Speaking up for truth, more education bills, the State of the City address by Mayor Mendenhall, and the Great Salt Lake | | | 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 | January 26, 2022 It's the last Wednesday of January. Yikes! That also means it's Library Shelfie Day, the day you can line up all your books and take their picture. Not for me, but you do you. Also, a big congrats to Lt. Governor Henderson and the Second Gentleman on the birth of their second grandbaby, Walter Truman Winters. Be in the Know It's been happening since humans began walking on the earth - girls have been having periods. "Period poverty" - lack of access to products or funds to purchase product - is not just something that affects the developing world. After a multi-year effort to get period products into all schools in utah, HB162, sponsored by Rep. Karianne Lisonbee passed the House Education committee unanimously. In a public/private partnership, funding for the bill will come from the legislature and private donors including Utah's Period Project and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, which is contributing $2 million. 17-yr-old Megan Reid testified in front of the committee, noting that she is one of many young women who have found themselves at school without supplies when their period started. "It would mean a lot," she said. The entire committee presentation is worth watching. You can find it here. Also, Utah's Period Project will be holding an in-person/online forum at the Hinckley Institute today from noon to 1:00. | | |
| | FROM OUR SPONSOR UTAH INLAND PORT AUTHORITY Bringing the logistics of the future to benefit Utah today "It is in the best long-term interest of our country to devise ways to get cargo through. I think Utah is on the cutting edge of how to achieve that goal moving forward," says Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel. See how the Utah Inland Port Authority is reimagining logistics for the next generation. | | |
2022 Legislative Session I feel a bit sheepish because I was doing the countdown incorrectly. The 45 days of the legislative session includes weekends, a fact which I knew, but somehow forgot. Mea culpa. 8 days down, 37 to go. General Laura Summers, senior healthcare analyst at the Kem C. Gardner Institute, highlights the importance of upcoming behavioral and public health legislation (State of Reform) Today Sub-appropriations committee meetings, 8 am Executive Offices and Criminal Justice, Higher Education, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality, Social Services Floor Time Senate: 11:00 - 11:50 House: 11:00 - 12:15 Committee Meetings, 2 pm House Judiciary, House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment, House Transportation, Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services, Senate Revenue and Taxation Tomorrow Last day for the legislature to either pass or defeat each base budget bill by noon Business, Economic Development, and Labor (held exclusively online), Infrastructure and General Government, Public Education, Social Services Education Education bill would require Utah teachers to post syllabus, teaching materials online (KUTV) Government Operations Bill aims to target 'vexatious' GRAMA requests, but critics worry about 'chilling effect' (KUTV) Health and Human Services Lawmakers should do this to help families dealing with cystic fibrosis:
With a simple, straightforward reform, the Utah Legislature could end copay accumulator programs that add to financial burdens (Deseret News) Judiciary A bill that would strike a marriage requirement for couples entering a surrogacy agreement moved forward in the Utah House of Representatives. âThere is no fundamental right to a child for unmarried parents,â Rep. Merrill Nelson, R-Grantsville argued. (Salt Lake Tribune) Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Utah could join a growing number of states to end fines in the juvenile justice system (Salt Lake Tribune) Natural Resources The proposed plan to save the Great Salt Lake from drought (Deseret News) Political Subdivisions âNo one else can force you to put it inâ: Lawmaker proposes end to government, HOA rules requiring lawns (St. George News) Transportation UTA announces fare-free February for all riders (KUTV) Utah Headlines General Salt Lake City mayor focuses on affordable housing, air quality in State of the City address (KSL) How Salt Lake Cityâs mayor showed grace under fire. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall had every reason to be angry at state lawmakers in her State of the City address Tuesday, but she exhibited none of it. (Deseret News) Can you heal interfaith tensions with tweets and Facebook posts? (Deseret News) New 'clean slate' law will expunge criminal records for hundreds of thousands of Utahns (KUTV) Orem City Council to dismiss, replace 3 members of planning commission (Daily Herald) Elections Davis County leaders split county clerk/auditorâs office while signature gathering is already underway (Standard-Examiner) COVID Corner 6600 new cases, 10 new deaths, 747 hospitalized 'Unprecedented' COVID absenteeism prompts Cache District to shorten school days (KUTV) The deadliness of the pandemicâs deadliest waves. Utah is in the least deadly category for the first two waves, but not the second two (Washington Post) National Headlines General Crypto collapse erases more than $1 trillion in wealth, forcing a reckoning for everyday investors (Washington Post) 25-year-old Black man sues two Nevada police departments after he says he was misidentified as a 51-year-old white man who had an active felony warrant out against him. (ABC News) "Bomb cyclone" could bring powerful