[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6303204,"mediaKeyId","2474107-708168f3af486e10e99b59b012537df9","parentId",2474107,"title","Committee approves plan allowing some miners to pay state taxes in gold; bill advances 6–4","audioSeconds",1971,"startMs",2847000,"endMs",4818000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2474107-708168f3af486e10e99b59b012537df9&start=2847&end=4818","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2474107-708168f3af486e10e99b59b012537df9/thumbnail_2847000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6303204/Utah/Committee-approves-plan-allowing-some-miners-to-pay-state-taxes-in-gold-bill-advances-64","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6303204-40a7c138dd2da5af006dcf03e4aa7a40/orig.mp4?Expires=1773694267&Signature=ok1uhPEX1sbzIaapWgu2h1RyPlpk6DeCxHeqK3FaT30tRCMTP-5whm6dZn9tnZ2Zkg04tc8GrHxJkkw-k4xuNOkf4dSmwmdkhLlZK1HcRHBVwrzGpW7nA~BsWOU3XB8zDNZKimCR4j7XbWANqqBdYCmUvYbt91kU3nN11M~qKDc11PBkfuF05sIrxV1~eWECb4PRhiD-cHyaDnF9c54wzfffDzE3MQu5Pio6rmFUy8azqrLBtxnPVsw8DR6Up1CMip1HFD9lIPXpm7qnJVbdAE2pmx-s-mOt-i~QXj5-SBdhrdnVgVgaGUoK-zxgOWVyZoGpcsw4WiEAlefQ0~0XqA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Utah State Legislature","date","2025-03-03T00:00:00Z","article","A House committee on March 3 adopted a first substitute and voted 6–4 to favorably recommend House Bill 528, a measure that would allow qualifying precious-metals producers to pay specified state tax obligations in investment-grade gold and receive tax credits intended to incentivize mining activity tied to critical minerals.

Representative Ivory, the bill sponsor, told the committee HB 528 emerged from a study group and is intended to “build an income stream in precious metals” and help attract mining activity that can co-locate production of critical minerals. Ivory said the first substitute delays the bill’s effective date to Jan. 1, 2027, to give operators time to prepare and to reduce the immediate fiscal impact.

Brian Summers, president of the Utah Mining Association, told the committee that precious metals are often co-located with the rare and strategic elements on the Department of the Interior’s critical-minerals list. “Anything that we can do to incentivize the production of those underlying commodities like gold and silver … will help us to increase our critical mineral production here in the state,” Summers said.

State Treasurer Marlo Oakes told the committee the treasury can handle receipts in gold and that the bill provides credits for mining operations: a five-year credit for existing operations and a 15-year credit for new operations. The sponsor and supporters framed the package as a way to attract capital and spur production of minerals deemed important for national and economic security.

Opponents and some committee members expressed concern the bill, as drafted, could allow entities without a Utah mining presence to benefit, and that it mixes subsidy decisions with payment-format choices. Representative Thurston asked how paying the treasury in gold — or allowing gold as a payment medium — creates a production incentive; supporters responded the incentive is a tax discount available only to producers and that the measure would help build state-held gold reserves and new financing options.

Action and vote: The committee adopted the first substitute and then voted 6–4 to favorably recommend First Substitute HB 528. Roll call recorded “no” votes from Representatives Thurston, Romero, Dominguez and Chair Kaye Kristofferson; “yes” votes were Representatives Sawyer, Roberts, Peterson, Matthews, Ivory and DeFe.

Why it matters: Supporters characterized the proposal as a strategic, pro-growth step to expand domestic critical-mineral production and to create additional state-held precious-metal reserves; critics called for tighter limits to ensure credits reach Utah-based production and to avoid subsidies that could be claimed without local production.

