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Good-government Org Says Bill Banning Plastic Bag Bans Shows Distrust In Communities

upr.org

The 45-day general session of the Utah Legislature draws all sorts of people and organizations to Capitol Hill to advocate for their cause—individual citizens, industry representatives, local government officials. This year, the progressive, government watchdog group Alliance for a Better Utah has set its sights on bills that affect the “will of the people.” 

Alliance for a Better Utah Policy Director Lauren Simpson says where lawmakers have been most in conflict with supporting the will of the people this year is on ballot initiatives. After all three propositions passed in the November election, legislators replaced the medical cannabis initiative in a December special session and did the same with the full Medicaid expansion proposition in the second week of the general session. Simpson says ballot initiatives may miss some technical details in the legislation, but that doesn’t mean voters are uninformed about what they voted for.

“There’s a big difference between making small fixes to ease the implementation of what voters wanted and completely rewriting a bill in the image of what lawmakers might want it to look like, what they might personally prefer,” Simpson said.

ABU is also looking at bills that change the initiative process. Simpson pointed to Orem Republican Rep. Brad Daw’s House Bill 133, which would delay implementation of ballot initiatives that cut taxes until 60 days after the general session. As for initiatives that raise taxes? Those would be delayed until the following fiscal year. Simpson says that’s legislators interfering with the initiative process to give preference to propositions that align with their personal ideologies.

“We’re really concerned that the Legislature is trying to pick and choose in advance what sort of ballot initiatives it supports and what initiatives it’s concerned about.”

The Alliance for a Better Utah is also keeping tabs on bills that would impact the authority of local municipalities, like with HB 320, the bill prohibiting local governments from banning plastic bags. Simpson says the bill shows the legislature doesn’t trust communities to decide what’s best for them.

“It’s especially problematic here because we know that local communities are the ones who deal with waste removal—they’re the ones who handle trash, who handle recycling," Simpson said. "So, as far as single-use plastic goes, local communities have the responsibility, and they’re the people who are best suited to make those decisions for what will make their communities the strongest and the healthiest.”

As the general session nears its end, Simpson says Alliance for a Better Utah will keep its eye on the tax reform bill sponsored by District 54 Rep. Tim Quinn. The bill, HB 441, will be heard Friday at noon in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.

Emily Means hadn’t intended to be a journalist, but after two years of studying chemistry at the University of Utah, she found her fit in the school’s communication program. Diving headfirst into student media opportunities, Means worked as a host, producer and programming director for K-UTE Radio as well as a news writer and copy editor at The Daily Utah Chronicle.