I am truly bothered by the hypocrisy many on the right have towards illegal immigration – and their inability to think through the rhetoric they often spew.

Often, they complain that we make it “too easy” to enter the country and that we incentivize people to come here. This argument came up during the initial discussion of driver privilege cards a few years back wherein an undocumented person can receive what amounts to a drivers licence, though with many restrictive measures in place. The main idea behind this was twofold: 1) we would at least have some means of knowing who is illegally in the country, and 2) officers and other individuals would be able to identify individuals with greater ease.  The whole idea behind this, of course, was that illegal aliens were already driving on the street – regardless of if they are doing it legally, so we might as well make it easer on everyone involved by giving them the same licence everyone else has.

Well Senator Steve Urquhart (R – Saint George, District 29) wants to ignore all of these facts by proposing SB 138 – Driver License Qualification Amendments. The bill would eliminate driver privilege cards, plain and simple.

Senator Urquhart, no doubt, thinks that this will solve illegal immigration. He is, most likely, under the naive impression that this will prevent people from coming to Utah and take our jobs – because when people cross the border, the reason they are doing it is to be able to legally drive on our roads. Those who have lived in other states illegally long to drive on our streets as well but, sadly, the walk here is simply to far for most, and they dare not drive on the highway to get here without some sort of state sponsored support.

This bill does nothing to solve the problem of illegal immigration, and it would make law enforcement more difficult.  Furthermore, this bill would cost the state over a million dollars if enacted, presumably from the loss of fees associated with the privilege – a million dollars that currently goes to improving the roads illegal immigrants will drive on regardless of having a laminated card in their pocket.

Urgency Score

Click here to contact Senator Urquhart.

Whew! First of all, I think Senator Scott Jenkins (R – Plain City – District 20) was simply trying to win the award for longest title of a bill. Sadly, he seems to have lost to Representative Clarks’ HJR 2 by only seven characters. Alas, I suppose SJR 6 – Joint Resolution Urging Congress to Limit the Freeze on Longer Combination Vehicle Use in the Western States must be viewed simply on its own merit.

In all seriousness, SJR 6 is one of those good resolutions that it out to make a point but is not a far out their idea that is only produced to win elections and nothing else. First, though, we need to back up.

We have all seen the long semis on the road that are hauling two trailers behind them. Well it turns out that the technology exists (and has existed for quite some time) to safely snap together even longer trailer trucks together and ship them across certain roads in the county – some are back east, but most lie in the west. The problem is that, in 1991, Congress said that these longer combination vehicles (LCV) would not be allowed on the interstate system – most likely assuming that, because they would not work on the east coast, they would not work for the country.

Turns out these LCV’s could easily work out on the majority of Utah’s freeways, as well as the interstates of our neighbors.  Not only would we reduce the number of miles driven and fuel consumption for large trucks, we would also be reducing emissions, saving shippers some $2 billion (that would be passed on to consumers), as well as extending the life of freeways and reducing noise. Because there are fewer vehicles on the road, accidents will be reduced and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced- this, despite the fact that these vehicles are much larger.

So, we would be saving money AND the environment. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Urgency Scale:

Click here to contact Senator Jenkins.

Remember that small, little, ency-wency $13 million payout to Flatiron/Skanska/Zachry after their failed bid on the I-15 CORE project? I know, it was no big deal, but Representative Julie Fisher (R-Fruit Heights, District 17) seems to think that it was. I know, right?

I suppose some of the provisions outlined in HB 34 – Department of Transportation Settlement Agreement Amendments are kinda good ideas; like putting an actual process into place to actually alert the governor, Transportation Commission, and the Legislative Management Committee of any payout greater than, say $1 million.

The bill also outlines various tiers of awareness at $100,000 and $500,000 so that government does not get too bogged down in approving every little project that UDOT has to deal with but, overall, the bill would add more transparency to the process of payments and ensure that the process is fair.

This won’t harm UDOT’s ability to bid and construct projects, it just ensures that they don’t have a blank check in one particular area of the project cycle. This bill ensures that the taxpayers know whats going on and that various members of government have agreed to spending the public dime.

Urgency Score:

Click here to contact Representative Fisher.

This time last year I discussed how Senator Luz Robles (D – Salt Lake, District 1) was sponsoring a bill to designate the portion of Redwood Road in Salt Lake City the “Pete Suazo Memorial Highway.” Sadly, the bill had the enacting clause struck and made it nowhere.

For those of you who don’t know, the enacting clause is the portion of any bill that basically says that it is a law if passed, specifically it says “be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah.” If it is removed, it means that it is not enacted and is not, therefore, a law. To have an enacting clause struck is, quite possibly, one of the most dishonorable ways to kill a bill, as it is worse than just not voting on it – having the clause struck it is sort of like the legislature saying to the bill sponsor “we don’t like this idea so much, we are going to spend extra time just to kill it.”

Thankfully, Senator Robles is back with SB 117 – Pete Suazo Memorial Highway. The bill, again, would make Redwood road (from 2100 South to 1700 North officially the Pete Suazo Memorial Highway (see below).

I went to school with the Suazo children, and I remember how vivid the events of his tragic death were to the west side – a strong and passionate leader was removed from us so quickly.  Senator Suazo was the first Hispanic legislator and was a great inspiration to those who often felt disenfranchised – he truly represented what government could and should be about.

I hope this bill passes, it has already made it out of the Senate at the time of writing, and I hope it makes it to the Governors desk.

Click here to contact Senator Robles.

