Utah House advances clean-fuel loan program, urges EPA action on hazardous tailings and adopts health-care conference report

The Utah House of Representatives on March 3 moved a series of late-session measures that its leaders said wrap up major priorities for the 1993 session, approving a revolving loan program for clean-fuel vehicle conversions, urging federal and state action to remove hazardous mine tailings in a Salt Lake neighborhood, and adopting a conference committee report on a health-care access bill.

Representative Alexon presented Senate Bill 247, a revolving loan program for private and public fleets to purchase or convert vehicles to clean fuels and to fund refueling equipment, stressing that the assistance would be repayable: "Let me emphasize loan. It's not a grant." The House recorded that the measure carries an initial state match of $500,000 and expects a matching federal contribution of $500,000 to create a $1 million loan pool for the program. Voting closed with the House reporting 63 affirmative and 3 negative votes; the bill passed and will be returned to the Senate for further consideration.

On environmental concerns, Representative Johnson urged support for Senate Concurrent Resolution 12, which asks the U.S. Environmental…