Statement of the Board’s Initiatives, Programs, and Economic Development Priorities

Workforce Development

The Department of Workforce Services (DWS) mission statement is “We strengthen Utah’s communities by supporting the economic stability and quality of our workforce.” For the past several years, Utah has been in a pattern where the state’s urban areas enjoy economic growth and prosperity that is significantly greater than the rural communities. However, because of that growth urban employers were facing a lack of a local, available, qualified workforce. Unfilled jobs were growing faster than people available to work.

As a result of that challenge, last year the Department of Workforce Services, the Salt Lake Chamber, and Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah) created a formal partnership called the Rural Workforce Network through an MOU unveiled at the 2019 Utah Rural Summit. This initiative’s primary goal was to bridge the plentiful jobs available in the urban areas to the qualified workforce living in rural Utah. Since that unveiling, both the Utah State University Rural Online Initiative and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development have joined as partners in this endeavor.

We’ve seen the severe economic impacts of COVID-19 in our entire state and the rural communities, especially. Often in rural areas, one industry is the primary sector of employment, and when that industry suffers, the entire county suffers, which can make recovery difficult. We’ve discovered that the transition to telework opens diverse opportunities to the rural workforce.

Now is our public and private sectors’ time to continue expanding telework options and realize that they are no longer bound by traditional geographic locations to find qualified candidates across the entire state. As businesses geographically diversify their workforce, it lends to a more stable continuity of operations if there are areas in the state that face tighter restrictions or staff who may not be available to work due to the pandemic. The work becomes more portable, and business operations can be routed to other areas and continue.

This strategy of the Rural Workforce Network will help be an economic equalizer, lifting the workforce across urban and rural communities. Together; it will help bring relief to the housing challenges that are prevalent in both urban and rural areas in the state, and could also help flatten the seasonal unemployment rates that plagued rural Utah for many years.

Therefore, the GRPB will support the Rural Workforce Network and leverage connections to both the private and public sectors to continue increasing remote employment opportunities across the state .

In partnership with iMpact, Custom Fit, BEAR and Southeastern Utah Business and Technical Assistance and seven counties (Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, San Juan, and Uintah) an EDA grant was utilized to offer ISO & AS9100 certifications needed by rural businesses to diversify in the aerospace/ defense industry. Eight companies have so far enrolled in the certification process. Therefore, the GRPB supports iMpact, Custom Fit, business development

centers, and county organizations to utilize federal and state funding and training opportunities to develop and train the local workforce in various technical aspects to help diversify their economies .

Finally, we must never forget our citizens underemployed or unemployed due to significant barriers such as intergenerational poverty, past criminal background, homelessness, English as a second language, drug dependency, or lack of education.

Therefore, the GRPB supports the efforts of DWS to assist in developing career pathways through credential attainment with post-secondary education, ensuring needs are met through available community resources .

The GRPB identified housing as a critical topic for economic development for our rural cities and towns. The Commission on Housing Affordability advises the Legislature on policy related to housing. While there is statewide rural representation, the GRPB members are encouraged to participate in conversations with the commission to influence legislation.

The Rural Subcommittee of the Commission on Housing Affordability reviews topics to be addressed (see appendix B), brainstorm approaches for housing affordability and serve to incorporate legislative language that will collaborate rural needs with solutions. Therefore, the GRPB desires to have at least two members of our board serve on this subcommittee and

develop legislative language that supports the goals of both organizations . Updates from the subcommittee meetings will be presented at the GRPB meetings . Due to the GRPB having a presence on this subcommittee, the GRPB members’ action item will be to voice their recommendations, support, and advocate for the recommendations that come out of this subcommittee .

Rural Utilities

Rural utilities in Utah provide tremendous value to the western grid. This is accomplished by our ability to generate dependable power at reasonable costs. As demonstrated in August 2020 in California, capacity (or the ability to have power when power is needed) shortages will result in blackouts and/or sky-rocketing market prices.

As more renewables flood the grid in the west, states like California with Renewable Portfolio Standards that are not paired with sufficient capacity requirements are leaning on the grid. Coal and gas producing units in rural Utah serve as the uncompensated backup when these renewable resources cannot produce, resulting in revenue loss to critical rural areas of the state. This reliance typically occurs at peak demand times during the early evening. In other words, at the most critical times of the day, Utah coal and gas help stabilize a western grid system that would otherwise be overwhelmed by demand. This mismatch in supply and demand also creates volatility in power pricing, which exposes risk to Utah ratepayers. Therefore, the GRPB will encourage state leaders to work with neighboring states to build

consensus on properly providing fair compensation for power capacity supplied to regional markets by rural Utah and neighboring state utilities .

The GRPB should educate our federal delegation to make sure they are aware of the impacts carbon dividend legislation will have on Utah, specifically rural areas. One concern with carbon dividends is it will unfairly punish rural areas where these carbon-emitting sources are located. These communities could end up paying more in carbon tax than they receive in dividend. If dividend legislation is inevitable, our federal delegation should ensure that our rural communities’ taxes stay in our rural areas and not be exported to other states. Therefore, the GRPB should oppose carbon dividend legislation

unless the policy allows taxes or dividends collected in rural Utah to stay in rural areas where they were generated .

While it is widely accepted that Utah must continue to reduce particulate pollution on the Wasatch Front to improve air quality, comprehensive solutions that target the power industry won’t be as successful as those that promote and facilitate changing the behaviors of Utahns. Additionally, we must consider the impact of state policies that would accelerate joblosses in areas where the economy depends on power plants.

State legislation calling for increases in Renewable Portfolio Standards programs should be approached very cautiously. As demonstrated in California, every megawatt of intermittent resources imposed on the power system must be accompanied by an equal number of megawatts in reserve generation (i.e. coal, gas, and nuclear). Overbuild of power could more than double the cost of energy. In some future day, electric storage may mature to the point that you can generate at one time of the day and use it at another. Therefore, the GRPB should support policies that protect

Utah’s power networks and reliable generation facilities .

Alternative fuel vehicles are anticipated to become more prevalent in the U.S. and Utah marketplace over the next decade. Making sure Utah has an electric vehicle (EV) charging network is critical to this – it eliminates range anxiety and allows individuals to have these vehicles. It supports our rural utilities and also facilitates tourism to communities throughout rural Utah, many of which are located near state and national parks.

The state appropriated money for a matching fund program in their 2020 General Session for EV infrastructure in rural service territory. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, that allocation (like many others) was rolled back. Therefore, the GRPB should advocate for that funding and program in the 2021 General Session to help rural co-op and electric municipal power system service territories build out infrastructure that supports low emission vehicles’ future growth .

a. Identify and recruit sponsors for a legislative tour of rural Utah, rural utility facilities, and Utah’s current natural resource industries economies. b. Participation in the Rural Caucus. c. Emphasis on rural utilities during the legislative “Rural Day”. d. Educational seminars for new and existing legislators about rural utilities, natural resource industries, and the realities of Utah’s rural economies. Therefore, the GRPB recommends educating new and current

legislators regarding rural utilities – including a tour of rural Utah .

Broadband

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have learned more than ever that broadband availability plays a crucial role in our lives as we engage in activities such as telecommuting, commerce, remote learning, telehealth visits, and much more. Reliance on high-speed internet and cellular networks are crucial to keeping the world connected to rural Utah and rural Utah connected to the world.

The Utah Rural Telecom Association reported 1,800 new households were provided broadband internet connections temporarily at no cost to local rural Utah providers within two weeks of school closures and employees being sent home to work remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After two months of free internet access, approximately 70% of the households retained their internet service. Of those that did not, approximately 90% dropped service because of cost. The remaining 10% reported terminating their internet access because they were moving out of the area. Internet service costs for low-income or some rural households remain an inhibiting factor.

In addition to internet access, digital adoption and digital literacy are crucial, especially for students and educators. Students using hotspots quickly deplete their data, and many tribal communities face geographical obstacles as well. Government entities and businesses have collaborated to provide better internet access for rural communities. The state library, the state COVID taskforce, the Confederated Tribes of Goshute Reservation, the Church of Jesus Christ of LatterDay Saints and other groups reached out to try and solve these issues. The State Board of Education has instigated a State Broadband Initiative addressing various aspects of broadband with input from many public and private organizations to address the immediate needs of students and all residents to affordable online access. Therefore, the GRPB

recommends supporting the State Broadband Initiative proposals to address cost and connectivity in rural Utah, including tribal lands . The initiative may include many of the following recommendations .

• Utah could offer a discount for broadband for low-income households. The existing State Lifeline, low-income program can be used to offer this discount so the only steps needed to deploy this solution would be a rulemaking proceeding before the Utah Public Service Commission to increase the Lifeline discount.

If the Lifeline discount was increased, the funding would come from the Utah Universal Service Fund surcharge. No additional state funding would be required, although the UUSF surcharge may need to be adjusted. Therefore, the

GRPB recommends supporting legislation to increase the state Lifeline discount for broadband internet connection for low-income households. • The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has extensive programs and policies encouraging the deployment of rural broadband infrastructure. These programs typically have a matching fund requirement for the providers/applicants, and applications are prioritized on what providers are willing to commit as “matching funds.” Utah could provide a percentage or portion of the provider’s matching fund requirement, thereby allowing providers to increase their matching fund commitment and optimize their federal grant and loan applications’ prioritization. Leveraging available federal dollars should be a priority for the state. Therefore, the GRPB recommends supporting legislation to help provide matching fund requirements for federally funded rural and tribal broadband infrastructure deployment. The GRPB additionally recommends that weight is given to providers to hire local Utah workers to install broadband to support the rural economies.