It's National Popcorn Day and Dolly Parton's 76th birthday, plus record-setting omicron cases continue | | | 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 19, 2022 It's Wednesday and National Popcorn Day - seems appropriate as the legislative session begins. Also, a very happy 76th birthday to Dolly Parton. She's a national treasure. Be in the Know The legislative session kicked off yesterday and COVID was front and center for at least 4 reasons. One, the weekend case count was almost 40,000 (!!), two, the Senate president tested positive twice yesterday, but still appeared on the Senate floor without a mask, shaking hands with Elder Gerrit W. Gong and others, three, the Senate passed a resolution to overturn mask mandates in Summit and Salt Lake Counties without a public hearing and fourth, there's a bill out to restrict mayors' ability to use emergency powers in a pandemic. Phew. Day 1 was a doozy. | | |
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2022 Legislative Session Day 1 in the books, 44 to go. General Speaker Brad Wilson: Five areas in which the Legislature can improve Utah this year (Deseret News) Commissioner Gardner: Abolish the death penalty â itâs the conservative thing to do (Deseret News) Some lawmakers concerned as state legislature looks to strip power from local officials (KUTV) Today Appropriations meetings at 8 am: Business and Labor, Infrastructure and General Government, Public Education and Social Services. Floor time: 11-11:50 and 1:30-2:00 Committee meetings House Government Ops, 2 pm House Revenue and Taxation, 2 pm Senate Education, 2 pm Senate Health and Human Services Confirmation Committee, 2 pm Senate Business and Labor, 2:10 pm House Political Subdivisions, 2:30 Tomorrow Appropriations meetings at 8 am: Executive Offices and Criminal Justice, Higher Education, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality, Social Services Floor time Senate Floor time: 11-11:50 House Floor time: 11:00-12:00, 6:30-7:30 Health and Human Services Editorial Board: Lawmakers are wrong to remove local authority over mask mandates (Deseret News) 2022 Utah Legislature Day 1: Lawmakers swiftly lock crosshairs on local COVID-19 restrictions (Deseret News) Salt Lake County leaders say lawmakers' undoing of mask mandate is 'harmful,' 'tone deaf' (KUTV) Judiciary State of the Judiciary: Turnover among stateâs judicial clerks âunsustainableâ at 25% in 2021, according to Utahâs chief justice. (Salt Lake Tribune) 'State of Judiciary' address focuses on improving access to justice in Utah (Fox13) Natural Resources Opinion: Cedar City project would harm the Great Salt Lake (Deseret News) Utah Headlines General Utah teachers can apply for federal COVID relief funds for classroom resources (KSL) Utah schools are asking parents to work as substitute teachers (ABC4) Survey: Significant majority of Utah women experience sexism, harassment (Daily Herald) USU gauge registers pressure wave from Pacific volcano (Herald Journal) Utahâs The Point in the spotlight (Deseret News) COVID Corner Hold on to your hats. The COVID case count over the long weekend was 39,882, with 28 new deaths. (And remember, not everyone who is sick is getting tested now.) Not through this surge yet.... Utah doctors, hospital staff 'moving mountains' to beat back omicron surge (KSL) Fully vaccinated at the University of Utah means a booster, too. Students who do not comply will have a âholdâ on their record barring registration for future classes (Deseret News) Davis School District faculty to receive $500 for COVID-19 hardships (ABC4) 19 schools in Davis School District to go remote amid COVID surge (ABC4) US faces wave of omicron deaths in coming weeks, models say (AP) To help fight COVID-19, a hospital borrows tactics from combat veterans: trauma training (Wall Street Journal) National Headlines General An undersea cable fault could cut Tonga off from the rest of the world for weeks (NPR) 'Queen of Basketball' Lusia Harris dead at 66. She was the only woman ever drafted into the NBA and it was by the Jazz (Reuters) Blinken to meet Russian counterpart as White House warns Moscow could attack Ukraine âat any pointâ (Washington Post) New York AG says Trumpâs company misled banks, tax officials (AP) Politics Mitt Romney on voting rights bill: President Joe Biden, Democrats venturing into âdeep hysteriaâ (Deseret News) Whatâs behind Ann Coulterâs proclamation that Donald Trump is âdoneâ? (Deseret News) Americans' political party preferences shifted to Republicans in recent months (NPR) Rudy Giuliani among Trump allies subpoenaed by Jan. 6 panel (AP) Democrats tie âtalking filibusterâ gambit to Senateâs two-speech rule (Roll Call) New Yorkâs governor becomes a âjuggernautâ in Cuomoâs wake (Politico) Gallup: Biden's first-year approval rating at 49 percent (The Hill) | | |
