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MINUTES OF THE HOUSE

NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE, & ENVIRONMENT STANDING COMMITTEE

Room W125, West Office Building, State Capitol Complex


                    February 7, 2006

Members Present:    Rep. Roger E. Barrus, Chair
    Rep. Michael E. Noel, Vice Chair
    Rep.     Jackie Biskupski
    Rep. Craig W. Buttars
    Rep. David N. Cox
    Rep. Margaret Dayton
    Rep. Carl W. Duckworth
    Rep. James R. Gowans     Rep. Bradley T. Johnson
    Rep. John G. Mathis
    Rep. Patrick L. Painter
    Rep. David Ure
    Rep. Mark W. Walker
    Rep. Richard Wheeler

Members absent:    Rep. Mark A. Wheatley
    
Staff Present:    Brian Allred, Policy Analyst
            Linda Error, Committee Secretary
    
Note:        List of visitors and a copy of handouts are filed with committee minutes

Rep. Noel called the meeting to order at 8:01 a.m.

MOTION:    Rep. Ure moved to approve the minutes of the February 3, 2006 meeting. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Biskupski, Rep. Buttars, Rep. Mathis, Rep. Painter, Rep. Walker and Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.

H.B. 383    Vehicles Used for Agricultural Purposes (Rep. K. Gibson)

Rep. Gibson explained the bill to the committee, with the assistance of Todd Bingham, Utah Farm Bureau Federation.

MOTION:    Rep. Ure moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Biskupski, Rep. Painter, Rep. Walker and Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Gowans moved that H.B. 383 be placed on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Biskupski, Rep. Painter, Rep. Walker and Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.



1st Sub. H.B. 168    Eminent Domain Limitation on Political Subdivisions (Rep. B. Ferry)
Rep. Ferry explained the bill and the substitute bill to the committee.

MOTION:    Rep. Barrus moved to adopt 1st Substitute H.B. 168. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Biskupski and Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.

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

MOTION:    Rep. Gowans moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.

H.B. 328    Eliminating the Age Requirement for Hunting Small Game (Rep. C. Oda)

Rep. Oda explained the bill to the committee, with the assistance of Jim Karpowitz, Director, Wildlife Resources. (handouts)

Spoke for the bill:    Don Peay, Founder, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife
            Kyle Peay, 6 year old child
            Richard Diamond, Vice Chairman, Wildlife Board

MOTION:    Rep. Dayton moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed, with Rep. Biskupski voting in opposition and Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.

H.B. 329    Age Amendments for Hunting Big Game (Rep. C. Oda)

Rep. Oda explained the bill to the committee, with the assistance of Jim Karpowitz, Director, Wildlife Resources.

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

1.    Page 2, Lines 33 through 38 :    

             33          (3) (a) Except as provided by Subsection (3)(b), a person who is younger than 14 years
             34      old may not
  apply for or       obtain the following types of      {   permit to hunt   } big game        permits issued by the division through a public drawing       :

             35          (i) premium limited entry;
             36          (ii) limited entry;
             37          (iii) once-in-a-lifetime; and
             38          (iv) cooperative wildlife management unit.

The motion to amend passed unanimously, with Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.



Spoke for the bill:    Bill Perkins, Davis County resident

Rep. Noel relinquished the chair to Rep. Barrus.

MOTION:    Rep. Buttars moved to pass the bill out favorably as amended. The motion passed, with Rep. Biskupski voting in opposition. Rep. Noel and Rep. Wheeler were absent for the vote.

H.B. 145    Rangeland Improvement Act (Rep. B. Johnson)

Rep. Johnson explained the bill to the committee, with the assistance of Leonard Blackham, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and Brent Tanner, Utah Cattlemen's Association.

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

1.    Page 3, Lines 59 through 65 :    

             59          [(3)] (d) "Grazing district" means [a convenient] an administrative unit of
{   public and

             60      private  
}
land
  :

    (i)  
designated by the [Secretary of Interior] commissioner as being valuable for

             61      grazing and for raising forage crops[;]
{   .   }        : and

    (ii) which consists of any combination of the following:
    (A) public land;
    (B) private land;
    (C) state land; and
    (D) school and institutional trust land as defined in Section 53C-1-103.  

             62          [(4)] (e) "Public lands" mean
{   :

             63          (I)  
}
vacant, unappropriated, reserved, and unreserved federal lands
{   ; and

             64          (ii) all lands held by the state, including school and institutional trust lands as defined
             65      in Section 53C-1-103  
}
.

2.    Page 4, Line 102 :    

             102          (A) management plans for
{   federal and   }        public lands,       state lands        , and school and institutional trust lands as defined in Section 53C-1-103,       within the regional board's region;


3.    Page 4, Line 104 :    


             104          (B) any issue that impacts grazing on private
{   or   }        lands,       public lands        , state lands, or school and institutional trust lands as defined in Section 53C-1-103,       in its region; and


4.    Page 5, Lines 121 through 122 :    

             121          (b) the Utah Woolgrower's Association;
{   and   }       

    (c) the Utah Farm Bureau Federation; and  

             122          
{   (c)   }        (d)       a soil conservation district, if the soil conservation district's boundaries include


The motion to amend passed unanimously, with Rep. Noel and Rep. Wheeler absent for the vote.

Spoke for the bill:    Todd Bingham, Utah Farm Bureau Federation
            Brad Shaffer, Utah Association of Counties
            Kim Christy, Utah Trust Lands Associaton
            Gordon Younker, Utah Association of Conservation Districts
            Rex Sacco, Utah Cattlemen's Association, Carbon County

MOTION:    Rep. Cox moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Biskupki, Rep. Ure and Rep. Noel absent for the vote.

H.J.R. 29    Resolution Restricting Use of Eminent Domain (Rep. J. Dougall)

This resolution was not heard.

MOTION:    Rep. Cox moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Biskupski, Rep. Ure and Rep. Noel absent for the vote.

Rep. Barrus adjourned the meeting at 9:06 a.m.









    
                    _________________________
    Rep. Roger E. Barrus, Chair