SALT LAKE CITY — What a difference a word makes. Who would have thought that a clerical oversight could kill a legislative bill? Apparently that is just what happened to HB412.

“As the bill went through the process of going to the House and Senate committees it was amended to include the word ‘wholesale,’” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Roger Barrus, R-Centerville. “The costs of carbon management should be shared. Utah shouldn’t bear the burden so that California can have cheaper energy. The cost should follow the sale of electricity. The question was if it should apply to retail and wholesale.”

Barrus said that question was clarified in the Senate committee, and it was the Senate clerk’s responsibility to add the word to the bill — but the clerk failed to do so.

“The bill came out of committee and wasn’t the right bill,” said Barrus. “You can’t pass a bill in the Senate that wasn’t the same one in the House. The legislative counsel spent a great deal of time trying to salvage it, but finally they gave me the bad news that (although it had passed) technically it could not be enrolled.”

HB412 was intended to allow for an economic study to be done on any climate plan, such as cap-and-trade, before the state committed to the program. Cap-and-trade is an approach to control pollution by giving economic incentives to those who can reduce pollution emissions. A limit is set on how much pollutant can be emitted, (cap) then a group is issued a permit for the number of credits “which represents the right to emit a specific amount.” This cannot exceed the cap. However, if a group needs to increase the allowance, it can purchase credits from another source that pollutes less (trade).

“Interest is still very high in the Legislature on this topic,” said Barrus. “I talked to (House) Speaker (Dave) Clark (R-Santa Clara) about it, and he’s concerned about losing the ability for an economic analysis because of a technicality.”

Barrus said the legislative staff is talking to the governor’s staff to see if the bill can be placed on call during a special session.

“I hope he (the governor) would consider it given all the bills we helped pass for him,” he said. “I even carried one. Another option might be to have the Senate and House come together to make a resolution stating our approach during the interim. It might be too late by next year’s session.”

Overall, Barrus just wants do what’s best for the state’s energy policies. “This type of legislation is a balanced approach,” he said. “Some people think I go against the governor and his Western Climate initiative, but that is not the case at all. I’ve always worked to conserve renewable energy and fossil fuels. I’m just trying to find a balance.”