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9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This concurrent resolution supports the recommendations made in the Utah Roadmap
12 as guiding principles for leadership in seeking and encouraging solutions to improve air
13 quality and reduce emissions.
14 Highlighted Provisions:
15 This resolution:
16 ▸ recognizes Utah's commitment to environmental stewardship and solutions to
17 improve air quality and reduce emissions;
18 ▸ recognizes that the state, municipalities, counties, corporations, and individuals
19 have done much to improve air quality and reduce emissions, but a greater effort
20 needs to be made in order to meet Utah's goals and targets;
21 ▸ recognizes Utah's long and proud history of leading with innovative solutions on
22 challenging topics;
23 ▸ supports evaluating the recommendations made within the Utah Roadmap as
24 guiding principles for leadership in seeking and encouraging solutions to improve
25 air quality and reduce emissions; and
26 ▸ encourages individuals, corporations, municipalities, counties, and other state
27 entities to improve air quality and reduce emissions using the Utah Roadmap as a
28 guide.
29 Special Clauses:
30 None
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32 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
33 WHEREAS, in the 2018 General Session the Utah Legislature passed H.C.R. 7,
34 Concurrent Resolution on Environmental and Economic Stewardship, which prioritized the
35 state's understanding and use of sound science to address the causes and issues presented by a
36 changing climate, to realize positive and innovative solutions, to encourage individuals,
37 corporations, and state agencies to reduce emissions through incentives, and to support the
38 growth in technologies and services that will enlarge our economy in a way that is both energy
39 efficient and cost effective;
40 WHEREAS, the Legislature appropriated a historic high $29 million in 2019 to fund air
41 quality initiatives, including ramping up teleworking programs, adding vehicle charging
42 stations at state buildings, replacing older vehicles in the state fleet, and supporting education
43 efforts to increase public awareness about air pollution and ways that individuals can help
44 improve air quality and reduce emissions;
45 WHEREAS, during the 2019 General Session, the Legislature approved funding for a
46 review of air quality and changing climate research by the Kem C. Gardner Institute to help the
47 state improve air quality and address the importance of Utah's changing climate;
48 WHEREAS, good air quality is a vital component of the economy and human health in
49 Utah and robust research conducted at Utah universities shows the harmful impacts of air
50 pollution to human health, and particularly to the health of children, the elderly, and those with
51 compromised immune systems;
52 WHEREAS, dramatic emissions reductions that were once thought to be impossible
53 have been achieved using recent innovations, and future innovations will lead to greater
54 emissions reductions;
55 WHEREAS, although policies, incentives, regulations, and industry and behavioral
56 shifts have improved the air quality in Utah, our state continues to be challenged by air
57 pollution, with goals and targets for air pollutants reduction still unmet and future population
58 growth threatening to negate recent improvements;
59 WHEREAS, the impacts of a changing climate within Utah, such as stress on water
60 resources, an unpredictable and diminishing snowpack, warmer and drier conditions that result
61 in forest and public lands that are more susceptible to disease, pests and wildfire, and
62 increasing algal blooms in Utah's lakes are beginning to have an increasingly negative effect on
63 the economic viability of our businesses and industries;
64 WHEREAS, in order to improve air quality, 24 Utah municipalities and 3 counties have
65 committed to exploring a transition to 100% net renewable energy and many Utah energy
66 customers favor sustainable energy sources;
67 WHEREAS, there is a growing public awareness of the need for urgent action, both the
68 public and private sectors are actively working to improve air quality and reduce emissions by
69 implementing more sustainable practices like producing Tier 3 gasoline fuels for sale in Utah,
70 transitioning fleets to cleaner technologies, developing electric vehicle charging infrastructure
71 that is a model for the nation, implementing teleworking strategies, and replacing wood
72 burning stoves, vehicles that fail emission standards, and other sources of elevated pollution;
73 WHEREAS, the state has a critical responsibility to provide leadership by enabling and
74 encouraging innovative solutions and by embracing market force changes for cleaner air, lower
75 carbon, and a sustainable future;
76 WHEREAS, the state is in a position to be a national and international leader in
77 creating innovative solutions to air quality problems that are local, national, and international
