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MINUTES OF THE HOUSE

NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE, & ENVIRONMENT STANDING COMMITTEE
Room C445, State Capitol

                    February 12, 2013

Members Present:    Rep. Mike Noel, Chair
    Rep. Doug Sagers, Vice Chair
    Rep. Roger Barrus
    Rep. Joel Briscoe
    Rep. Mel Brown
    Rep. Kay Christofferson
    Rep. Jack Draxler
    Rep. Susan Duckworth
    Rep. Becky Edwards
    Rep. Steve Handy
    Rep. Ken Ivory
    Rep. John Mathis
    Rep. Mike McKell
    Rep. Merrill Nelson
    Rep. Ryan Wilcox
    Rep. Larry Wiley

Staff Present:    Mr. J Brian Allred, Policy Analyst
            Ms. An Bradshaw, Committee Secretary
    
Note:    A list of visitors and handouts are filed with committee minutes

Chair Noel called the meeting to order at 2:02 p.m.

S.B. 30    Water and Irrigation Amendments (Sen. M. Dayton) (Rep. R. Wilcox)

Sen. Dayton introduced the bill to the committee with the assistance of Mr. Kent Jones, State Engineer, Division of Water Rights

MOTION:    Rep. Wiley moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Brown, Rep. Draxler, Rep. Edwards, and Rep. McKell absent for the vote.





S.B. 115    Water Development Commission Amendments (Sen. M. Dayton) (Rep. K. Grover)

Sen. Dayton introduced the bill to the committee.

MOTION:    Rep. Handy moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Brown, Rep. Draxler, Rep. Edwards, and Rep. McKell absent for the vote.

S.C.R. 3    Threatened Species Damage and Management Plan Concurrent Resolution (Sen. E. Vickers) (Rep. J. Westwood)

Sen. Vickers and Rep. Westwood introduced the bill to the committee.

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


1.    Page 3, Lines 80 through 83 :    

             80          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urges, upon
             81      successful achievement of an established recovery population on property
{   that is not privately

             82      owned   } within Iron County for a period of five consecutive years, that the Utah Prairie Dog be
             83      delisted from "threatened" status within Iron County.


The motion to amend passed unanimously with Rep. Brown, Rep. Draxler, and Rep. McKell absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Briscoe moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Brown, Rep. Draxler, and Rep. McKell absent for the vote.

H.C.R. 4    Concurrent Resolution on Utah Wildfires (Rep. J. Briscoe)

Rep. Briscoe introduced the bill to the committee. Mr. Jason Curry, spokesman, Utah Division of Forestry and State Lands answered questions from the committee. Handouts were provided.





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


1.    Page 2, Lines 49 through 57 :    

             49          WHEREAS, 88% of wildfire starts were extinguished by local
{   fire departments   }        resources       before

             50      they reached catastrophic size;
             51          WHEREAS, unfortunately, two aerial firefighters were killed when the air tanker they
             52      were flying in crashed near the White Rock Fire, three volunteer firefighters were seriously
             53      injured during the initial attack phase of the Clay Springs Fire, and one resident was killed in
             54      the Wood Hollow fire after refusing to evacuate;
             55          WHEREAS, costs to the state for fire suppression have been estimated at $16 million;
             56          WHEREAS, Utah
{   received   }        applied for and received approval for       five Fire Management Assistance Grants through the

             57      Federal Emergency Management Agency;

2.    Page 3, Lines 75 through 76 :    

             75          WHEREAS, the division also completed
{   project   }        hazard fuel mitigation       work on more than 40 properties as a

             76      direct result of this grant funding;

The motion to amend passed unanimously with Rep. Brown and Rep. McKell absent for the vote.








MOTION:    Rep. Barrus moved to further amend the bill as follows:


1.    Page 4, Lines 93 through 96 :    

             93          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
             94      Governor concurring therein, express deep appreciation to the many dedicated individuals from
             95      state, federal, and local agencies, and volunteers who
  worked to mitigate fuel hazards and to those who       responded to the fires that raged across

             96      the state during the 2012 wildland fire season.

The motion to amend passed unanimously with Rep. Brown and Rep. McKell absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Duckworth moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. McKell absent for the vote.

H.B. 216    Wasting Wildlife Amendments (Rep. R. Wilcox)

Rep. Wilcox introduced the bill to the committee with the assistance of Ms. Robin Cahoon, Marketing Coordinator, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

MOTION:    Rep. Wiley moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. McKell absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Wiley moved to place the bill on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Barrus and Rep. McKell absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Wilcox moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Barrus and Rep. McKell absent for the vote.

Chair Noel adjourned the meeting at 3:24 p.m.




    
             _________________________
    Rep. Mike Noel, Chair