Around 60% of Utahns rely on water from the Colorado River.
A Senate committee unanimously approved a bill Thursday to create Utah’s Colorado River Authority, which would be tasked with helping the state renegotiate its share of the river.
Originally the bill allowed broad reasons to close meetings and protect records. It’s since been changed twice to come more into compliance with the state’s open meeting and record laws. Critics of the bill said it’s still not enough.
Mike O’Brien, an attorney with the Utah Media Coalition, said having a narrower scope for open meetings and records exemptions makes the bill better than when it was first introduced. But he wishes it would follow laws already there.
Utah GOP legislative leadership is pushing for the creation of the Colorado River Authority of Utah to protect the state’s interests in its share of the river’s water. Critics accuse the bill of being a pathway to build the Lake Powell Pipeline.