nor'easter to Northeast cities this weekend (CNN) An Australian aid ship with a Covid outbreak docks in Tonga. (New York Times) Politics Why these Republicans say faith-based foster care agencies need our support (Deseret News) The Justice Department is investigating the fake slates of electors that falsely declared Donald Trump the victor of the 2020 election in seven swing states that Joe Biden had in fact won. (New York Times) The GOPâs anti-vaccine mandate push is seeping into other vaccines â and schools (Washington Post) 29 House Democrats have now announced they'll retire before the 2022 midterms, and 14 House Republicans have announced the same. Here's a look at who's retiring (NPR) Alex Jones sat with the Jan. 6 panel and repeatedly pleaded the Fifth nearly 100 times. Then he revealed what he was asked on his broadcast. (Politico) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. slammed, then apologizes for saying the unvaccinated have less freedom than Anne Frank did (Washington Post) Russia and Ukraine As Ukraine invasion looms, Europe fears Kremlin will cut off its gas supply (Washington Post) US plans sanctions, export controls against Russia if it invades Ukraine (New York Times) Russia has warned it would quickly take âretaliatory measuresâ if the U.S. and allies reject its security demands and continue their âaggressiveâ policies. (AP) Arthur Cyr: Putin is a strong leader, but he is playing a weak hand. The Russian economy is structurally vulnerable, heavily dependent on petroleum and plagued with corruption (Deseret News) | | |
Guest opinion: Speak up for the truth by Scott Howell Rational citizens can become so exhausted from falsehood fatigue that they dismiss the latest outrageous untruth as merely the delusion of one more crazy guy out there somewhere. But such dismissal allows the lie to lurk and live in the shadows, obscuring facts while it damages communities, values, relationships and lives. For that reason, I feel compelled to join the chorus of voices who denounce a widely publicized, deranged lie this month that attacked my Jewish neighbors as well as science and reason. The unhinged rant of a Utah tech entrepreneur and political activist spouting wild anti-Semitic and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories cost him his high-profile job. But such rhetoric can cost the rest of us our humanity and civil decency unless we call it out as the hate speech that it is, and repudiate it unequivocally. Other tech industry leaders, elected officials and commentators have taken that initial, responsible step. Now itâs our turnâyes, even your turn to speak out against the racial inequalities that are happening in our state.. I urge all thinking people to speak up for truth, because facts, lies and delusions are not equivalent arguments in public discourse. -Scott N. Howell was an IBM executive (now retired) and the former Utah State Senate Minority Leader | | |
Upcoming Legislative Bootcamp with Americans for Prosperity and Libertas Institute â Jan. 29, 9 am - 1 pm. Register here. The Emergence of the Crypto Economy with the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation and special guests â Feb. 16, 10 am MST. Register here. State of the Union address â Mar 1, 7 pm MST Utah legislative session ends â Mar 4, 2022, midnight Fireside chat with Justice Clarence Thomas hosted by the Hatch Foundation â Mar 11, 2022, 7 pm Campaign Management Training with Utah Farm Bureau â Mar 24-25, registration deadline March 1. Register here | | |
On This Day In History From History.com 1784 - In a letter dated January 26, 1784, Benjamin Franklin writes to his daughter Sarah (Sally) Bache expressing his dismay that the eagle is chosen as an American symbol. Were he to chose, the turkey would be a more appropriate bird. 1788 - British settlement begins in Australia with 11 ships of convicts. It is now celebrated as Australia Day, although many Aboriginal Australians call it âInvasion Day.â 1826 - Julia Boggs Dent is born. She later marries Ulysses S. Grant and becomes the 19th First Lady of the United States. 1837 - Michigan admitted as 26th U.S. state. 1838 - Tennessee passes nationâs first prohibition law. 1861 - Louisiana secedes from the Union. 1893 - Bessie Coleman is born. In pursuit of becoming a pilot, Coleman traveled to France after being denied the opportunity in the United States. In France, she learned to fly, returning to the United States as the first female African American and Native American pilot. 1905 - Maria von Trapp is born. 1918 - Ukraine declares its independence. Enjoy it while it lasts, friends. 1954 - Ground is broken for Disneyland. 1961 - JFK appoints first female presidential physician, Janet Travell. 1962 - Bishop Burke of Buffalo Catholic dioceses declares Chubby Checker's "The Twist" to be impure and bans it from all Catholic schools. 1980 - Mary Decker became the first woman to run a mile under 4 1/2 minutes, running it at 4:17.55 1988 - âPhantom of the Operaâ opens in NYC, goes on for 4000+ performances. 1998 - President Bill Clinton says "I want to say one thing to the American people; I did not have sexual relations with that woman.â 2005 - George W. Bush appoints Condoleeza Rice as secretary of state. 2010 - The World Health Organization rejects claims that it overstated the severity of the swine flu pandemic. 2020 - Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna die in a helicopter crash. Wise Words âWhen people don't have a hopeful vision before them or the possible resolution of their difficulties by peaceful means, then they can be attracted to violence and to separatism.â -Condoleezza Rice | | |
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