78 and in continuing to harness the power of Utah research, innovation, and entrepreneurship to
79 contribute to the national dialogue about improving air quality and reducing emissions;
80 WHEREAS, Utah has a unique ability to create solutions for the emerging new energy
81 economy that employ local and market based solutions developed "The Utah Way" and that fit
82 with the needs and values of the people and businesses of the state rather than to import
83 technological solutions from other states or countries that might not be right for Utah;
84 WHEREAS, efforts to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gases and carbon
85 emissions will position Utah well to compete internationally for a future Olympic bid as well as
86 maintain Utah's thriving economy, especially with the support of Utah's technology and
87 renewable energy sectors;
88 WHEREAS, Utah has a long and proud history of providing dynamic leadership
89 through innovative solutions on challenging topics;
90 WHEREAS, because the changing energy economy will impact some areas of Utah
91 more than others, the state has an obligation to those citizens living in areas of the state that
92 would be negatively impacted by investing in infrastructure and providing assistance that
93 would encourage the diversification of the economic base in those areas and attract high-paying
94 jobs to those areas most impacted by the changing energy economy;
95 WHEREAS, the state funding of research by the Kem C. Gardner Institute led to the
96 creation of the Utah Roadmap which presents recommendations within seven milepost
97 opportunities that, if developed in the Utah way, will protect Utahn's health, support economic
98 development (particularly in Utah's growing technology sector), advance Utah's Olympic bid
99 efforts, and support transitioning Utah energy economies;
100 WHEREAS, the Utah Roadmap was developed with the input of a broad array of
101 stakeholders and technical experts from Utah's public research universities, government
102 agencies, industry, and health care and nonprofit entities as well as using input from focus
103 groups in urban and rural Utah and from state legislators at a legislative roundtable;
104 WHEREAS, the Utah Roadmap presents the Utah Legislature with seven milepost
105 opportunities to evaluate in order to lead by encouraging innovation and change in:
106 • implementing best practices and statewide efforts to transition to cleaner state fleets,
107 adopt energy efficiency goals in state buildings, establish more robust telework program
108 targets, provide additional funding for reforestation, and invest in more energy planning;
109 • creating a premier air quality and changing climate solutions laboratory to coordinate,
110 encourage, and inform statewide and national efforts;
111 • adopting emissions goals and measuring results;
112 • accelerating existing quality growth efforts to provide more transportation choices,
113 support housing options, preserve open space, improve energy efficiency in buildings, and link
114 economic development with transportation and housing decisions;
115 • positioning Utah as the market-based electric vehicle state by expanding the network
116 of charging stations, incentivizing the transition from older vehicles to cleaner vehicles
117 (particularly for large fleets), and involving Utah auto dealers in strategies to increase the
118 zero-emissions vehicle supply;
119 • providing ongoing economic transition assistance to rural communities; and
120 • participating in national dialogue and taking the lead in national discussions about
121 how to harness the power of market forces and new technologies to reduce carbon emissions in
122 a way that protects health, sustains economic development, and offers other benefits to Utahns;
123 and
124 WHEREAS, support for this concurrent resolution does not commit the Legislature or
125 the executive branch to support or endorse every recommendation in the Utah Roadmap but
126 instead indicates that the Legislature and executive branch envision the Utah Roadmap as a
127 means to dialogue and discussion about the ideas in the Utah Roadmap:
128 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
129 Governor concurring therein, commits to providing leadership to enable innovations aimed at
130 reducing criteria air pollutant emissions and CO2 emissions statewide and to using the
131 mileposts of the Utah Roadmap as guiding principles in seeking and encouraging Utah-based
132 solutions to emissions reductions through policies, appropriations, regulations, and
133 public-private partnerships.
134 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor encourage
135 individuals, corporations, municipalities, counties, and other state entities to reduce emissions
136 using the results of the evaluation of the Utah Roadmap as a guide.
137 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the members of
138 Utah's congressional delegation, the Utah League of Cities and Towns, the Utah Association of
139 Counties, the Department of Health, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the
140 Department of Natural Resources.