| Members Present: Sen. Ronald Winterton, Chair Rep. Carl R. Albrecht, Chair Sen. David P. Hinkins Sen. Derek L. Kitchen Sen. Ralph Okerlund Sen. Scott D. Sandall Rep. Patrice M. Arent Rep. Walt Brooks Rep. Scott H. Chew Rep. Steve R. Christiansen | Rep. Kay J. Christofferson Rep. Joel Ferry Rep. Carol Spackman Moss Rep. Marie H. Poulson Rep. Jeffrey D. Stenquist Rep. Keven J. Stratton Staff Present: Ms. Sarah J. Balland, Policy Analyst Ms. Shannon C. Halverson, Associate General Counsel Ms. Cherish Cosman, Administrative Assistant |
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Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the
meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
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| Chair Albrecht called the meeting to order at 8:33 a.m. |
| 1. Committee Business |
| MOTION: Sen. Hinkins moved to approve the minutes of the September 18, 2019 meeting. The motion passed with a vote of 9-0-7. | |||
| Yeas - 9 | Nays-0 | Abs-7 | |
| Rep. C. Albrecht Rep. P. Arent Rep. W. Brooks Rep. S. Chew Rep. S. Christiansen Rep. K. Christofferson Sen. D. Hinkins Rep. M. Poulson Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. J. Ferry Sen. D. Kitchen Rep. C. Moss Sen. R. Okerlund Sen. S. Sandall Rep. J. Stenquist Rep. K. Stratton |
| 2. Draft Legislation: FL0304, Sales and Use Tax Modifications |
| 2- 2020 General Session Draft Legislation "Sales and Use Tax Modifications" (2020FL0304-010) |
| Sen. Winterton and Howard Stephenson, President of the Utah Taxpayers Association, presented background information on draft legislation "Sales and Use Tax Modifications", explained key provisions of the bill, and responded to committee questions with committee discussion following. |
| Rep. Logan Wilde, representing Uintah Basin counties, spoke in favor of draft legislation "Sales and Use Tax Modifications" and its economic impact for the oil and gas industry. |
| Rep. Christine Watkins, representing both counties within the Uintah Basin and coal-rich counties, spoke in favor of the bill and the proposed three-year phase-in sales tax exemption provision. |
| Dr. Ellen Brady, Women's State Legislative Council of Utah, spoke against the bill and tax relief for the carbon-based extraction industry, as well as to the issues of climate change and groundwater contamination. |
| Irene Hansen, Duchesne County Commissioner, spoke in favor of the bill but raised concerns regarding the impact the legislation would have on certain local communities and sectors, encouraging further discussion on that issue. |
| Jeff Peterson, Utah Rural Electric Cooperative Association, spoke in favor of the bill, explaining that its passage would help keep power costs low. |
| Rikki Hrenko-Browning, President, Utah Petroleum Association, spoke in favor of the bill and discussed the issue of competitiveness and fairness in tax treatment for the oil and gas industry and addressed previous comments. |
| Jeff Hartley, Lobbyist, Oil and Gas Producers, representing personal views, echoed previous favorable comments, discussed the issue of qualifying Uintah Basin for non-attainment status and "exceptional events" under Environmental Protection Agency standards, and raised the issue of dividing the severance tax. |
| Rep. Christofferson moved to approve the draft legislation "Sales and Use Tax Modifications" as a committee bill and committee discussion followed. |
| Rep. Stratton moved to approve the draft legislation as a committee bill with an amendment requesting a dynamic fiscal note with committee discussion following. |
| Rep. Christofferson accepted the substitute motion to amend his original motion, as well as include a three-year phase-in sales tax exemption provision and committee discussion on the motion continued. |
| SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Sen. Okerlund clarified the committee discussion, restating the final substitute motion, which directed staff to work with the bill sponsor to address the three-year phase-in sales tax exemption provisions while also taking care to not economically harm local communities, work with the Legislative Fiscal Analyst's Office to produce a draft dynamic fiscal note on the bill, and return the modified draft legislation to the committee for a final vote during its November interim meeting. The substitute motion passed with a vote of 16-0-0. | |||
