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House passes bill to create Great Salt Lake advisory council
Summary
The Utah House on March 2 passed House Bill 343 to establish a smaller, balanced Great Salt Lake Advisory Council to produce recommendations for the technical committee, state lands, and the Department of Environmental Quality; the bill passed the House 72–0 and moves to the Senate.
House members unanimously approved legislation intended to give stakeholders a smaller, more balanced advisory body for the Great Salt Lake.
Representative Ferry, sponsor of House Bill 343, told colleagues the bill creates an advisory council that will produce focused recommendations to the existing technical committee and state agencies, including the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands and the Department of Environmental Quality. "The purpose of House Bill 343 ... is to identify how we might better prepare for the 10 year management plan," Ferry said, explaining the current technical committee is a large body dominated by government-affiliated members.
The bill would form a more compact council intended to balance users, environmental advocates and extraction-industry interests and to "filter" technical input into clear recommendations for DNR and DEQ. Ferry said the council will provide information and recommendations while remaining smaller and more agile than the existing 37-person technical committee.
Voting opened immediately after the sponsor's summation. The clerk recorded 72 yes votes and 0 no votes; House Bill 343 passed and was referred to the Senate for consideration.
Supporters said the change aims to streamline the management-plan review process while maintaining technical input; opponents did not register recorded opposition during third reading.
The next step for the measure is consideration by the Utah Senate.
