There’s no way to sugarcoat this one. The 2024 legislative session was a major disappointment on air quality and climate bills.
We owe you all an apology. We believe in our theory of change as an effective model for passing bold legislation, but it did not yield the results we hoped for this year.
We significantly increased our ambition from last year (when we passed HB 220, our major bill dealing with bromine pollution from US Magnesium). We worked on bills including a state emissions standard, heavy-duty diesel emissions, and rooftop solar — all in pursuit of our goal of a 50% reduction in pollution emissions by 2030. All of them failed.
What makes this year particularly painful is that we made substantial progress on a bill for pollution reduction along the Wasatch Front (that would have been as impactful as HB 220), only to see it killed by a committee composed primarily of legislators from districts outside the Wasatch Front.
In the coming weeks, our team will formulate a plan to solve these roadblocks and get working on next year’s session.
Despite the disappointment, there were a few bright spots. First, we may see some significant emissions reductions from trains. Two, a surprisingly good bill passed that will immediately help us expand the Community Renewable Energy Program — the biggest step for decarbonization in Utah. And three, we got to work with a number of great legislators from both parties who really do want to make a difference on our air and climate.
As we lick our wounds and move forward, there is plenty of work to keep us busy. And that starts with the upcoming election cycle.
Caucus nights took place this week, and conventions begin at the end of March, with primary (June 25) and general (Nov. 5) elections to follow.
Our staff has begun the candidate interview process and will roll out endorsements in the coming weeks — stay tuned!
Again, we apologize for failing to pass bold air quality legislation. We expect better and hope to deliver on that promise soon. Thank you for sticking with us.
Sincerely,
David Garbett | Executive Director