H.C.R. 1

1

RESOLUTION URGING FEDERAL FUNDING
2 TO FIGHT GRASSHOPPER AND CRICKET
3 INFESTATION
4 2000 GENERAL SESSION
5 STATE OF UTAH
6 Sponsor: James R. Gowans
7 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR URGING
8 THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO APPROPRIATE THE FUNDS NECESSARY TO
9 FIGHT THE CRICKET AND GRASSHOPPER INFESTATION.
10 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
11 WHEREAS, 1.5 million acres of land in the state of Utah is infested with crickets and
12 grasshoppers;
13 WHEREAS, $22.5 million in crop losses have occurred in Box Elder and Tooele counties
14 alone, with additional damage in 16 other counties resulting from the infestation;
15 WHEREAS, crickets and grasshoppers have migrated from federal land, where no
16 insecticides were sprayed, to surrounding private lands;
17 WHEREAS, on July 29, 1999, Governor Leavitt issued a declaration of agricultural
18 disaster, sought federal disaster relief, and issued a letter to the United States Department of
19 Agriculture seeking federal loans for the relief of affected Utah farmers;
20 WHEREAS, during 1999, available state funds and limited federal assistance were used
21 to treat affected lands, but little progress was made because the bulk of the federal assistance came
22 late in the treatment season;
23 WHEREAS, the cricket and grasshopper infestation will be larger in 2000, with greater
24 economic losses to property owners and agricultural operators;
25 WHEREAS, available state funds will be insufficient to adequately control the situation;
26 and
27 WHEREAS, since the problem originated on federal lands, the federal government should

28 fund a substantial portion of the effort to eliminate the infestation and assist those whose
29 livelihood has been devastated:
30 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
31 Governor concurring therein, urge the United States Congress to provide funds sufficient to relieve
32 Utahns of the devastating economic impact of the state's cricket and grasshopper infestation.
33 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the President of the
34 United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the United States
35 Department of Agriculture, and the members of Utah's congressional delegation.




Legislative Review Note
as of 12-9-99 9:48 AM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel