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A local legislator scored the highest among his House colleagues in a report card of environmentally friendly votes compiled annually by the Sierra Club.
State Rep. Stephen Clark, R-Provo, led Republicans in the House of Representatives, with his votes coinciding with a Sierra Club position 71 percent of the time.
"It was a surprise to us," said Mark Clemens of the Sierra Club's Utah chapter. "We're delighted with his performance this year."
When told of the rankings, Clark said it was just a coincidence resulting from what he thought of specific pieces of legislation.
"I'm not aligned with them. I have nothing to do with them," he said. "I was totally opposed to what they did on the Legacy Highway."
State Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem, was close behind Clark, scoring 67 percent on the environmental group's scorecard.
Among Utah County legislators, Reps. John Dougall, R-American Fork, and Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork, tied for the lowest Sierra Club ranking, at 25 percent.
The rankings are based on votes on eight bills in the state House of Representatives and seven bills in the Senate. Democrats in the Legislature received higher grades, generally voting with the Sierra Club's views 75 percent to 100 percent of the time.
The bills considered in the rankings concerned open space, water resource development, electronic waste, the approval process for radioactive waste storage and energy conservation.
Also included were two bills that would've required a bond to be posted if a stay or injunction were requested on, for example, a construction project or a decision by the Air Quality Board. The bills were aimed at environmental groups that take disputes over projects to court.
Clark didn't vote on one of the bills, and voted against the other one.
"I didn't think that was good policy," he said. "I think everybody has the opportunity for a redress in the courts, whether you're an individual or a corporation or anybody. The courts are open to anybody."
One of those bills -- a substitute version House Bill 100 -- passed both houses of the Legislature and is currently pending in Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s office. The Sierra Club has lobbied him to veto it.
Some Republicans decline a Sierra Club endorsement when it's offered to them, Clemens acknowledged -- but not all of them.
"There are some undoubtedly who would value it," said Clemens. "In some districts, particularly in urban areas like Salt Lake County, we have hundreds, or thousands, of members."
The organization's scorecard is available at utah.sierraclub.org/legislative.asp.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.
A local legislator scored the highest among his House colleagues in a report card of environmentally friendly votes compiled annually by the Sierra Club.
State Rep. Stephen Clark, R-Provo, led Republicans in the House of Representatives, with his votes coinciding with a Sierra Club position 71 percent of the time.
"It was a surprise to us," said Mark Clemens of the Sierra Club's Utah chapter. "We're delighted with his performance this year."
When told of the rankings, Clark said it was just a coincidence resulting from what he thought of specific pieces of legislation.
"I'm not aligned with them. I have nothing to do with them," he said. "I was totally opposed to what they did on the Legacy Highway."
State Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem, was close behind Clark, scoring 67 percent on the environmental group's scorecard.
Among Utah County legislators, Reps. John Dougall, R-American Fork, and Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork, tied for the lowest Sierra Club ranking, at 25 percent.
The rankings are based on votes on eight bills in the state House of Representatives and seven bills in the Senate. Democrats in the Legislature received higher grades, generally voting with the Sierra Club's views 75 percent to 100 percent of the time.
The bills considered in the rankings concerned open space, water resource development, electronic waste, the approval process for radioactive waste storage and energy conservation.
Also included were two bills that would've required a bond to be posted if a stay or injunction were requested on, for example, a construction project or a decision by the Air Quality Board. The bills were aimed at environmental groups that take disputes over projects to court.
Clark didn't vote on one of the bills, and voted against the other one.
"I didn't think that was good policy," he said. "I think everybody has the opportunity for a redress in the courts, whether you're an individual or a corporation or anybody. The courts are open to anybody."
One of those bills -- a substitute version House Bill 100 -- passed both houses of the Legislature and is currently pending in Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s office. The Sierra Club has lobbied him to veto it.
Some Republicans decline a Sierra Club endorsement when it's offered to them, Clemens acknowledged -- but not all of them.
"There are some undoubtedly who would value it," said Clemens. "In some districts, particularly in urban areas like Salt Lake County, we have hundreds, or thousands, of members."
The organization's scorecard is available at utah.sierraclub.org/legislative.asp.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.