2022 Legislative Summary

2022 Legislative Summary

Passed Bills

HB 186 – Vehicle Registration Amendments. Ward/Harper. This bill makes changes to registration fees for certain alternative fuel vehicles (electric, plug-in hybrid) and modifies eligibility for the Road Usage Charge program. Currently, EV drivers have the option to pay the $120 fee or participation in the RUC program at 1.5c/mile. This bill drops the per mile fee for the RUC program initially, see below. 

3 phases for Battery Electric Vehicles (all rates adjusted for inflation):

Phase 1: January 2023-December 2025

  • The maximum fee remains at $120
  • The per-mile RUC rate drops to 1.0 cents/mile

Phase 2: January 2026-December 2031

  • The maximum fee increases to $180
  • The per-mile RUC rate increases to 1.25 cents/mile

Phase 3: January 2032 ongoing

  • The maximum fee increases to $240
  • The per-mile RUC rate increases to 1.5 cents/mile
  • The ability to set the RUC rate reverts back to the Transportation Commission, which retains its charge to set the rate as needed to maintain road funding.

HB 336 - Vehicle Registration Modifications. Pitcher/Weiler. Allows a county to investigate to determine of a vehicle owner is using a false or improper address to avoid an emissions inspection and allows for a civil penalty for offenders. It also allows for the revocation of registration.

HB 317 – Sovereign Lands Trespassing Amendments. Owens/Sandall. This bill adds a definition for “motor vehicle” to the statute prohibiting trespassing on the bed of a navigable lake or river. This clarifies that Motor Vehicle includes an off-highway vehicle. This is intended to prevent the disruption and destruction of the “crust” of dry lake beds, which leads to dust transport. Historically there has been trouble enforcing motorcycles and ATVs and other off highway motor vehicles when citations were given to trespassers.

HB 322 – 1st Sub. Public Transit Capital Development Modifications. Christofferson/Cullimore. This bill transfers oversight and management and major rail/rapid bus transit projects funded with state funds to UDOT from UTA in certain circumstances. This bill was amended by Rep. Schultz on the House floor, calling for an agreement between UDOT and UTA to provide funds, $5million per year for 15 years, to facilitate the purchase of zero-emissions rail engines FrontRunner.

HB 326 – 1st Sub. State Innovation Amendments. Spendlove/Milner. This bill creates a Strategic Innovative Grant Pilot Program to provide grants for air quality and water conservation projects.

HB 404 – 1st Sub. Large Public Transit District Amendments. Ballard/Anderegg. This bill requires UTA to compare the costs of different types of zero emissions propulsion systems for passenger railcars or buses before purchasing a railcar or 10+ passenger buses.

SB 51 – 3rd Sub. Transportation Amendments. Harper/Christofferson. Makes changes to the vintage vehicle license plate program. Vintage vehicles with a model year of 1981 or newer must provide proof of an emissions inspection or provide proof of vehicle insurance that is a type specific to a collector vehicle.

SB 136 – 2nd Sub. Air Quality Policy Amendments. Escamilla/Handy. Requires DEQ to study and make recommendations on a diesel emissions reduction plan framework focusing on the benefit of rural communities, inland port areas, underserved/underrepresented communities, and disproportionate air quality affected areas. The bill specifically directs DEQ to study the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (Texas health and Safety Code 386) and other examples of diesel emission reduction programs. DEQ to provide interim report on the status of the study before November 2022 interim meetings. Final report including recommended legislation during or before interim November 2023.

SB 152 – 2nd Sub. Community Association Regulation Amendments. Harper/Maloy. This bill requires HOAs and Condominiums to create an approval process for residents that want to install EV charging equipment and rooftop solar installations and allow residents to install them if they meet the criteria within.

SB 188 – 2nd Sub. Energy Efficiency Amendments. Cullimore/Waldrip. Expands the use of a utility rate-payer program for low-income households, proposes a matching grant program to eliminate diesel engines, creates a DEQ rebate program and helps the Point of the Mountain develop a research and development center.

HCR 1 – 1st Sub. Concurrent Resolution to Work Together to Address the Climate, Public Lands, and Carbon Sequestration. Stratton/Hinkins. This resolution recognizes and encourages best management practices to reduce carbon emissions while also preserving and expanding forests and other lands to improve climate outcomes.

HCR 7 – Concurrent Resolution Regarding Improving Air Quality Through Enhanced Zero Emission Rail. Ballard/Hinkins. This resolution addresses improving air quality through encouraging rail development and zero emission technology deployment.

Failed Bills

HB 52 – Hydrogen Tax Credit Amendments. Sagers. This bill sought to add certain hydrogen projects to the qualification for the high-cost infrastructure development tax credit. This bill failed to be considered and was returned to rules.

