In the last stretch of its current legislative session, Utah passed a bill to create a 6-member Colorado River Authority toadvocate for Utah's interests in water from the Colorado River. The bill faced opposition from environmental groups throughout its journey to law but sailed through the process with little resistance from Utah's elected representatives.
The bill passed in the Senate on Wednesday with 24 members in favor, 2 absent and 3 opposed. The three votes against all came from Democratic senators representing the Salt Lake County area: Luz Escamilla, Derek Kitchen and Kathleen Riebe. Sen. Jani Iwamoto, a Democrat from Holladay, who had previously expressed concern that the bill did not adequately represent the water interests of the Navajo Nation, experienced technical difficulties during her remote attendance and was not able to register a vote.