What’s next: The bill advances to the House with a favorable recommendation. Sponsors and committee members indicated willingness to refine language on producer eligibility and foreign ownership before floor consideration.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Transportation Committee - March 03, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","A House committee adopted a first substitute and voted 6–4 to favorably recommend HB 528, which lets qualifying in-state precious-metal producers pay certain state taxes in investment-grade gold and receive tax credits intended to spur critical-mineral production.","taxTitle","2025 Utah Legislature, Utah Legislature, Utah Legislative Branch, Utah","taxId",78171,"location","Utah","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6303208,"Committee adopts substitute, unanimously advances bill to verify English proficiency at CDL schools",1226,1613000,2839000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2474107-708168f3af486e10e99b59b012537df9&start=1613&end=2839","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2474107-708168f3af486e10e99b59b012537df9/thumbnail_1613000.jpg","/articles/6303208/Utah/Committee-adopts-substitute-unanimously-advances-bill-to-verify-English-proficiency-at-CDL-schools","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6303208-8b64d670dcb662e2c49074f81077de87/orig.mp4?Expires=1773694267&Signature=X-Z9BHaXE681--TYNQlrVldJiRTx9sANmMcnwtJ6pV1On9edtT9QfEzR4ParnBmZGBkwWanfm-HeySNZLDvz4r-k-lf~Dw9kwB8lrk-NCWo1lxqn0pUZy0Olsvoq1mSZDxe0WDpokyAcKhfjwthUiwvl~iWo55LIiKugTrpfc43qDaTgbJaesAqdMoD7AkFDpJ43bdda1lK5n~cC~tgT0uDCD4L2gTur3lfetMSB6~4DS7ovf~SQveuQ4xOjHfJECrhifo0Fs0enIijOJneR~b-eY76WNhFIczVqKJbs6eqeOgq1vEmvtnvI0tsbP-cvlsPX5Ty7Fxzp~qUEuxZwQA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A House committee on March 3 adopted a first substitute and unanimously recommended House Bill 535, a measure that changes oversight of commercial driver license (CDL) training and testing by requiring training schools to collect student attestations about English proficiency and by narrowing the division’s auditing scope.

Representative Perucci, the sponsor, said the substitute removes the large fiscal note in the original bill by limiting the division’s monitoring duties and by using a complaint-driven approach to identify “bad actors” among training schools. “The substitute will largely take care of that massive fiscal note on the original version of the bill,” Perucci said.

The bill requires students to sign an attestation that they meet existing federal English-proficiency requirements for a CDL — ability to understand traffic signs and signals, converse with the public and respond to official inquiries — and that training providers forward information to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) when a tester determines a language barrier prevented a candidate from being appropriately tested.

Chris Karas, director of the DPS Driver License Division, told the committee the original fiscal note assumed the agency would need to audit thousands of training entities. With the first substitute, Karas said, the agency’s IT and workload estimates were still being finalized but the fiscal impact could fall to zero or near zero. “With the first substitute that's before you ... there's the likelihood it could go to 0 or very close to that,” Karas said.

Representatives and industry stakeholders raised concerns about regulation and fairness. Rick with the Utah Trucking Association said some third-party providers both train and test CDL applicants and worried about creating an additional licensing requirement. Perucci and supporters said the policy is focused on protecting students from paying for training that will not lead to a license and on pushing schools to inform applicants up front about federally required English proficiency.

Action and vote: The committee adopted the first substitute for HB 535 and then voted 10–0 to favorably recommend the bill to the full House.

Why it matters: The substitute changes who bears responsibility for initial verification of English proficiency and uses a complaint/reporting mechanism to identify problematic schools. Supporters say the change protects consumers from costly, ineffective training; opponents warned of additional regulation for schools that already comply.

