On Wednesday, Governor Spencer Cox signed 129 bills into Utah law. Among those 129 was a bill said to be of most significance for the Uintah Basin. SB176, Mineral Lease Funds Amendments, modifies provisions related to the expenditure of federal mineral lease revenues, addressing the legislative intent and purpose of the Community Impact Fund and allows their Board to make a grant or loan regardless of whether the project results in more than one impact or outcome. The bill also made the provisions retroactive. “The ability for rural Utah communities like ours to utilize mineral lease monies has helped more than any other item,” shared 7 County Infrastructure Coalition Executive Director Mike McKee. “Passage of this bill was crucial to continue to use these resources as has been done traditionally.” The 129 bills signed on March 17th brought the total signed pieces of legislation from the 2021 General Legislative Session to 389.
