Detail on Bills being considered
Capitol Rally Next Week
Greetings!
Next Tuesday February 23 at 1:00 PM a rally will be held in the Utah Capitol building rotunda (2nd floor under the dome). The purpose of the rally is to support key pieces of legislation being proposed by Representatives Mike Noel and Chris Herrod. We know that 1:00 PM on a Tuesday is not the most ideal time for such an event but we ask that you make every effort to be there. These legislators are taking real and aggressive action to improve your ability to access and enjoy public land in Utah. They also are making real efforts to protect the sovereign state of Utah and reduce the control the federal government has on all of us. Below you will find a quick synopsis of the bills that we are in favor of. So far this session there are no bills we are opposed to.
Bill Info
H.B. 146
Law Enforcement by Federal Land Management Agency -- Noel, M.
http://le.utah.gov/~2010/htmdoc/hbillhtm/hb0146.htm
This bold bill will limit the ability for federal law enforcement officers to cite you under state law on state and county roads. The intent is to prevent abusive federal law enforcement officers from harassing Utah citizens and abusing Utah law.
H.B. 179
Off-highway Vehicle and Street-legal All-terrain Vehicle Revisions -- Noel, M.
http://le.utah.gov/~2010/htmdoc/hbillhtm/hb0179.htm
This bill cleans up inconsistencies in OHV code and will also better improve access to rural towns for street legal ATVs by allowing access to main roads going in and out of small towns.
H.C.R. 14
Hole in the Rock R.S. 2477 Historic Road Concurrent Resolution -- Noel, M.
http://le.utah.gov/~2010/htmdoc/hbillhtm/hcr014.htm
No Number
Challenges to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 -- Herrod, C.
http://le.utah.gov/asp/billsintro/RepResults.asp?Listbox3=HERROCN
Representative Chris Herrod had 2 bills that both challenged federal control and ownership of certain sections of public land in Utah. One bill that appears to now have been abandoned was as bold as we have ever seen. That bill challenged the validity of the Federal Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA) OF 1976. We were very excited and curious about this bill but it looks like it has been shelved for now.
H.B. 143
Eminent Domain Authority -- Herrod, C.
http://le.utah.gov/~2010/htmdoc/hbillhtm/hb0143.htm
Rep Herrod does still have another bill that will attempt to challenge ownership of certain sections of federal land that currently is prohibiting access to certain sections of school trust land. These trust lands are essentially a savings account to be used, developed, or sold. The revenues generated off of these lands goes directly to funding the education system (k-12) of Utah. We all know this is badly needed. This bill may allow greater access to State land so that more revenue can be generated to benefit Utah school children. We believe the bill number above is the correct bill number. At this time the bill is not public and we have not been able to read the bill text.
You should take the actions by these lawmakers as a good sign that previous rallies and all our efforts have not been in vain. Some of these bills are BOLD. All of you who have attended previous rallies, written letters, and made your voice heard have helped give these legislators the support and courage to better represent us. Let's not fail them now. Please do anything you can to be there and to encourage others to do the same. Last session we had around 600 people in attendance and we had about 3500 at our summer Take Back Utah rally. We know there is only a week to go before this rally. With such short notice we expect there will be less people in attendance. But these legislators recently asked to have a rally to help them show their colleagues in the legislature that these issues matter to thousands of Utahans. We felt we must take steps to help them and honor their request. These bills will not pass the legislature easily or without considerable effort. It is up to us to back up Reps Noel and Herrod and help them pass these meaningful bills. Bring your families, and signs of support. Spread the word and we hope to see you all there next Tuesday!