What’s next: HB 535, as amended by the first substitute, moves to the House floor with a unanimous committee recommendation.","A committee adopted a first substitute and unanimously recommended HB 535, which requires CDL training schools to collect a student attestation of English proficiency and shifts certain enforcement steps away from the testing providers to reduce the bill's fiscal note.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":80,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6303213,"Committee backs bill to preserve electronic election records for government research",1526,87000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2474107-708168f3af486e10e99b59b012537df9&start=87&end=1613","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2474107-708168f3af486e10e99b59b012537df9/thumbnail_87000.jpg","/articles/6303213/Utah/Committee-backs-bill-to-preserve-electronic-election-records-for-government-research","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6303213-8696f966912b2a6291b6ff857b594c26/orig.mp4?Expires=1773694267&Signature=EGYU9eIA9dkUfjzTzq5xKGCPc6UvFNPJ4uBoY6Nkk61ni0F4UFfLDU1VfvWY~iCUbQf4yGEK3sLM6j9cFo0ACMKML4Y7I-11dGz6srt9kRuz4HZfZVCaj0qwn6tfyTHb7ehQQfQU6c3WNupWmb7Z6DsAlpDsmmRnk1bq79PYnlgKa2j0YgqC-TbDSgLxPgQw3nOg8S5G3OemPjvXpi6QWRb2NiOdQqa1Tf-L-R3XVp8yW5GMG7v1ZXE-4gxDZO6J-nboC0LUOQJn2vFn9hXs4SmT1IYFGVCw94JnfYkhRfN0YIUlh9Mt1lEbxMLg9zYUdzN6LT2kByGnKTlAO-Wq-w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A House committee on March 3 voted 8-1 to favorably recommend House Bill 263, titled “Election Record Amendments,” after discussion about which election materials should be retained, how long they should be kept and who should be allowed access.

Representative Michael Thurston, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure clarifies which election materials must be preserved, requires an electronic copy of certain records and limits access to government purposes such as legislative committees, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general and auditors. “What the bill does is there's three parts to this. One, it clarifies what election records are to be made public,” Thurston said. He described the second part as addressing retention and the third as regulating access.

The bill’s backers said the measure aligns statute with current digitization practices and would let researchers and legislative committees examine electronic records instead of relying only on auditors or courts. Thurston said county offices currently digitize materials and then, by practice, destroy many electronic files after the statutory retention period, which he noted prevents longitudinal research into election processes.

County clerks and the Utah Association of Counties opposed aspects of the bill at committee. Ricky Hatch, who identified himself as a county clerk and chair of the clerks’ legislative committee, told the committee that a new daily reconciliation requirement would “cause us to stop all of our ballot processing to perform these reconciliations.” He also warned that storing electronic documents would require climate-controlled, secured storage and periodic data refreshes, which take both time and money.

Tooele County Clerk Tracy Shaw said the fiscal impact to counties could exceed $100,000 statewide, and called long-term digital storage “not quite so easy” compared with retaining paper. “This takes money, but it also takes time,” she said, urging caution because election records are sealed to provide finality once contests are resolved.

Supporters pushed back that some reconciliation reports are already required and that the bill is intended to clarify statutory expectations rather than create an entirely new task. Thurston said the bill does not open all digitized records to the general public: access would require an approved research purpose and authorization by a government entity (for example, a county commission approving a county clerk’s research proposal).

Action and vote: Representative Thurston moved that the committee favorably recommend HB 263. The motion passed 8–1; Representative Romero was recorded as the lone “no.”

Why it matters: The bill changes how long and in what format election materials are retained and who can request them. Supporters say preserved electronic records will let legislators and auditors answer policy questions and track trends; clerks warn of new costs and operational burdens.

What’s next: HB 263 will advance from committee with a favorable recommendation. Because the bill limits broad public access and restricts use to government research purposes, its operational impacts will depend on how counties implement scanning and storage processes and on any additional fiscal mitigation the Legislature provides.","A House committee voted 8-1 to recommend passage of HB 263, which would require counties to retain electronic election records and limit access to government research purposes; clerks raised cost and workload concerns.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee approves plan allowing some miners to pay state taxes in gold; bill advances 6–4

Committee adopts substitute, unanimously advances bill to verify English proficiency at CDL schools

Committee backs bill to preserve electronic election records for government research