It's Day 29 of 45. Latest iteration of social media restrictions for minors, plus the Ten Commandments in schools in committee today | | | 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. 13, 2024 It's Tuesday and Mardi Gras! Three things to watch today: SB176 Child Care Services Amendments by Sen. Luz Escamilla creates the Child Care Capacity Expansion Act which would transform vacant state-owned properties into fully licensed childcare centers, via a public-private partnership. This bill will be heard in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee at 8 a.m. HB464 Social Media Regulation Act Amendments by Rep. Jordan Teuscher is the latest iteration of Utahâs attempt to protect Utahâs youth from the harmful effects of social media. The bill codifies legislative findings on potential harms and allows a private right of action. It also establishes an affirmative defense for a social media company. This bill will be heard in the House Judiciary Committee at 9 a.m. HB269 Public School History Curricula Amendments by Rep. Michael Petersen would require all public schools to display a poster of the Ten Commandments, at least 16âx20â. If a school does not have a copy on display, they will be mandated to accept a donated copy. This bill will be heard in the House Education Committee at 4 p.m. On the Hill Today, Day 29 of 45 8:00 am: House Government Operations; House Judiciary; House Political Subdivisions; House Revenue and Taxation; Senate Business and Labor; Senate Education; Senate Health and Human Services 9:00 am: House Judiciary 10:00-11:50 am: Senate floor time 10:00 am-12:00 pm: House floor time
2:00-3:50 pm: Senate floor time 2:00-3:50 pm: House floor time 4:00 pm: House Business and Labor; House Education; Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice; Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment; Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology 6:10 pm: Executive Appropriations | | |
Utah Headlines Legislative session Utah House speaker spoke at a Christian nationalist event. Now Legislature says they have no record of his public calendar. (Salt Lake Tribune) Business and Labor Utah may soon see more liquor licenses â and more rules for bars (Salt Lake Tribune) Economic Development and Workforce Services Utah lawmakers move to ban land sales to some foreign entities (Deseret News) Education Legislators working on resolution that could result in Natalie Clineâs impeachment (Deseret News) Committee advances bill preventing Utah public teachers, staff from expressing political opinions (KSL Newsradio) Health and Human Services Adoption revision bill would make it easier to adopt in Utah (KSL Newsradio) More kids in unlicensed day care? Utah Legislature mulls changing state law (KSL TV) Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Clergy reporting bill clears committee with unanimous support, heads to Utah House (KSL) Utah bill would boost penalties for DV offenders violating gun restrictions (KSL TV) Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Does Utahâs water future mean importing it from other states? (Deseret News) Democrats pushing initiative that will create a Great Salt Lake license plate (KSL TV) Adams wants a â100-year visionâ of Utahâs water future. Critics doubt its transparency (KUER) Utah legislator calls coal plants âgiant air filters,â but is he full of hot air? Air coming out is cleaner than the air going in? The science says otherwise. (Salt Lake Tribune) Ute Tribe takes rare step to oppose Utah bill that could limit it from buying back ancestral lands (Salt Lake Tribune) Transportation Unusual transportation would require registration says possible new legislation (KSL Newsradio) Other Utah News Political news Utahâs great flag debate is not over, yet. A political action committee representing opponents of the stateâs newest flag are suing to change how initiatives get on the ballot in Utah (Deseret News) 'Ukraine is not the end,' Romney warns as Utah's senators split on emergency foreign aid (KSL) Sen. Mitt Romney issues dire warnings if the U.S. doesnât continue to help Ukraine. America âwill cease to be the leader of the free worldâ if it fails to help Ukraine, Romney said (Deseret News) Election news What is a caucus? How to vote in Utah's Republican, Democratic presidential contests next month (KSL) State elections office reprimands Utah County Clerk for filling in candidate filing form (KSL TV) A disorganized Utah county messed up election paperwork. Now no one can agree who is to blame. (Salt Lake Tribune) Utah news 12 million people visited Utah state parks in 2023. These were the most and least popular ones (KSL) Why Utah's new tourism director says there are 'big things ahead' as the industry grows (KSL) Utah food bank demand sees 65% increase, donations needed to fight hunger (KSL TV) No loss of life after Utah National Guard Apache helicopter crash in West Jordan (KSL Newsradio) Business/Tech TRUreligion Pancake and Steakhouse believes everyone, and everything, deserves a second chance (Deseret News) Workers at an employee-owned Utah grocery vote to unionize, citing âunsustainableâ conditions (Salt Lake Tribune) Crime/Courts Utah County doesnât provide methadone to jail inmates. That may be about to change (Daily Herald) Culture The Super Bowl went into overtime ... so Buffalo Wild Wings is giving everyone free wings (Deseret News) Opinion: Andy Reid can forgive and forget. Some of us canât (Deseret News) Education Granite Education Foundation receives donation of new shoes, weeks after stolen goods were reported (KSL TV) Herriman principal's weekly 'uniform change' inspires career interest in students (KUTV) âAppallingâ: Salt Lake City school board members slam Utahâs new anti-DEI bill. A district official said they anticipate âlegal action.â (Salt Lake Tribune) Family Valentineâs Day, Galentineâs Day and ... Palentineâs Day? (Deseret News) The case for marriage: Science says a good marriage is the key to happiness (Deseret News) Housing Utah's expensive housing requires new living arrangements, more family support (KUTV) | | |
