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House approves smaller revolving loan fund for land conservation after amending grants to loans
Summary
The House amended and passed SB 51 to create a revolving loan fund (renamed the Leeray McAllister revolving loan fund) for land conservation, reduced the initial fiscal note from $400,000 to $100,000 and replaced multiple 'grant' references with 'loan.'
The Utah House on March 4 passed Senate Bill 51, a bill to create a state fund to support land‑conservation efforts. Sponsors said they reduced the fiscal note from $400,000 to $100,000 and renamed the fund the "Leeray McAllister revolving loan fund." The bill’s text was amended on several pages to remove the term "grant" and replace it with "loan," which sponsors said preserves state assets and the revolving character of funding.
Floor debate focused on whether the program should be a grant program or a revolving loan fund. Supporters said a revolving loan keeps assets available for future projects, while others worried a small initial appropriation would be insufficient to accomplish significant conservation buys without further appropriations.
After adopting amendments that delete multiple occurrences of the word "grant" from the bill, the House voted to pass SB51 (43 yes, 28 no); the bill was returned to the Senate for further action.
Sponsors indicated the chairman of Executive Appropriations confirmed the $100,000 funding was available. Members asked about long‑term funding and whether donations or other sources would be required to sustain the fund.
The bill moves forward as a loan-based revolving fund with a lower initial fiscal note than originally proposed.
