Environment Fares Poorly at Utah Legislature

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Utah Sierra Club Releases 2007 Scorecard

(KCPW News) The environment fares poorly on Utah's Capitol Hill. A new scorecard prepared by the Utah Chapter of the Sierra Club shows state lawmakers vote in favor of environmental conservation only about half the time.

"Part of the point of the scorecard is to show the difference between representatives who are willing to support the environment when it's a relatively uncontroversial gesture versus those willing to support the environment when there is opposition," says Sierra Club's Mark Clemens.

Clemens tallied legislative votes during the 2007 session on a handful of measures. He found lawmakers largely unanimous in support of tax credits for renewable energy efforts and making the state fleet more efficient. However, more controversial issues like water and nuclear waste earned mixed votes and lower marks for lawmakers on the Sierra Club scorecard.

Democrats scored higher than Republicans in most cases. But Clemens notes there were a few surprising exceptions:

"I was really pleased to see Representative Stephen Sandstrom get a 75-percent," says Clemens. "For a Republican representing Utah County, that's pretty good. It actually surpasses the vote of some Democrats representing Salt Lake County."

Four State Representatives and one Senator scored perfect scores on the Sierra Club Scorecard. All are Democrats.

Click here to see the scorecard.

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