HB 109 – Death Certificate Amendments. Handy. This bill sought to allow a health care professional to indicate that air pollution factored into the cause of death on the individual’s death certificate. This bill failed to be assigned out of rules.

HB 164 – Public Transit Fares. Briscoe. This bill sought to have UTA fares be free of charge. This bill was substituted to exclude rail and seasonal bus service (ie ski bus). This bill was held in committee and returned to rules.

HB 189 – 3rd Sub. Electric Vehicle Charging Modifications. Briscoe. This bill sought to allow renters to install electric vehicle charging equipment at their own cost. The bill would have prevented associations from adopting rules that would prevent a renter/owner from installing, maintaining or removing an EV charging system. This bill was substituted and passed out of committee, but failed on the house floor 37-36-2.

HB 221 – Tax Credit for Alternative Fuel Vehicles. Harrison. This bill would reinstate a non-refundable income tax credit for passenger electric vehicles until 2026. It would offer a credit of $3,000 for the purchase of a new passenger vehicle and $2,000 for a used passenger vehicle with an MSRP of up to $55,000, and a $1,000 tax credit for the purchase of an electric motorcycle. It would also offer a $1,500 tax credit for a lease of a new electric passenger vehicle. This bill failed to be assigned to a committee out of rules.

HB 275 – Vehicle Emissions Reduction Program. Stenquist. This bill sought to remove older higher-emitting vehicles from the vehicle fleet through incentives. The bill had a fiscal note of roughly $6.5 million. It failed out of House Rev and Tax by a vote of 4-4-5.

HB 311 – Clean Air Heavy Equipment Tax Credit. Ballard/Hinkins. This bill sought to provide a corporate and individual nonrefundable tax credit for the purchase of certain low-emissions heavy equipment. This bill failed on the Senate floor with a vote of 10-18-1 after passing out of the House, and Senate Rev and Tax committee.

HB 332 – Clean Air For Schools Pilot Program. Owens. This bill sought to create this pilot program, requiring the State Board of Education to award grants to eligible local education agencies to provide portable air filtration systems to schools. This bill was assigned to House Education, but failed to receive a hearing.

HB 405 – Switcher Amendments. Schultz/Cullimore. This bill would have required businesses that own "switcher" locomotives to ensure all switchers operated in rail yards with 4 or more switchers be powered by hydrogen fuel cell or battery-electric. This bill was held in Senate committee due to Union Pacific offering an agreement with Rep. Schultz. The agreement that was made was UP to remove 3 Tier 0 switchers from Utah by end Q2 2022. They will be adding 4 Tier 2 switchers (adding/replacing/retrofitting unclear). UP indicated verbally to Rep. Schultz that they would be willing to entertain further discussions with Rep. Handy on an agreement for the Tier 4 switchers with UP paying 25% and the state covering the remaining 75% using available funding sources such as DERA funds.

HB 432 – State Vehicle Use and Purchasing Amendments. Ward/Cullimore. This bill was substituted and would have directed the Division of Fleet Operations to review the use of state vehicles and when prudent, require the division to replace vehicles with low or zero emissions vehicle. This bill failed on the House floor with a vote of 26-47-2.

Appropriations Funded

  • Air quality messaging. Expanded summer ozone and wildfire smoke campaign. $500k
  • Air monitor expansion in Summit and Wasatch counties. $462,500. The one-time request was funded, the ongoing support/maintenance request $25k/ongoing was not.
  • E-bus mapping project. $120k for the purchase of 3 sets of air monitoring systems to be mounted on UTA e-buses in order to evaluate and map geographic detail of air pollution in SLC.
  • Ozone Monitoring Infrastructure Wasatch Front. Partially funded. $3,235,600 one-time with no ongoing funding for operating/maintenance. The original request was for $3,235,600 one-time plus $1,005,000 ongoing for ozone precursor assessment monitoring.
  • Rural Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment Appropriations Request. $3million. Gov’s office requested a $3million matching grant program for EV charging equipment for areas of Utah served by rural electric co-ops.

Appropriations Requests NOT Funded:

  • Market Based Salary Adjustment for DEQ. Discretionary funding increase to address 10% of the 26.8% below market comparison for environmental scientists at DEQ. The request was for $640k ongoing. This was in the Governor’s budget, but was not funded.
  • Hazardous Air Pollutants Monitors. Escamilla. $200k to upgrade the two existing air monitors closest to the Inland Port, with two HAPs monitors to establish a baseline and monitor increases in hazardous air pollution.
  • Inland Port Air Quality and Health Study. Escamilla. $3million for study of the health impacts of the IP development scenarios.