Singer Toby Keith has died.; It's Day 22 of 45. Only one committee meeting this afternoon; double committee meetings begin Thursday | | | The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. We scour the news so you don't have to! Send news tips or feedback to Holly Richardson at editor@utahpolicy.com. | | |
Situational Analysis | Feb. 6, 2024 It's Tuesday and Pay a Compliment Day! Singer-songwriter Toby Keith died of stomach cancer during the night. He was 62. ð¸ Three things to watch today: Appropriation subcommittees are finishing up today and tomorrow. They will send finalized recommendations to the Executive Appropriations Committee, which has the final say. No committee meetings today except for the Senate Judiciary Confirmation Committee which will consider six nominees for the Utah Victim Services Commission. As we hit the halfway mark in the session, there are currently 731 bills drafted and out. 59 have passed both bodies and 11 have been signed by the governor. In the next three and a half weeks, almost 10 times that many bills will be passed. On the Hill Today, Day 22 of 45 8:00 am: Business, Economic Development, and Labor Appropriations; Infrastructure and General Government Appropriations 9:00 am: Public Education Appropriations 11:00-11:50 am: Senate floor time 11:00-11:50 am: House floor time
2:00-3:30 pm: Senate floor time 2:00-3:30 pm: House floor time 4:00 pm: Senate Judiciary Confirmation Committee | | |
| | Construction Underway, Scheduled Operation: 2025 The Intermountain Power Project's transformational âIPP Renewedâ project is under construction and on track for mid-2025 start-up. The project includes new natural gas-fueled electricity generating units that will also utilize "green" hydrogen for long-term, dispatchable storage of renewable energy. There are currently 998 workers on site in Millard County, with 1200 expected during peak construction. Click here to watch construction unfold. For more information, visit www.ipprenewed.com | | |
Utah Headlines Legislative session Utah nonprofits visiting Logan with mission to end child sexual abuse (Cache Valley Daily) Business and Labor The proposed changes to Utahâs social media laws are now public (Deseret News) Utah lawmakers want social media companies to ditch algorithmic feeds, limit time for minors (KSL) Utah seeks to clarify law on AI-generated explicit videos after fakes of Taylor Swift spread widely (KSL) Inside Utahâs war on social media (Deseret News) Education New legislation would allow armed, trained school guardians to respond to emergencies in Utah schools (Deseret News) Government Operations A Utah lawmaker says heâs come up with a âsuper simpleâ change to voting by mail. Hereâs what he wants to do (Deseret News) Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Domestic violence providers, law enforcement speak on behalf of legislative bills (KSL) Former Red Rocks gymnasts share stories of abuse in hopes of change (Fox13) Utah family fights for law change after disabled woman raped by stepdad (KUTV) Introduced bill hopes to put the brakes on aggressive driving (ABC4) Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Resolution in Utah's legislature seeks to unwind Bears Ears land swap (Fox13) Utah bill would limit cities ability to regulate mine expansion (KUTV) Other Utah News Political news Sen. Mike Lee leads opposition on border security package (Deseret News) âRidiculousâ: Mendenhall, Salt Lake County D.A. dispute Gov. Cox border comments (Salt Lake Tribune) Immigration advocates voice disappointment with governor's stance on southern border (KUTV) Utah's first lady tells Farm Bureau women about agriculture's impact on youth (UPR) âI canât afford to get out of the gameâ â Winston Wilkinsonâs quest to becoming whole (Deseret News) Utah news Utah hosting state-wide fairs to apply, renew passports in February (KUTV) Hill Air Force Base begins night flying training this week (ABC4) Jimmer Fredette makes BYU broadcasting debut (ABC4) Crime/Courts Overall crime reaches 15-year low in S.L., according to city's top law enforcer (KSL) Education Dartmouth College set to reinstate SAT and ACT requirements for admissions. Will other schools follow? (Deseret News) Utah Board of Ed reworks its âeducational equityâ rule to match the new anti-DEI law (KUER) Environment Equine owners say Salt Lake County aims to kill their âWesternâ way of life (Deseret News) Southern Utah state park to get new entrance, âfast passâ to handle growing number of visitors (Salt Lake Tribune) Ute Tribe makes rare move to terminate all nontribal hunting, fishing permits after âdisrespectful violationsâ from outsiders (Salt Lake Tribune) Picking up a piece of private land, Zion National Park adds to its protected acres (KUER) Family The Rosie Project is opening doors for military spouses at Hill AFB and beyond (Standard-Examiner) Health Improving treatment by helping immune system see cancer (Deseret News) Utah to receive nearly $4M in national opioid settlement (ABC4) | | |
National Headlines General Dial it up to Category 6? As warming stokes storms, some want a bigger hurricane category (AP) Los Angeles hit by mudslides flooding as atmospheric river persists (Wall Street Journal) He unearthed his roots. Now he digs up lost stories of enslaved people. (Washington Post) Political news Voices from the violent civil rights era see attacks on voting rights as part of ongoing struggle (AP) Border bill supporters combat misinformation that it would actually let in more migrants (AP) GOPâs border bill outrage underscores a political shift (The Hill) Mattis secretly advised Arab monarch on Yemen war, records show (Washington Post) Election news Nikki Haley set to win Nevada Republican primary, but victory will be hollow (Reuters) Donald Trump deploys his oft-used playbook against women who bother him. For now, itâs Nikki Haley (AP) Trump meets with Ronna McDaniel â then says heâll be recommending RNC changes (Politico) Ukraine ðºð¦ Baby killed in Russian strike on Kharkiv hotel (BBC) Israel ð®ð± Women in Gaza give birth in tents and public bathrooms (Wall Street Journal) World news Invasive ants took over the savanna in Kenya and even lions were affected (Deseret News) King Charles III is being treated for cancer and will temporarily halt his public duties (AP) | | |