News Releases State Board of Education, DonorsChoose launch $12 million effort for educators Today, the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) officially launches the allocation of $12 million in COVID-19 relief funds to directly help K-12 public school educators get classroom resources for the school year through DonorsChoose, a nonprofit crowdfunding website. The collaboration between USBE and DonorsChoose is the largest of its kind to date in the nation and will provide Utah educators with up to $1,000 in funding for their projects, empowering them to support their studentsâ success with classroom resources. (Read More) President Stuart Adamsâ opening day speech It is my privilege to stand before you today to open the 2022 General Session of the 64th Legislature. Having just recovered from COVID, I feel blessed to be here and blessed to have tested negative yesterday and today. Thanks to so many who reached out for your concern and prayers... Martin Luther King, whose life we celebrated yesterday, once wisely said, âYou donât have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.â For our purposes, Iâd adjust that to say, just take the next steps. Our purpose as Utah legislators is to identify and take the next most important steps. Weâve been doing that for many years, and look how far weâve come! Utah was the 45th state to join the Union. Utah is no longer the 45th state. Utah is now the first stateâleading the nation in so many ways. But we have more steps to climb.... (Read More) Rep. Owens applauds passage of the Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act Today, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) issued the following statement after the House passed S. 2959, the Supplemental Impact Aid Flexibility Act. The bipartisan legislation, which unanimously passed the Senate in December, allows school districts participating in the Impact Aid Program to use previously reported student headcounts on their Impact Aid applications for the 2022-2023 school year due to ongoing enrollment fluctuations stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this evening, Rep. Owens spoke on the House Floor in support of S. 2959. His speech is available here and full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are available here. (Read More) Sen. Romney: The Democrats have ventured deep into hyperbole and hysteria U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today spoke on the Senate floor about Democratsâ attempts at a partisan takeover of our federal elections. The Democratsâ bill does not focus on the real election threatsâthe corruption of the counting of the ballots, the certification of elections, and the Congressional provisions for accepting and counting a slate of electors. (Read/Watch More) | | |
Upcoming State of the State address - Jan. 20, 2022, 6:30 pm. Watch here or here. The Emergence of the Crypto Economy with the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation and special guests â Jan. 26, 10 am. Register here. State of the Union address - 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 - Mar 11, 2022, 7 pm | | |
On This Day In History From History.com 1807 - Robert E. Lee is born. 1903 - A new bicycle race, the âTour de France,â is announced. 1905 - Oveta Culp Hobby is born. She later becomes the second woman in the U.S. Cabinet (20 years after Frances Perkins), first Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1953) and is awarded the Distinguished Medal of Service for her work as Director of the Womenâs Army Corps (1945). 1920 - The American Civil Liberties Union is founded. 1931 - Carl Brashear is born. The naval officer served 31 years in the U.S. Navy. He was the first African American Navy diver. In 1966 during a recovery mission, an injury resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee. Refusing to retire, Brashear pursued and qualified as a master diver, becoming the first African American to achieve the status in U.S. Navy history. 1946 - Dolly Parton is born. 1955 - First presidential news conference is filmed for TV, with President Eisenhower. 1966 - Indira Gandhi becomes Indiaâs prime minister and the countryâs first female head of government 1978 - The last German-made Volkswagen Beetle leaves the production line. 2004 - Howard Dean screams at the end of a rally and effectively ends his political career. 2012 - Freestyle skier Sarah Burke dies after accident in Park City. Wise Words âFind out who you are and do it on purpose.â -Dolly Parton Lighter Side âFree Covid tests by mail. What a great idea if this was a year ago.â â JIMMY KIMMEL | | |
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