Legislative Successes

I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past four years. See some of the highlights below!

Fighting for The Great Salt Lake

As the co-chair of the Great Salt Lake caucus, I have led the fight to preserve and restore the Great Salt Lake. Some of my accomplishments include:

Securing funding for a program that pays farmers to lease unused agricultural water to the Lake. This is Utah’s first program to move agricultural water to the lake on a large scale.
Passing HB11 which creates water-efficient landscaping standards for new government construction.
Passing HB317 which protects communities surrounding the Lake from heavy-metal particles made airborne by activity on the dry lakebed.
Securing funding to accelerate the removal of invasive, water-wasting phragmite plants from the lake’s shores. Phragmites drain 33,000 acre feet of water from the lake every year.
Organizing Utah Guard helicopters to fly the entire Legislature from Capitol Hill to see the Lake. Governor Cox said this was more effective than anything he’d tried to get the Legislature to act for the lake.
Securing funding to accelerate the efforts of local governments to incorporate water-smart planning into their land use planning processes and guides landscapers and participating communities on water preservation techniques.
Funding agricultural research within the Great Salt Lake Watershed related to water efficiency, agricultural water optimization, and water measurement.

**Protecting Parley’s Canyon**

I have successfully defeated several bills that would have prohibited local governments from restricting mining operations and allowed a massive expansion of the quarry in Parley’s Canyon. I have worked hard to organize Utah's business leaders and environmental advocates against proposals that would do irreversible damage to our outdoor spaces.

Doug Owens and Patrice Arent at a press event for HCR15

Doug Owens with Navajo Delegate Halona for a discussion on Bears Ears and supporting Indigenous communities

Doug Owens with the legislature thanking the UHP for their service

Doug Owens with National Guard members who took legislators over the Great Salt Lake as part of a training exercise

Doug Owens with his constituent, Oliver, who conducted research on Navajo Code Talkers

Doug receiving the Business Champion award from the Salt Lake Chamber

Supporting our Jewish Community

Recently there has been a startling increase in anti-Semitic hate and violence. I have worked closely with my good friend and predecessor Patrice Arent to make sure these trends are not allowed to continue. I sponsored HCR 15 Concurrent Resolution Condemning Anti-Semitism to make it known that our state will not stand for anti-Semitism. Utah's Jewish citizens are an essential part of our community; this resolution recognizes their unique contributions to our state and makes it known that they are welcome and valued.

I have also made great progress toward establishing a hotline for members of all vulnerable communities to report acts of discrimination that might not rise to the level of a crime. “Minor” acts of prejudice often fall through the cracks of our criminal justice system, but I believe that discrimination is never truly minor. This hotline will be a step toward supporting marginalized communities in a time when social divisions are higher than ever.

Establishing a Bears Ears Cultural Center

I reached across the aisle to secure funding for a visitors and multicultural center for the Bear's Ears Monument. This visitors center will make this beautiful region more accessible while employing Native Americans and educating visitors on Bears Ears’ cultural, historical, and ecological significance. I have worked with the local tribes to create a proposal supported by all stakeholders and am excited by our progress.

**Improving our Air Quality**

I have secured funding to replace dirty gas-powered lawn equipment with electric alternatives. Lawn equipment is one of the top contributors to air pollution, and incentivizing lawn care businesses and residents to make this switch will go a long way to improving our air quality.
I also passed legislation to keep motorized vehicles off the dry lakebed, which has helped keep particulate matter out of our air.
I was also awarded the Air Quality Champion Award from O2 Utah for my work on the Clean Air for Schools Program which would help provide portable air filtration systems to schools.

Providing for Outdoor Recreation

I passed legislation allowing the Division of Outdoor Recreation to accept private donations to build outdoor recreation infrastructure. This will help the Division keep up with the demands that Utah’s growing population is placing on recreational resources. Not only is outdoor recreation central to Utah’s economy, but also an important starting point in the search for bipartisan solutions to public land issues.

Protecting Wildlife

I secured funding to keep our waterways safe from invasive Quagga Mussels. These mussels, which have already found their way into Lake Powell, are a costly nightmare and impossible to get rid of once they are established. It will cost us tens of millions of dollars a year if the Quagga mussels find their way into northern Utah’s reservoir and lake systems. I obtained $5 million to create 8 new Quagga mussel treatment tanks at key areas around the state. These tanks use hot water to kill any mussels that have attached themselves to boats.
I passed HB427: Wildlife Accident Protections which requires UDOT to report the number of accidents involving livestock and wildlife to the legislature. These accidents cost Utahns millions of dollars a year and will become more of an issue as our homes and roads extend farther into wild Utah. If we want to address this problem we need to have conversations about what we are doing and what still needs to be done. Adding these numbers to UDOT's presentation is just the first step towards finding those solutions.

To view a full list of my sponsored legislation visit: https://house.utleg.gov/rep/OWENSDO/

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