This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah could be seeing a new fleet of shiny, alternative-fuel school buses on the streets, depending on how budget negotiations go later in the legislative session.
HB49 (second substitute) passed the House 47-22 vote on Friday. It would allocate $20 million to Utah school districts and charter schools to replace old, polluting school buses with clean-burning ones and install alternative fueling stations.
Bill sponsor Stephen G. Handy, R-Layton, addressed concerns aired in previous debate about destroying old buses manufactured before 2002. The revised bill would allow the old models to be liquidated for scrap metal or retrofitted with diesel oxidation catalysts and closed crankcase ventilation filters and sold to out-of-state buyers.
Some representatives questioned how the $20 million grant would be distributed, voicing concerns that school districts who have neglected to replace their old buses would be rewarded with grant money, while other districts already paid for replacements themselves.
Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, noted that the state's largest school district, Alpine, only has 13 old buses that would need replacing, while Davis, which is also Handy's district, has 113.
"It would seem that most of the districts have been working on this problem," she said. "It looks like Davis is pretty far behind its sisters of similar size."
Handy said all school districts would have an equal opportunity to tap into the grant money, and they would also be responsible for matching the amount the received.
The bill moves to the Senate. It won't come up for a final vote until budget priorities are decided near the end of the 45-day session.