2020 Legislative Updates: Week Five – February 24-28

Dear Business Community,

We now have less than two weeks in the Utah Legislative Session — the Legislature now knows the revenue they will have available to put together a budget, and many of the bigger picture bills are moving along. The last two weeks of the session will be fast moving and we will keep you updated on the significant events.

Some of the significant events of this week include:

SB 39, Affordable Housing Amendments, sponsored by Senator Jake Anderegg, passed out of the Senate and will move to the House. We want to thank Senator Anderegg for his dedication to this bill and this significant issue and thank all of you who have spoken with your Senators and supported this bill.

SB 39 is the follow up to last year’s Affordable Housing Modifications which required cities to evaluate and create plans for how they will address housing affordability issues in their cities.  Eighty of the eighty-two cities that were required to submit plans have done so. SB 39 follow up this effort by providing $15 million in gap financing for private activity bond financed rental housing, $5 million for preservation of existing affordable housing, $300,000 in assistance for affordable housing in rural Utah, $10 million in rental assistance, and $5 million in rental assistance specific to families with school children at risk of homelessness. While passing the senate is a milestone, we still need to move the bill through the house and ensure the funding is prioritized. Your continued support is essential.

HB 299, Opportunity Zone Amendments, sponsored by Representative Mike Winder, passed through the House. This bill will prioritize air quality tax credits for projects in Opportunity Zones, prioritize existing state affordable housing credits for projects in Opportunity Zones, and create a new state tax credit for parking structures built in Opportunity Zones within a quarter mile of transit stations.

HB 158, Data Privacy Amendments, sponsored by Representative Mark Roberts, passed through a House Committee and will move on to the House Floor. HB 158 Creates an affirmative defense to any civil suit for data breach if the business has a data security plan that meets state requirements and has complied with that plan.

Several new significant pieces of legislation also came out this week. Among them is SB 150, Transportation Funding and Governance Amendments, sponsored by Senator Wayne Harper. SB 150 is a broad transportation infrastructure and funding bill which enhances and focuses on the coordination of transportation, housing and land use at UTA Transit Oriented Development sites and creates a Transportation Reinvestment Zone Fund. The bill increases the sales tax on short term leases and rental of vehicles from 2.5% to 4%. It also charges UDOT to provide a written plan by 2021 to enroll a vehicles in a Road Usage Charge Program by 12/31/31.

As always, please reach out to our team if you have questions or information related to any legislation. Your input is valuable as we speak on behalf of our members, and we are here to answer any questions you may have as well as to help you connect with your legislators and other policy leaders.

Best,

Salt Lake Chamber Policy Team

Priority Votes

Bills Worth Watching

• Business Climate – click here
• Education – click here
• Labor & Employment – click here
• Housing Affordability – click here
• Transportation – click here
• Environment & Natural Resources – click here
• Health Care – click here
• Community – click here
• Other – click here