| | News Releases Guest opinion: How curriculum transparency can boost the parent-teacher partnership by Christine Cook Fairbanks Utah Gov. Spencer Cox boasted that Utah is âweirdâ (in good ways) during his 2024 State of the State address because we lead the nation in rejecting zero-sum thinking. Itâs true: Utah has an impressive record of finding consensus policy solutions on politically thorny issues â from the Utah Compact to the Utah Compromise. Utah should continue its âweirdâ approach by creating curriculum transparency reform that empowers parents, supports teachers, and strengthens the parent-teacher partnership... Proponents of curriculum transparency talk about it as a way for parents to exercise their right to understand and direct their childâs education. Opponents of curriculum transparency talk about the burden it creates on teachers. Utah can rise above this polarizing divide and find a consensus solution where curriculum transparency strengthens the parent-teacher partnership around student learning. Such a solution will: (1) build trust between parents, teachers and public schools, (2) make parents and educators sharers of information about what a student will learn, and (3) make it attractive for teachers to do the work of being transparent... Seeking a consensus curriculum transparency policy is a natural next step for Utah to keep being âweirdâ and reject zero-sum thinking. Policymakers should embrace the opportunity to renew trust in public schools while also strengthening the partnership between parents and teachers. (Read More) Protecting Utahâs youth from the harms of social media Sen. Mike Mckell, Sen. Kirk Cullimore, Rep. Jordan Teuscher and Rep. Jay Cobb announced enhanced legislation to protect youth from the harms of social media and empower families with resources to keep children safe. Utah is leading the nation with landmark legislation that helps safeguard kids and teens from the growing mental health crisis tied to the rise in social media addiction. S.B. 194 Social Media Regulation Amendments focuses on platform safety for and parental engagement with minors. H.B. 464 Social Media Regulation Act Amendments addresses the harmful addictive algorithms that social media companies deploy on children in Utah. (Read More) Utah congressional delegation announces passport fairs in coordination with State Department U.S. Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Representatives John Curtis (UT-03), Blake Moore (UT-01), Burgess Owens (UT-04), and Celeste Maloy (UT-02), in coordination with the Department of State, today announced five âPassport Fairsâ throughout the state. Utahns in need of a passport, or those whose passports have expired or will expire in the next year, may register for an appointment from February 13 â 17 at one of five locations. Expedited processing will be available. (Read More) | | |
Upcoming Feb. 6 â Cache County Safe Child Parent and Community Training, Riverwoods Conference Center, 7:00 pm, Register here Feb. 7 â Women in Leadership Executive Series: Finance, 11:30 am-12:30 pm,Register here Feb. 8 â Women in Leadership Executive Speaker Series: Traditional Industries, 2:00-3:00 pm,Register here Feb. 21 â Women in Leadership Executive Speaker Series: Women Focused Organizations, 11:30 am-12:30 pm,Register here Feb. 22 â Understanding Utahâs Caucus-Convention System, with GOP Chair Rob Axson and Dem. Chair Diane Lewis, sponsored by Utah Women Run, 6:00-7:30 p.m., Register here Mar. 1 â Legislative session ends Mar. 5 â Caucus night Mar. 20 â Utah Foundation Annual Lunch, 11:45 am-1:30 pm; Grand America, Purchase tickets here Apr. 20 â United Utah Partyconvention Apr. 27 â State GOP and Democratic Conventions | | |
On This Day In History 1820 - First organized emigration of U.S. Blacks back to Africa, from New York to Sierra Leone. 1867 - Peabody Fund is established to promote Black education in the South. 1887 - Florence Luscomb is born. She became an architect and reformer and was the first woman to graduate from MIT as an architectural graduate. In 1909, she gave 222 speeches for woman suffrage in 14 weeks, 1911 - Ronald Reagan is born. 1952 - Elizabeth becomes the Queen of England when her father, King George VI dies. 1985 - The âReagan Doctrineâ is announced during the State of the Union and was President Reaganâs approach to foreign policy. 1988 - The Alaskan legislature establishes the Elizabeth Peratrovich Day due to her âcourageous, unceasing efforts to eliminate discrimination and bring about equal rights in Alaska.â Peratrovich was the president of the Alaska Native Sisterhood and testified repeatedly about the unfair treatment indigenous peoples received across the state. 1993 - Arthur Ashe dies of AIDS he contracted receiving blood after heart surgery. He was the first Black tennis player to win at Wimbledon. 2022 - Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking seventy years on the throne 2023 - 7.9 earthquake hits southern Turkey Quote of the Day âFreedom is not the sole prerogative of a chosen few; it is the universal right of all Godâs children.â âRonald Reagan, State of the Union, 1985 On the Punny Side When your girlfriend comes home in a white suit, covered in bee stings and smelling like honey. You know she's a keeper. | | |
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