As the 2023 legislative sessions came to a close, the old adage, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” was often heard on Capitol Hill. In this year’s session, a more appropriate description is probably that it was multiple sprints inside a marathon. This year saw a number of firsts: • The first time in at least two decades that so many bills moved through the process. The Senate numbered 300 bills and the House had 567 — and that doesn’t include all the various types of resolutions. That’s a record-breaking number of bills to bird-dog for unintended consequences — one of our biggest jobs during the session. • To an extent, bills were batched by topic, leading to the multiple mini-marathon feel with flurries of fast and furious negotiation around specific topics in multiple bursts through the session. • The final days were fast and furious. While this is always the case, this year was “special.” Case in point — on day 43, the legislature passed 104 (!) bills, shattering their near-decade average of 52.7 bills passed on the third to last day. 2023 was a successful session for the state’s oil and gas industry. By the numbers, we actively tracked 170 bills, engaging in most. Further, 56 of the 64 bills we took positions on passed or failed in line with our positions. UPA had a busy session collaborating, negotiating and testifying on dozens of bills, and we appreciate the teamwork from our colleagues at the Utah Manufacturers Association, Utah Mining Association, Utah Taxpayers Association and other allies on the hill! Here are a few highlights of important bills for our industry where UPA took an active role (amending or testifying): • $88.5M secured for HW 191 improvements! See line 2506 of SB3, otherwise known as the “bill of bills.” This was UPA’s top priority, and it provides a historic level of funding for a critical rural Utah corridor. Up next, UDOT prioritization to get those dollars to work as quickly as possible! • HB144 expands the High Cost Infrastructure Development Tax Credit Amendments to include energy storage projects (including fuels) and allows severance tax to be offset as a tax credit. We expect this incentive to now be much more attractive to our members needing to invest in costly new infrastructure to support the state’s growing oil and gas industry. • HB319 Uintah Basin Air Quality Research Project Amendments provides ongoing funding for Dr. Seth Lyman’s important ozone research in the basin. Ensuring Dr. Lyman and the Bingham Research Center have consistent funding is critical in our efforts to better understand how to effectively tackle our unique basin winter ozone challenge. • HB351 County recorder modification sets out a board (which we were able to expand to include a seat for our industry) to improve standardization in document recording. • HB370 makes it a criminal offense to destroy, damage, or tamper with a critical infrastructure facility and includes all of our upstream, midstream and downstream infrastructure. • HB389 electrical power delivery quality amendments call on the PSC to make rules to address electrical power quality delivery standards to address power quality challenges. • HB220 emission reduction amendments require an inventory and state standard limiting halogens and BACT analysis for facilities that emit halogens — bringing facilities with these emissions into a similar level of regulation as other major sources in the nonattainment area and helping to improve Wasatch Front air quality. And many more. Contact Rikki if you have questions on any specific bills or appropriations. As always, legislative discussions are never really over. While we were successful in preventing several detrimental bills, many of these will be vigorously worked on over this year’s interim sessions, preparing for the 2024 General Session. A few issues already simmering include UDOT’s desire to expand their current ability to require relocation and cost-sharing to move utilities (including crude, product and natural gas pipelines) beyond the case of just “highways” to apply much more broadly to “public transit facilities.” We also anticipate more discussion regarding blue stakes, with some proponents looking for a new notification system, a different posture on liability and a requirement to use non-binding arbitration. We will need to plan how to fund projects that offset impacts from and support growth in the Uintah Basin after the fund SB107 was going to set up by allocating new severance tax dollars to CIB was pulled from the bill in the house. Production growth in the basin is well underway and comes with a multitude of other needs — public services, infrastructure and community development. This summer will be spent educating on those needs and advocating for a portion of the severance tax that the industry generates by being dedicated to addressing those growing needs. Thanks to all for your patience as we focused our attention on the legislative session and much appreciation to those who helped us achieve this historic funding for HW 191! In addition to the success of UPA’s bills, there are a variety of other bills that were passed as well. 13 UPDATE
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