Tag Archives: 2006 legislature

This came in from HEAL Utah. I plan to attend.

We’re down to the last week of the legislative session, which ends March 1st. Governor Huntsman has pledged to veto Senate Bill 70, which should send the bill back to the Legislature on Tuesday, February 28th. That gives the Legislature 2 days to attempt to override the governor’s veto.

Can you be at the Capitol to help stop this? We need to make a stand during the final hours of the legislative session to send a message that we do not want to make it easier to dump nuclear waste in Utah.

Press Conference and Glowstick Rally
Tuesday, Feb. 28th, at 6:15pm
East entrance to the West Building of the Utah State Capitol (this is in the courtyard behind the Capitol building)
We’ll provide the glowsticks!

We believe having a strong citizen presence at the Capitol at the end of the session will force our legislators to be accountable to the people they represent–us. Will the legislature pass a state budget, improve funding for our schools, and deal with the state surplus? Or will our legislators prioritize making it easier for nuclear waste to be dumped in Utah and in the final hours of the legislative session take power away from the governor and give it to nuclear waste dumps like Envirocare?

After the press conference, we’ll head into the galleries of the House and Senate Chambers. If our legislators know a lot of us are watching, they’ll be less likely to try to sneak this override through. Can you join us?

Capitol Vigil
We hope to keep a strong citizen presence going throughout the last day of the session–Wednesday, March 1st. If you have an hour or two that day, sign up to join us at the Capitol between 8:00am and 10:00pm (they end at Midnight). Your presence alone will send a message to our legislators that we’re watching and want them to focus on real priorities. You can also take this opportunity to talk to any your legislators (we’ll have “How-to Lobby” packets to hand-out).

In every district we’ve flyered, the response has been overwhelmingly positive (80-90% of the people we talk to are opposed to SB 70). Yet, this bill passed easily through the legislature. Help bridge this gap. This is our last chance this session to make sure our legislature puts the health of Utahns above the interests of nuclear waste dumps.

(Our final day of flyering this session is this Saturday. Meet us at 11:00am at Pioneer Park at the corner of 400 W and 400 S if you can join us.)

Thank you for staying involved over the past 5 weeks. Let’s finish strong.

John Urgo
Outreach Director
HEAL Utah
68 S Main St, Suite 400
SLC, UT 84101
(801) 355-5055
john@healutah.org

Lawmakers in Utah are examining a bill that would permit the building of toll roads. This concept in itself is a good one.

But Utah lawmakers want to pass the bill for the wrong reasons.

The reason for introducing legislation for building toll roads is to raise money to build more roads.

That’s just what we need…..more roads.

NOT.

What we need is a change of mindset and an awakening to the fact that peak oil has occured, global warming is a real issue, and that every American is going to be forced to become less and less dependent on fossil fuel for transportation and other means of existing.

Implementation of the building of toll roads to raise money for more toll roads smacks in the face of living in a fantasy world. Money from toll roads should be put towards better and more mass transportation and alternative energy plans.