Representative Phil Riesen (D – Millcreek, District 36) continues to fight for a restriction on cell phones in cars. Last year he was unsuccessful in passing a bill that would eliminate cell phone use for everyone (the bill was substituted in committee and died there), so he is trying again with HB 237, a bill that would restrict cell phone use in cars by minors.

Well, last year I said it was a good bill, and this year I will say the same.

Teenage drivers are already the most likely to be hurt or killed in car accidents, and the addition of cell phones only adds one more distraction. Even experienced drivers are more distracted when using a phone, let alone those who have been driving for two years or less. Those found guilty would be charged with a class C misdemeanor if an individual is found using a cell phone at the time of an accident and the driver could, potentially, loose their license.

Now this bill should not be confused with the text messaging bill that passed last year.  The ban on text messaging applies to all drivers, this would simply make any use of a cell phone illegal to minors.

I would also like to point out that this bill is an example of how lawmakers constantly modify bills from year to year in order to reach a desired goal.  Earlier today I discussed how Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck is expanding her bill due to its successful passage last year, well this bill is the opposite. Riesen, hoping to pass a bill that he feels does some good, is scaling his original bill in hopes that he can get some of his ideas on the books. Both of these actions are common in lawmaking as everything is a give or take – this is the process in action.

Hopefully this bill will pass and Riesen will be able to expand the law in the future.

Click here to contact Representative Riesen.

I have been amazed by the flurry of arguments surrounding Karen Morgan’s (D – Salt Lake – District 8) SB 38 – Restrictions on High Occupancy Vehicle Lane.  The bill adds seven lines of text to the HOV (carpool) lane laws and, if it were to pass, would open up the carpool lane to any vehicle between 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and from 7:00 PM to 6:00 AM.

Now, I must admit that I originally supported this bill when I first wrote about it, however I received an email from my friend Deb Henry over at the aptly named Hey Deb Henry (who also happens to work for UDOT) that this bill actually goes counter to UDOT’s plan for the lane.

In my original post, I basically said that our carpool lanes are a joke, and indeed, I still feel that they do. But UDOT is addressing this through some innovative plans that take advantage of modern technology. Take a look by clicking here since UDOT is dumb and won’t allow me to embed videos.

For those of you thinking I am rickrolling you, just know that the video talks about how UDOT has a plan to implement variable tolls in four zones across I-15. Now, although I understand that there is a chance for cheaters, the video does address how law enforcement can monitor activity on the toll road while still giving emphasis to carpoolers. Plus, lets not pretend that there are not already cheaters now. I do say that this bill should go further in increasing the fine for carpool lane/toll road violations…but that is another story.

Henry also point out to me that this bill would create extra trips because drivers would normally have to deal with congestion.  Now I don’t fully agree with that argument as I suspect people would just delay their trip, but even that would reduce emissions as people would not have to be in as much stop and go traffic.

In the end, I my original post that none of you saw should serve as a message to many legislators – don’t be afraid to change your opinion when you get more information.

Click here to contact Senator Morgan.

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the Salt Lake-Sandy line of Trax and it is interesting what a difference a decade makes.

This time ten years ago, the average price for a gallon of gas in the US was $1.46, adjusted for inflation and you are looking at $1.94 in today’s dollars. At the time people naysayed the high price of a round trip ticket at $2.00 that would only succeed at going from one mall to the next. Today a $4.00 round trip ticket means you don’t have to hassle with parking downtown while the price of gas makes mass transit far more appealing.  Furthermore, cities across the Wasatch Front now clamor for lines in their neighborhoods and the system is only scheduled to grow.

In short, Trax is a case study in smart planning and successful public works projects. The system carries an average of 11 million people a year with daily ridership hovering around 40-50,000.  Assuming these are all round trips, that is 20-25,000 cars not on the road, allowing our freeways to last longer for those of us who can’t yet use the system to meet their needs. These same “non-cars” also improve our lackluster air quality…just imagine what our inversions would be like with that much more smog being pumped into the air daily.

And then there is the economic impact. As you go up and down the transit corridor, it is plain to see transit oriented housing and businesses springing up everywhere. Sandy, South Salt Lake, and Murray have seen dramatic growth around their stations as people learn to live, work, and play around rails.

Those who tend to poo-poo mass transit often forget these subtle, but long term, benefits. True, the $312 million (nearly $400 million in today’s dollars) investment was a tough pill to swallow, however the overall improvements to our infrastructure and health speak for themselves.

The simple fact of the matter is that mass transit needs to become more and more a part of our everyday life.  It has been less than 65 years since trolley cars crisscrossed the city, only to be replaced by then cheaper cars.  Now it is safe to say that the cost of oil will only rise over the years and make motorized transport much more expensive. By investing now, we are reducing the impact of a world with $5,6,7, even $10 a gallon gas.

So happy birthday Trax, I recall the first time I used you that cold December afternoon and I will be revisiting you tonight as I board at Murray Central and head Downtown to enjoy the symphony, sushi with friends, and the lights.

This morning I had the opportunity, along with some fellow bloggers, to sit down with Mayor Ralph Becker and discuss some of the issues of the day.

As I was driving down I-15 at rush hour, I decided to check which bills were new and fresh on the Utah State Legislature web site when, all of a sudden I came across this little gem. Naturally this would distract me to the point where I nearly slammed into the back of a semi transporting hazardous materials. Thankfully I kept my head on a swivel and narrowly avoided disaster. Thank goodness that Representative Phil Riseen (D – Millcreek, District 36) has proposed H.B. 95.