Please join us on zoom (link available via email) from 7-7:40pm MT every other Wednesday night: W Feb 2, W Feb 16, etc. All are welcome! We’ll have a presentation from U of U Hinckley Institute intern Casey Hansen about the signature-gathering plan for districts south of Utah Lake, plus we’ll talk about policy development and outreach efforts as we prepare to qualify for the Nov 2024 ballot by collecting signatures from about Feb 27 – Nov 27, 2023. (Mark your calendars, and follow the previous link if you’re new to the campaign and want to get caught up!)
Legislative update: The carbon tax bill we’ve been involved with is still grinding its way through the bill-writing process, so stay tuned. There’s slim odds of passing a bill in this session, which goes through March 4, but it’s worth trying and it will contribute to the public discussion. More soon!
In the news: The latest news from the Tribune about the legislative session (“Legislative leaders moving at warp speed on tax cuts”) indicates that the focus is mostly on income tax cuts but with some ongoing discussion about eliminating the state sales tax on groceries and/or funding an Earned Income Tax Credit. (See alsoRobert Gehrke’s column, butI think it contains a numerical mistake regarding the sales tax on groceries; I’ll try to say more about that in the next email blast.)
An update from other states: I’ve been working on a #climate24x7 effort to push smart climate bills or ballot measures by 2024 in at least 7 states, funded by a $50k ACX grant, so here’s an update on other states. In Nebraska, climate-concerned R state senator John McCollister introduced LB944, a short 3-page bill that cuts the regressive 5.5% state sales tax rate on electricity once electric utilities hit certain carbon intensity targets; seethese one-pagers. We have a page of potential improvements basedfeedback from utility folks and others and are anticipating a public hearing in late February or early March. A similar idea is making progress in South Dakota, where a D legislator has expressed interest in similar legislation, and in Arizona, where Ive hired Autumn Johnson of Tierra Strategy to pursue this; weve written one-pagers and draft legislation, shes gotten fairly positive feedback from utilities, enviros, and legislative staff, and were doing our best to find a House member to introduce legislation before the cut-off of this Friday, Feb 4. Also trying to push forward with ideas or exploratory conversations in Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Michigan. Feedback and contacts are welcome!
PS. Help Becky Edwards qualify for the ballot: Climate and air quality champion Becky Edwards, who served in the state House from 2008-2018, is challenging Mike Lee for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. To make sure she’s on the primary ballot she’ll need to gather 28,000 signatures this winter and spring, so this is an opportunity for us to help a strong candidate… and get signature-gathering practice! If you’re interested you can sign up here.