Bill could ban certain heavy-duty vehicles in an effort to clean up the air
Feb 21, 2025, 5:00 PM
Davis County school buses sit at the Bus Farm in Farmington on Friday, Sept. 13. (Deseret News Archives)
(Deseret News Archives)
SALT LAKE CITY — In an effort to clean up Utah’s air before the 2034 Olympic Games, Utah lawmakers are seeking to ban certain heavy-duty vehicles on the state’s roadways.
HB525 would put a ban on heavy-duty vehicles that weigh more than 14,000 pounds and were manufactured in 2009 or earlier.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Paul Cutler, R-Centerville, also says owners of these heavy-duty vehicles would not be able to register their vehicles after May 7. However, re-registration of the vehicle would be allowed if the vehicle was registered before that date.
Starting Jan 1, 2030, owners would not be able to re-register any heavy-duty vehicles that weigh 14,ooo pounds and are made in 2009 or earlier. There are some exceptions to this rule, according to the bill’s wording.
Editor of Utah Policy Holly Richardson told Dave and Dujanovic that heavy-duty vehicles affected by the bill include dump trucks, tow trucks and school busses.
People who want to sell or trade in their heavy-duty vehicles have the choice to work through tax incentives to get rid of their vehicles.
“There already were some tax incentives for these types of vehicles,” Richardson said. “But this legislation, if it passes, would increase those incentives. And it goes from the year 2026 up through 2030.”
Cleaning up the air
Richardson said this bill is just one small step to clean air in Utah.
“There are often air quality bills, and certainly there’s the Clean Air Caucus on Utah’s Capitol Hill,” Richardson said. “There’s not very many bills related to air quality this legislative session. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not looking at it and working on it.”
Richardson added that the bill has a number of co-sponsors on the bill, including a senate sponsor.
“(It) seems likely that (the bill) is probably going to pass, even though it’s coming out really late in the session,” Richardson said.
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