Utah Legislature: Carbon credit bill gets blocked again by Chris Buttars

SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Chris Buttars is the latest GOP lawmaker to put a hold on a bill that would allow Utah communities to sell carbon credits.

The proposal by Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake, has been in legislative limbo, trapped by opponents on the Senate Rules Committee.

Committee member Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, was the first to put an informal hold on the legislation weeks ago, an action that led to some heated discussion with Romero, also a Rules Committee member.

After negotiation, Bramble agreed Tuesday to send the bill out to the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and allow for public debate, only to have the measure blocked by Buttars, R-West Jordan.

"I disagree with anything to do with this climate stuff," Buttars said. "It's all junk science if you ask me."

Conservative members of the Rules Committee have voiced concerns that the measure is tantamount to cap and trade, a measure designed to control the amount of pollution a business or other entities produce. Cap and trade has become a controversial aspect of the global climate change debate.

Romero contends that the measure is designed to provide another revenue source for cash-strapped local governments and said the bill deserves to receive public input.

A similar bill died in the Senate last year.

Currently, Weber County is the only county in Utah to sell carbon credits, Romero said.

— Josh Smith