Re: State of Utah Tax Petetion for Envirocare Waste

[gilsondg@songs.sce.com]

I just received this from the LLW Forum ...



Allen v. Utahns for Radioactive Control Act







                 Lawmakers Sue Waste Initiative Proponents







Five state senators and one state representative filed a lawsuit on June 14

against the sponsors of a Utah ballot initiative that seeks, among other

things, to impose substantial taxes on the disposal of out-of-state

low-level radioactive waste and to prohibit the disposal of Class B and C

radioactive waste within the state.  The suit, which was filed in the Third

District Court, alleges fraud and abuse on the part of the initiative's

sponsors.



The Lawsuit



The petitioners argue that the initiative's backers hired a California

company to recruit paid signature gatherers?paying them $3.15 per signature

collected.  They assert that at least four of the individuals gathering

signatures are not residents of the state.  Utah law requires that persons

collecting signatures for a ballot initiative be state residents.



The petitioners are requesting that Lt. Governor Olene Walker, who has to

approve the initiative by July 6 if it is to be placed on the ballot, throw

out all signatures collected by those gatherers who do not meet state

residency requirements.



The following Utah lawmakers are named as petitioners in the suit:  Senate

Minority Whip Ron Allen (D-Tooele), Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich

(D- Price), Senator Howard Stephenson (R-Draper), Senator Michael Waddoups

(R- Taylorsville), Senator Peter Knudsen (R-Brigham City), and

Representative Jim Gowans (D-Tooele).  In addition to Utahns for

Radioactive Control Act, the following are identified as respondents to the

action:  Utah lobbyist and petition co-organizer Frank Pignanelli, Utah

Education Association President Phyllis Sorensen, Utah Education

Association Executive Director Susan Kuziak, and others.  Lt. Governor

Olene Walker is also named as a respondent in the suit in her capacity as

state elections officer.  Lobbyist Doug Foxley, who is reported to be a

founder of the ballot initiative, was not named as a respondent to the

action.



Other Protests



Local news reports indicate that county clerks?who are currently in the

process of qualifying the signatures and have until July 1 to submit them

to the State Elections Office?have been besieged with calls from persons

who signed petitions and are now requesting that their names be removed.

According to the reports, many callers are complaining that they were

misled into believing that they were signing an initiative to keep spent

fuel from being stored at the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians

reservation?which is also located in Utah.



News reports further indicate that Salt Lake City Attorney Hugh Matheson,

Chair of Utahns Against Unfair Taxes (a group of business leaders and

others established in protest of the proposed ballot initiative), recently

sent a letter to county clerks and county attorneys around the state

requesting that a full investigation be undertaken into possible fraud

during the signature gathering process.  The letter is reported to identify

the names and addresses of seven individuals who gathered signatures but

whose state residency is deemed questionable.  A false verification is a

Class A misdemeanor under Utah law.



Background



Under state law, proponents were required to procure in 20 of Utah's 29

counties the signatures of registered voters equal to at least 10 percent

of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election?approximately 77,000

signatures?by the May 31 deadline in order to get the initiative on the

ballot.  Proponents claim to have garnered approximately 131,000

signatures.



The initiative, as proposed, calls for the imposition of a time-of-disposal

tax?the amount of which tax would depend on the kind of low-level

radioactive waste being disposed of in Utah?as well as a gross receipts tax

of 15 percent on radioactive waste disposal facilities operating in the

state.  In addition, the initiative seeks to prohibit Utah from licensing

or siting a facility for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste,

greater than Class C radioactive waste, or Class B or C low-level

radioactive waste within the state.



In addition to imposing new and additional taxes on the disposal of

radioactive waste in Utah and prohibiting the disposal of certain types of

waste, the proposed initiative also seeks to "[a]dequately capitalize[] the

Perpetual Care and Maintenance Fund to finance perpetual care of the

[Envirocare] facility and for its eventual closure."  The proposal also

seeks to increase the quality of monitoring of deposited radioactive waste,

clarify the definitions of all radioactive waste, and prohibit the further

licensing of radioactive waste disposal facilities in the state.



For additional background information about the ballot initiative and the

signatures collected, see LLW Forum News Flash titled "Proponents of Utah

Waste Tax Initiative Claim to Have Votes Needed to Place Referendum on

Ballot," June 11, 2002, and LLW Notes, March/April 2002, pp. 5-7 or go to

the initiative proponents web site at www.saferbetterutah.org or contact

Ken Alkema of Envirocare of Utah at (801) 532-1330.



Todd D. Lovinger

LLW Forum, Inc.

June 18, 2002

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David G Gilson

Shipping Supervisor

SONGS Unit 1 Decommissioning