoke for the bill:    Ron Morris, State Fire Marshal

MOTION:    Rep. Gibson moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed with Rep. Brown, Rep. Gowans and Rep. Hendrickson voting in opposition.


S.B. 48    Amendments to Coal Mining and Reclamation (Sen. M. Dmitrich) (Rep. B. King)

Sen. Dmitrich explained the bill to the committee.

Spoke for the bill:    David Litvin, President Utah Mining Association

MOTION:    Rep. Noel moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously.

S.B. 94    Use of Mineral Lease Funds by Special Service Districts (Sen. M. Dmitrich) (Rep. J. Mathis)

Sen. Dmitrich explained the bill to the committee.

Spoke for the bill:    David Litvin, President Utah Mining Association

MOTION:    Rep. Mathis moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously.

Rep. Barrus relinquished the chair to Rep. Gibson.

H.B. 351    Revolving Loan Fund for Certain Energy Efficient Projects (Rep. R. Barrus)

Rep. Barrus explained the bill to the committee.

MOTION:    Rep. Painter moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 5, Lines 135 through 137 :    

             135          Section 4. Appropriation.
             136          There is appropriated
  from the General Fund       for fiscal year 2007-08 only, $5,000,000 to the Energy Efficiency

             137      Fund to capitalize the fund.

        The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Riesen absent for the vote.

Spoke for the bill:    David Litvin, President Utah Mining Association
            Bruce Williams, Davis School District
            Ray Timothy, Utah State Office of Education



MOTION:    Rep. Draxler moved to pass the bill out favorably as amended. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Riesen absent for the vote.

Rep. Barrus resumed the chair.

S.B. 47    Department of Agriculture Amendments (Sen. M. Dayton) (Rep. P. Painter)

MOTION:    Rep. Gibson moved to reconsider the committee's actions on S.B. 47. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Riesen absent for vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Painter moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 7, Lines 198 through 200 :    

             198          (2) [Unless otherwise provided by statute, the] The department
{   may   } , by following the

             199      procedures and requirements of Section 63-38-3.2 ,
  may       adopt a schedule of fees assessed for

             200      services provided by the department. [The fee shall be reasonable and fair, and shall be

2.    Page 34, Lines 1042 through 1045 :    

             1042          The department may waive any or all examination requirements [which]
{   that may be   }

             1043      specified
{   by   }        in       [regulation] rule for noncommercial, commercial, and private applicators through

             1044      a reciprocal agreement with another state whose examination requirements and standards for
             1045      licensure are substantially similar to those of Utah.

        The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Riesen absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Gibson moved to pass the bill out favorably as amended. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Riesen absent.




H.B. 192    Revoking Authority to Use State Lands as a Bird Refuge (Rep. B. Ferry)

Rep. Ferry explained the bill to the committee. (handout)

Spoke against the bill:    Amy Defreese, Utah Rivers Council
            Wayne Martinson, National Audubon Society
            
Spoke for the bill:    Mike Styler, Department of Natural Resources

MOTION:    Rep. Mathis moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Andersen and Rep. Riesen absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Gibson moved to adjourn the meeting. The passed passed unanimously with Rep. Andersen and Rep. Riesen absent for the vote.

The meeting adjourned at 3:31 p.m.


    
                    _________________________
    Rep. Roger E. Barrus, Chair