National Headlines General Travis Kelce, Andy Reid jokingly respond after sideline confrontation during Super Bowl: âHe caught me off balanceâ (The Athletic) US judge blocks Ohio law restricting children's use of social media (Reuters) Large majorities of Americans say antisemitism is a serious problem (NPR) Inflation at 3.1% reflects stubborn pricing pressure (Wall Street Journal) Political news Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene on immunity claim (Wall Street Journal) Senate pushes Ukraine aid bill toward passage as G.O.P. splinters (New York Times) House speaker rejects Israel, Ukraine aid package ahead of Senate vote (Washington Post) US Senate passes $95 billion Ukraine aid bill, but path ahead unclear (Reuters) Election news Report: Trump wants daughter-in-law as RNC co-chair (Deseret News) Republicans blast Trump over threat to abandon NATO allies (Reuters) Haley turns Trumpâs attack on husband into centerpiece of campaign (Politico) Cori Bush trailing Democratic primary challenger by 22 points (The Hill) Ukraine ðºð¦ Russia uses Zircon hypersonic missile in Ukraine for first time, researchers say (Reuters) Russiaâs silence on Ukrainian POWs compounds the agony for families (Wall Street Journal) Israel ð®ð± Exclusive: France proposes Hezbollah withdrawal, border talks for Israel-Lebanon truce (Reuters) World news Hungaryâs Orbán faces a rare political crisis at home after presidentâs resignation (AP) How China miscalculated its way to a baby bust (Wall Street Journal) | | |
| | News Releases Romney: âIf your position is being cheered by Vladimir Putin, itâs time to reconsider your position.â U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today spoke on the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to support sending additional aid to Ukraine, warning of the dire consequences that failing to do so would bring. He argued we cannot stand back and let Putin have his way with Europeâthat sending weapons to Ukraine will help discourage further Russian and Chinese invasions, preserve NATO, allow America to remain the leader of the free world, and show that we honor our word to our friends and allies. (Read More) House members propose bills to address national security Former U.S. Security Advisor, Robert OâBrien, joined Utah lawmakers as they discussed national security concerns and legislation to address the defense sector and national security in Utah. Utah has one of the strongest aerospace and defense industries in the nation, with Hill Air Force Base, state-of-the-art companies, and leading research universities. This places Utah at the forefront of innovation and enhances our robust and diverse economy but also makes the state more susceptible to foreign threats. There are four bills that take a proactive approach to safeguard our state and nation by protecting critical infrastructure, defense assets, and the democratic process from malicious foreign influences. (Read More) | | |
Upcoming 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 1633 - Galileo arrives in Rome to face charges of heresy for promoting the theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun. 1689 - William and Mary are proclaimed joint sovereigns of Britain. 1693 - The College of William and Mary opens in Williamsburg, Virginia. 1866 - Jesse James holds up his first bank, stealing $15,000 from the Clay County Savings Association in Liberty, Missouri. 1906 - Pauline Frederick is born. She became a journalist, the first woman network radio correspondent (1939) and the first woman to moderate a presidential debate (1976). 1917 - Exotic dancer and courtesan Mata Hari is arrested in Paris for being a German spy. She was executed by firing squad later that year. 1920 - League of Nations recognizes perpetual Swiss neutrality. 1935 - Bruno Richard Hauptmann found guilty of killing the Lindbergh baby 1945 - The German city of Dresden is firebombed by Allied troops, killing roughly 25,000 and reducing the city to rubble. 1965 - Malcolm X's home in New York City is bombed. He and his family were not hurt and he decided to keep his speaking engagement in Detroit. One week later, he was killed. 1970 - The New York Stock Exchange admits its first Black member, Joseph Searles. 1974 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist and Nobel Laureate, is deported from the Soviet Union to Frankfurt, West Germany and stripped of his Soviet citizenship. 1977 - âPistolâ Pete Maravich becomes first Jazz All-Star. 2020 - Fire in US-run orphanage kills 15 children near Port-au-Prince, Haiti Quote of the Day "The time for racial discrimination is over...With great sorow and disappointment, I repeat those words today, nearly five decades later. Dehumanizing people debases us all; humanity is beautifully and almost infinitely diverse. The bonds of our common humanity must overcome the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices." âFormer President Jimmy Carter, repeating in 2020 remarks he made in 1971 On the Punny Side What did the painter tell his girlfriend? âI love you with all my art.â | | |
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