Latest news with #SB224
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Environmentalists argue PacifiCorp's wildfire liability burden is fueled by coal-protecting bills
Coal is stored outside the Hunter coal-fired power plant, operated by PacifiCorp, in Emery County on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) When Berkshire Hathaway bought PacifiCorp — Rocky Mountain Power's parent company — in 2005, stakeholders didn't consider the losses future devastating wildfires in the West would bring. It was a mistake to keep PacifiCorp's structure and not carve it up into the states that comprise the utility, Warren Buffett, CEO and chair of the conglomerate, said during an annual stakeholder meeting last weekend in Omaha. 'There are some problems that can't be solved, and we shouldn't be in the business of taking your money, investor money, and tackling things that we don't know the solution for,' Buffett said, explaining that these risks are often political decisions, since they deal with states or the federal government. 'And if you're in something where you're going to lose, the big thing to do is quit,' he added. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX It's important that the country has a smart energy policy, Buffett said. During historical emergency times, like World War II, there was collaboration between the private and public sector. How does that work in today's democracy? He's uncertain. A group of Utahns, joined by environmental activists from other Western states, attended the meeting to try to speak with stakeholders about the effects of burning fossil fuels — including the proliferation of wildfires. They watched as Buffett's comments unfolded, just days after Utah's Public Service Commission rejected an 18% residential rate increase proposed by Rocky Mountain Power attributed to rising prices of fuel and wildfire liability. 'All of these costs are driven by Rocky Mountain Power's reliance on fossil fuels, which is a majority of its energy mix in Utah,' the Sierra Club wrote in a release, arguing that coal reliance may have been empowered by SB224, which passed the Utah Legislature in 2024 establishing a $1 billion fund to allow the state to self-insure in case of fire events caused by electrical corporations. Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain Power has also indefinitely extended the life of its coal-powered plants in its long-term resource planning. PacifiCorp extends the life of Utah coal-powered plants — indefinitely One of the Utahns attending the meeting was Luis Miranda, senior organizer with Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, who said the organized opposition had a tough goal during the meeting — to ask stakeholders 'to remove climate risk from their portfolio by decarbonizing their grid.' 'Using the opportunity afforded by clean energy, that should resolve a lot of the problems being caused by climate change, which they feel is an unchangeable issue,' he said. Greg Abel, chair of Berkshire Hathaway Energy and named successor of Buffett, however, defended the use of fossil fuels during the meeting, arguing that the company has to follow state policies. While people would like to see coal plants retired, the reality is that the company still needs them to keep the system stable and rates low, Abel said. Wildfires are intensifying and, with them, the insurance risks the company is absorbing. Abel said that the company has learned from its mistakes and it is switching priorities to protect its assets, like de-energizing when a fire is approaching its equipment — which means the lights may not be kept on during these emergencies anymore. One thing is certain, Abel said: 'We can't just become the insurer of last resort, and that we're going to cover any costs and all costs, irrespective of what occurred. And that's a little bit of the situation we're in right now.' This isn't the first time Berkshire Hathaway leaders have questioned the place of private enterprises in public utilities. Buffett has notably suggested he would be interested in selling the utility, saying 'we're not going to throw good money after bad,' when speaking on the conglomerate's demand for protections against liability from the government. PacifiCorp involved in bills in Oregon, western states, limiting utility wildfire liability, damages Now, after a lawsuit over the massive 2020 Oregon wildfires, the company is now asking every legislature where it operates to get a clear definition of its liability. An example, cited by Abel in the past, is Utah's SB224, which also limits the amount of money a person physically injured by a wildfire can sue for to $450,000, and $100,000 for those who aren't physically injured. For Miranda, from the Sierra Club, listening to the meeting left him worried about what could happen for his utility bills as a Rocky Mountain Power customer. Also what could the lasting burning of coal may mean for his community's public health? 'I have to live with those consequences. These folks do not care about our experience, about how much we are paying and about how we're living with the consequences of burning unaffordable, dirty coal,' Miranda said. 'Is this really the company and the incentive structure in which we are going to put our trust on?' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Associated Press
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
After a decade of failed attempts, bill establishing Indigenous Peoples Day poised to become law
Walking up to the podium during a March committee hearing, Marsha Small told Montana state lawmakers, 'I feel like I've been here forever.' Small, the co-founder of Indigenous Peoples Day Montana, and others have testified in support of establishing the state holiday for the last 10 years, to no avail. This year, though, will likely make history, as a bill establishing Indigenous Peoples Day cleared the state Legislature on Thursday and is poised to become law. Senate Bill 224 now heads to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's desk — marking the most significant progress the legislation has made in a decade. Lawmakers through the years have cited different reasons for their opposition to establishing Indigenous Peoples Day as a state-recognized holiday in October. Some took issue with past legislation that would have eliminated Columbus Day, arguing that Christopher Columbus is an important historical figure. Last legislative session, lawmakers criticized bill sponsor Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula and a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, for speaking about the atrocities Columbus committed against Native Americans when he advocated for the 2023 bill on the Senate floor. This year, though, Morigeau and other supporters took a different path. Rather than eliminate or replace Columbus Day, SB 224 allows Montanans to celebrate either or both holidays. Morigeau has consistently emphasized inclusivity in his remarks to lawmakers this session, saying the holiday is meant to celebrate all Montanans. He told Montana Free Press in March that those changes in approach have likely contributed to the bill's success. Morigeau in a March House State Administration Committee meeting said SB 224 would establish a 'flexible holiday,' giving people the choice to celebrate however they please. 