The second week of Utah’s seven-week legislative session is in the books. We’ve been hard at work here on the hill. Utah has one of the shortest Legislative Sessions in the country, and with it being made up of citizen legislators from throughout the state, it is important for us to do this work quickly and correctly. I encourage all my constituents to track issues and legislation that is of interest and importance to them and to follow along for the remaining five weeks of the Session. All are welcome to join us in Salt Lake or participate online at le.utah.gov.
LEGISLATION AND APPROPRIATIONS
I’m sponsoring several bills this year and they have already seen a bit of action. Here is an update on those that have been introduced. H.B. 54 Coal Miner Certification Panel Amendments, which extends a sunset clause for this panel, passed favorably out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, and is headed to the Senate Floor for a vote. H.B. 61 Water Measuring and Accounting Amendments will be heard Friday afternoon in the Senate Natural Resources Committee. Again, this bill allows the state engineer to measure water use throughout the state, with a new tool, Telemetry. H.B. 239 State Employee Cybersecurity Training Requirements requires Executive Branch employees to participate in the same cybersecurity training that legislators and their staff complete each year. It’s important that we are all on the same page regarding responsible and safe technology use. It passed out of the House Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology committee and is headed to the house floor for a vote. H.B. 241 Clean Energy Amendments replaces the word “Renewable” to “Clean” throughout Utah Code, and adds nuclear, geothermal energy, pumped storage, and carbon capture or sequestration technology as clean energy alternatives. We want to build a future beyond carbon emitting sources of energy in utah, however until technology catches up, we must continue to use base load energy powered by coal and natural gas. This also passed favorably out of the House PUET committee. H.B. 31 Agricultural Tourism Amendments is still awaiting action on the house floor. I was interviewed by both Deseret News and KSL Radio Friday morning with my Vice Chair of the House PUET Committee Rep. Colin Jack to discuss the upcoming energy bills we both are presenting next week.
Besides legislation, I am also sponsoring several Requests for Appropriations, or RFAs. These are like legislation but are requests for money from the state budget to be directed to specific departments and projects. For Utah to become truly energy dependent, it requires a serious amount of Rare Earth Metals or Critical Minerals for the development of technology. Utah has 28/35 of these critical minerals, but we are unaware of the full scale of their existence. I am proud to be sponsoring an RFA that provides money to the Utah Geological Survey to study and fully locate these deposits so we can plan for their extraction to the benefit of our state. I once again had the pleasure to host Snow College President Stacee McIff and Student Body President Miguel Mayorga to discuss with the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee about the importance of rural students accessing higher education and the barriers that they face. We are seeking an increase of dollars for rural scholarships for these students, without this scholarship these students would have to overlook the opportunities that higher education provides. Miguel shadowed me a few years ago during the Legislative Session as a high school student from North Sevier High School and I’m happy to see him succeeding as a rural student in higher ed. Pando is one of the largest living organisms on earth, which manifests as a grove of Quaking Aspens near Fish Lake. It is one of the many breathtaking features of our beautiful state that people from all over the world travel to see. I requested money from Utah Department of Transportation and the state general fund to purchase fencing and cattleguards to protect and preserve Pando from deer, elk, and cattle grazing.
UAC 100th ANNIVERSARY
I had the pleasure of hosting Sevier County Sheriff Nate Curtis on Wednesday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Utah Association of Counties. Sherriff Curtis sat with me on the floor as the House passed SCR2, a resolution commemorating the centennial of UACs inaugural meeting on January 24th, 1924. UAC provides a gamut of services to county governments, ensuring that their interests do not fall on deaf ears. I’m thankful for UAC and the representation they provide and congratulate them on this important landmark and even more thankful that I was able to share this moment with a great friend.
VISITING FEDERAL DELEGATION
Congresswoman Celeste Maloy, Rep. John Curtis, and Rep. Burgess Owens all met with members of the Majority Caucus throughout the week. Congresswoman Maloy also joined us Friday morning for Rural Caucus breakfast where she shared her commitment to representing rural issues at the federal level. I’m especially thankful for her leadership and passion that she has showcased for rural Utahns throughout the beginning of her congressional tenure.
I hope that any of my constituents feel comfortable reaching out regarding any concerns, I again invite you to do so. My intern is Gage Duffin, a graduate of Utah State University. His email address is gduffin@le.utah.gov. His telephone number is (385) 420-3079. I will continue updating you throughout the Session on these important issues that influence your local communities. I always look forward to representing all the needs and interests of Rural Utah. Please contact me directly by email at carlalbrecht@le.utah.gov. You can also text or call me at (435) 979-6578.
IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS
5348…c.jpg – Sheriff Nate Curtis and Rep. Albrecht on the House Floor
DSC06283.jpg – Representative Albrecht speaking on the House Floor
DSC06283.jpg – Rep. Albrecht with Sheriff Curtis
IMG_0068.jpg – Rep. Albrecht presenting in the Senate Natural Resources committee
