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House approves amended hazardous-waste fee bill after debate over company impacts
Summary
The House passed First Substitute House Bill 286, a hazardous-waste fee and task-force measure, 52–20 after amendments that lowered some fees and directed broader study; supporters said fees fund regulation, opponents warned of job losses at local firms such as Clean Harbors.
The Utah House voted 52–20 on Feb. 28 to approve First Substitute House Bill 286, a measure that changes how the state charges fees on certain hazardous wastes, replenishes an environmental restricted account, and calls for a task force to study broader waste tax and regulation.
Representative Vier, the bill sponsor, said the measure is intended to allow the state to “hire personnel to regulate what's coming into the state of Utah” and stressed it was “not meant to be a revenue generator.” He told colleagues the proposal is a cautious, temporary step while a task force examines long-term policy.
Representative Eli Anderson offered Amendment No. 4, which he said would have increased fees on a local company, Clean Harbors. Anderson cautioned that without changes the measure would “double” fees on that firm and could cost jobs, noting the company had “at its peak … 450 employees. Today, they're down to … 80 employees.”
Sponsor and others negotiated substitute language that reduced several fee rates and adjusted dollar amounts (deleting a $28 figure and inserting $26 in identified lines; reducing a 3% figure to 2% in targeted places). Representative Vier said those changes would lower the state’s deposit into the environmental restricted account by about $200,000 and reduce general-fund receipts by roughly $300,000, while keeping the issue on the table for a task force review.
Floor debate included both practical and philosophical objections to imposing new fees. Opponents argued the increases would harm a struggling local hazardous-waste industry and push business out of state; supporters said the fees are necessary to protect Utah and pay for regulation.
After amendments, the Speaker announced the vote total: “I've received 52 yes votes and 20 no votes, [and] the bill passes this body, and will be referred to the Senate for further consideration.” The House recorded that the bill, as amended, will be sent to the Senate for its consideration and any further action.
Next steps: the House-recorded action was referral of the amended First Substitute House Bill 286 to the Senate for further consideration.
