|
ARCHIVE
|
Sports Economy
July 26, 2006
|
Elections
June 30, 2006
|
Health Care
May 8, 2006
|
Taxes / Revenue Forecast
March 29, 2006
|
Water Policy
February 28, 2006
|
Special Legislative Edition
February 23, 2006
|
Economic Development
January 30, 2006
|
2005 Recap
December 12, 2005
|
Elections and Voting
October 26, 2005
|
Comprehensive School Reform
September 28, 2005
|
[MORE]
|
|
|  |
|
|
Why Split-Estate Energy Development Should Concern Utah’s Policymakers
by Robert E. Forbis Jr., MPA, ABD
In the West, oil and
gas development is a key industry that brings significant revenue to states. It
also brings significant challenges. One of these challenges is known as
“split-estate” fluid-mineral energy development, in which a parcel of land may
have two owners—one who owns the surface and another—in most cases the federal
government—that owns and leases the mineral rights beneath. Conflicts over land
use by these two types of landowners have caused many states in the West to
start defining parameters for shared use of resources. Despite accelerated oil
and gas exploration, as well as the potential of tar sand and oil shale
development, Utah has not addressed the issue of “split-estates,” either in
existing state statute or in upcoming legislation. This leaves the state
vulnerable to becoming embroiled in private property lawsuits or even the
possibility of having federal rules trump Utah’s ability to address the issue
in a way that is beneficial to the state. This article provides a brief
introduction to the issues around “split-estates” and a look at what
neighboring states are doing to address the problems.
[FULL STORY]
|
Coal Severance Tax
by Levi N. Pace
What is a severance tax? How important a revenue source is it for Utah and other Western states? Who ends up paying for it? Why should we care? As natural resources are consumed, energy prices increase as well as taxes. This article explores issues related to this tax on natural resources, including a brief review of the status of coal and the severance tax in Utah.
[FULL STORY]
|
A Summary of the Western Governors’ Association Initiative on Clean and Diversified Energy
by Janice Houston, Senior Policy Analyst, CPPA
Since convening the North American Energy Summit in 2004, the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) has been working towards developing a comprehensive energy policy for its member states. According to the WGA, this policy development has focused on providing clean and diversified sources of energy for electrical generation in the West. By resolution, three goals were agreed on following the 2004 Summit. These goals are as follows:
- Develop an additional 30,000 megawatts of clean energy from traditional and renewable resources by 2015;
- Achieve a 20% increase in energy efficiency by 2020; and
- Ensure a reliable and secure transmission grid for the next 25 years.
In order to develop policy that would meet these goals, the WGA commissioned the Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee (CDEAC). This committee included energy experts from the public and private sectors as well as members of the academic and environmental communities. CDEAC was charged to find technically and financially feasible ways to meet the three goals outlined above. In June 2006, CDEAC released its findings to WGA. This article provides a brief summary of those findings.
[FULL STORY]
|
Global Warming, Ice Ages and Tipping Points
by W. David Patton, PhD, CPPA
Is global warming occuring? Global climate has fluctuated between higher and lower temperatures for millions of years. Given the natural cycle of ice ages and interglacial periods, data indicate we should be at the end of our current warming period and heading into a new ice age. There is general agreement that the global average surface temperature of the Earth has increased about 0.7 C since the late 1800s with most of this warming occurring over the past 30 years.
So is global warming happening? Yes. Is it caused by human activity? This is less clear, but the evidence shows a relationship with increased CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and increasing global temperatures.
[FULL STORY]
|
About Policy Perspectives...
Policy Perspectives is an electronic newsletter that presents different perspectives on current policy issues. The articles are submitted by both CPPA staff and experts in the field and do not necessarily represent CPPA policy opinion. The purpose of the newsletter is to inform readers and generate policy related discussion so each article has an option for readers to post a response letter. We encourage you to take part in the discussion.
[FULL STORY]
|
|
| |
|
|
Leading Change
by Ken Embley, CPPA
Hey folks; is it just me, or do others see the hectic rate of change in our lives as accelerating? I think you know what I mean—your IT people announce an up-grade for your computer system. Somehow you knew the up-grade was coming because, for the past few months, you have finally been able to get your head around the last up-grade.
Change is everywhere! My wife and I are meeting friends at a local restaurant. On the way, our cell phone rings, and instead of Chinese we are going for seafood—I was looking forward to Chinese. The phone rings again and my son-in-law wants to see if we will be home around eight o’clock or so. It turns out they are expecting their first child next April, my third grandchild. Did I mention another little change? My son, after a two-year leave, is moving back home. Does it seem like big and little changes in our lives are happening so fast we have little time to adjust?
In thinking about the topic of change, it dawns on me that for years management gurus emphasize what we, as managers, should do to manage change, but they say almost nothing about what I believe is a manager’s primary challenge—the responsibility of leading change.
[FULL STORY]
|
|
|