| Yeas - 16 | Nays-0 | Abs-0 | |
| Rep. C. Albrecht Rep. P. Arent Rep. W. Brooks Rep. S. Chew Rep. S. Christiansen Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. J. Ferry Sen. D. Hinkins Sen. D. Kitchen Rep. C. Moss Sen. R. Okerlund Rep. M. Poulson Sen. S. Sandall Rep. J. Stenquist Rep. K. Stratton Sen. R. Winterton |
| 3. Draft Legislation: FL0545, Public Service Commission Hearing Amendments |
| 3 - 2020 General Session Draft Legislation "Public Service Commission Hearing Amendments" (2020FL0545-003) |
| Rep. Christofferson and Thad LeVar, Chair, Public Service Commission, presented background information on draft legislation "Public Service Commission Hearing Amendments", discussed shareholder feedback on the draft bill, and answered committee questions. |
| MOTION: Rep. Arent moved to pass out the draft legislation "Public Service Commission Hearing Amendments" as a committee bill with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed with a vote of 16-0-0. | |||
| Yeas - 16 | Nays-0 | Abs-0 | |
| Rep. C. Albrecht Rep. P. Arent Rep. W. Brooks Rep. S. Chew Rep. S. Christiansen Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. J. Ferry Sen. D. Hinkins Sen. D. Kitchen Rep. C. Moss Sen. R. Okerlund Rep. M. Poulson Sen. S. Sandall Rep. J. Stenquist Rep. K. Stratton Sen. R. Winterton |
| 4. Draft Legislation: FL0299, Energy Production Financing Amendments |
| 4 - 2020 General Session Draft Legislation "Energy Production Financing Amendments" (2020FL0299-004) |
| Sen. Jake Anderegg, and Michael Shea, Environmental Manager, Salt Lake County, presented background information and an overview of the draft legislation "Energy Production Financing Amendments" and responded to committee questions with committee discussion following. |
| 5. Energy Producer States' Agreement Report |
| Rep. Steve Handy presented background information on the Energy Producer States' Agreement Report, updated the committee on the organization's recent activities, and responded to committee questions. |
| Chair Albrecht announced that agenda item #6 "Public Program Funding Through Utility Rates" would be heard in the November interim meeting. |
| 6. Utah's Hydrogen Market |
| Sen. Hinkins introduced presenter Karl Rudisill. |
| 7 - Presentation on Hydrogen, Element One Technologies, Inc. |
| Karl Rudisill, CEO and Founder, Element One Technologies, Inc., presented on the merits of hydrogen as an alternative energy resource, updated the committee on opportunities for the hydrogen market in Utah, encouraged the committee to form a task force to study options for hydrogen use in Utah, and answered questions from the committee. Committee discussion followed. |
| 7. 5G Internet Technology |
| 8B - POWDER Mobile and Wireless Living Laboratory, POWDER |
| Kobus Van der Merwe, Principal Investigator and Director, Platform for Open Wireless Data-Driven Experimental Research (POWDER), University of Utah, presented an overview of the POWDER partnership, projects, recent activities, and answered committee questions. |
| 8C - Progress on Small Wireless Facilities Act, UDOT |
| Rob Wight, Director of Operations, Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), updated the committee on UDOT's progress since the passage of 2018 General Session S.B. 189 "Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act", gave an overview of the process for small wireless projects, and responded to questions from the committee. |
| 8. Other Items/Adjourn |
| MOTION: Rep. Stenquist moved to adjourn. The motion passed with a vote of 13-0-3. | |||
| Yeas - 13 | Nays-0 | Abs-3 | |
| Rep. C. Albrecht Rep. P. Arent Rep. W. Brooks Rep. S. Christiansen Rep. J. Ferry Sen. D. Hinkins Sen. D. Kitchen Rep. C. Moss Sen. R. Okerlund Rep. M. Poulson Rep. J. Stenquist Rep. K. Stratton Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. S. Chew Rep. K. Christofferson Sen. S. Sandall |
| Chair Albrecht adjourned the meeting at 10:59 a.m. |