'It's a day that celebrates the ancestral lineage of all Montanans,' he added. 'It's a day that is shaped and molded by each community and how that community wants to celebrate each other.' Small told lawmakers in the same hearing that establishing Indigenous Peoples Day 'can bring us together.' 'I believe celebrating Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day on the same day will go a long way to healing our communities,' she said. Several non-Native supporters this session said the bill encouraged them to research their own lineage. Jacob Zimmerer, a graduate student in Indigenous and rural health at Montana State University, addressed committee members first in Irish. He told lawmakers that his trips to Ireland prompted him to think deeply about ancestral stories and connections. 'Indigenous Peoples Day to me is an opportunity for us all to feel those layers of stories,' he said. Olivia Adams, a senior at Arlee High School and citizen of the Blackfeet Nation, told lawmakers in the March committee meeting that establishing the holiday 'is a chance to celebrate the resilience and strength of Indigenous people.' 'It's about recognizing the histories and cultures of Indigenous people who have been here for thousands of years — long before Montana became Montana,' she added. While SB 224 has advanced through the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, the only hitch in its progress came on the afternoon of April 9 when Rep. Ed Byrne, R-Bigfork, proposed an amendment on the House floor that would list Columbus Day first in the bill's language, before Indigenous Peoples Day. Byrne argued Columbus Day should be named first to 'maintain its precedence of establishment.' Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, D-Browning and carrier of the bill on the floor, said the amendment would 'delay the process and might kill the bill.' The amendment was voted down 27-71 and the bill ultimately cleared the chamber with bipartisan support Native Americans make up 6.7% of Montanan's population. The state is home to 12 tribal nations and seven reservations. ___ This story was originally published by Montana Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion: SB197 threatens the financial stability of Utah seniors
In five years, low-income seniors throughout Utah, many on fixed incomes, would no longer be able to get any tax relief on their property taxes if Sen. Dan McCay gets his way with SB 197. That's right. Read that sentence again and let it sink in. Almost 10,000 senior households in the state rely on this relief to help them get by. That could easily be 15-20,000 people. They are your parents, your elderly friends and neighbors, struggling to keep up with rising prices and medical costs while living on fixed incomes. This is the first time legislation has been proposed to destroy this senior benefit in the over 40 years it's been working for low-income senior Utahns in danger of being taxed out of their homes, which is the reason it was created by the Legislature. If SB197 passes, the fiscal note says taxpayers might save $4.55 per year in taxes, while costing seniors $930 per year in critical help. What's smarter and more compassionate? That $4.55 per year gets 204 times the return to support our seniors. I think Utahns, with a history of charity, goodwill and caring see the sense in that equation and would be willing to contribute $4.55 once a year to support our low-income seniors. Is it really worth just over a penny a day to force our grandparents from their homes due to increased costs and inflation? A better solution is Senator Wayne Harper's SB224, keeping the program intact with slight improvements to keep up with inflation and rising costs. What's amazing is that it will cost taxpayers only 68 cents per year, according to the fiscal note analysis! This is the bill the 10,000 Utah households who received this help and those Utahns who support humane tax policy need to support. A prompt call to your legislators and the governor to support SB224 is absolutely critical. This program is also essential for widows and widowers. Let's remember what happens when a spouse passes when a couple is living on Social Security: you lose the income your spouse was getting, resulting in a severe ongoing cash crunch. Many times medical issues precede the spouse's passing, often impacting the bank account these seniors rely on for co-pays, medications and higher premiums. Why is this even being proposed? Past reports showed the state's share on the Circuit Breaker program was less than 10% of the cost, with the rest being borne by Utah's counties. Sen. McCay apparently laments chipping in anything, and the fiscal note on Sen. Harper's SB224 estimates that amount will be $4.5 million, a bargain compared to what else our tax dollars go to. How is it that 15-20,000 low-income seniors don't deserve critical relief when last year, just 10,000 students were awarded 18 times that amount, $82 million, through the Utah Fits All Scholarship program? Oddly, in 2023, McCay's committee mandated an increase in costs to the counties of over three times that estimate, resulting in a $14 million cost increase in just one year. SB197 is also more costly. Many tax administrators around the state are not happy with the deferral program that allows people to not pay their taxes until ownership is transferred. They fear the unpredictability when the numbers of households deferring their taxes vary and their annual budgets fluctuate, while deferral will simultaneously create the need to hire more administrative staff to implement the program when 10,000 households are forced on to it. The deferral program was implemented in Salt Lake and Weber counties in 2023. Dozens applied, but only one household between those two counties benefited. Last year it went statewide and only seven households benefited, while about 10,000 households got homeowner's credit. This failed program is being revamped and the newest experiment is being forced onto the seniors of our state while denying them any opportunity for actual financial relief. So now you get to make the choice: show love to 10,000 senior low-income households for 68 cents per year, or reap $4.55 in yearly savings. Please call.
