Organ donation; veterans and state parks; and the right way to spell citizens of the State of Utah (it's Utahn) | | | 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. 12, 2025 It's Wednesday and today is Hug Day! A very happy birthday to Sen. Karen Kwan! ðð ð There are 773 bills now available Three things today: Two bills today deal with organ donation. HB349 by Rep. Doug Owens would require information about organ donation be given in multiple venues, including hunting licenses, health curriculum, and driver's ed, while SB229 would require information be given with individual income tax booklets. Under SB114, veterans who live in Utah would be granted reduced fees at Utah state parks. The original bill called for veterans to be able to get in for free. The bill has an automatic repeal date after three years. Utahn or Utahan? SB230 would establish in code that the correct way to spell the word denoting a resident of Utah is U-T-A-H-N. A key give-away that political candidates have out-of-state help is the misspelling of this word. On the Hill Today, Day 23 of 45 - we have passed the halfway point in the session. 8:00 am: Criminal Justice Appropriations; Higher Education Appropriations; Natural Resources, Agriculture, & Environmental Quality Appropriations 10:00 am: House Rules 11:00 - 11:50: Senate floor time 11:00 - 12:00: House floor time 2:00 pm: House Judiciary; House Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice; House Natural Resources, Agriculture & Environment; House Transportation; Senate Economic Development & Workforce Services; Senate Government Operations & Political Subdivisions; Senate Rev & Tax | | |
Utah Headlines Legislative session After legal setbacks, GOP lawmakers want to make it harder for groups to challenge the Legislature (Salt Lake Tribune) Education House approves bill allowing parents to limit conversation topics for kids, school therapists (KSL) Utah House committee says yes to gun safety training in schools (UPR) Utah teachers could not be disciplined for misgendering, deadnaming students in âcertain situationsâ under this bill (Salt Lake Tribune) Government Operations Lawmakers propose at least 5 changes to Utahâs Constitution (ABC4) After Vineyard âpower grab,â Utah looks to limit city councilsâ actions in the interim weeks after elections (Salt Lake Tribune) Health and Human Services Can Utah help families scale âthe benefits cliffâ? Policymakers aim to help families transition from welfare to âwork-based self-relianceâ (Deseret News) Survivors, patients share cancer stories, support for bills with state lawmakers (KSL TV) Gavin Peterson's death sparks reform efforts but advocates fear momentum is fading (KUTV) 'Really important': Utah bill aims to reinstate Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Task Force (St. George News) Judiciary Utah bill proposes 67% vote requirement for judicial retention (KSL Newsradio) Technology Lawmakers advance bill requiring age verification for app store purchases (Daily Herald) Other Utah News Politics Staying engaged in politics during a time of turmoil. Political fatigue is real. What can we do about it? (Deseret News) Mike Lee wants X to ban porn (Deseret News) Utah news BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe announces retirement plans (Deseret News) Remains from Starvation Reservoir confirmed to be Salt Lake man missing since 2004 (KSL) Utahns react to religious lawsuit against Trump admin for allowing ICE to enter churches (KUTV) Families say painful goodbyes to SLCâs Fleet Block murals of people killed by police (KUER) Biz/Tech How Utah small businesses are embracing artificial intelligence (Fox13) Crime/Courts South Salt Lake man charged with hate crimes in assault on woman wearing a hijab (KSL) Jerry Bovee files Federal lawsuit against USU, alleges failings in Office of Equity (Cache Valley Daily) Education University of Utah faces possible $50 million loss under blocked Trump policy to cut research grants (Deseret News) University of Utah president says faculty broke law by alleging âdeceitâ from his top academic administrator (Salt Lake Tribune) 'Gold standard': Ogden 1st district to offer International Baccalaureate program to K-12 continuum (KSL) Health Why Republicans should stand for PEPFAR (Deseret News) Ogden man denied lifesaving liver transplant by insurance company (KUTV) Utah hospitals seeing spike in child admissions from winter viruses (Standard-Examiner) | | |
National Headlines General âThe Officeâ star Rainn Wilson speaks against religious persecution, for âconstructive resilienceâ (Deseret News) Egg thieves latest twist in egg shortage story (Deseret News) Political news Pope rebukes Trump administration over immigrant deportations and appears to aim directly at Vance (AP) Republicans launch task force to declassify government secrets, including on Epstein, COVID-19 (Deseret News) 27 religious organizations unite to sue Trump administration (Deseret News) Republicans on collision course as lawmakers proceed with competing spending packages (Deseret News) First pennies. Now Trump orders federal agencies to stop using paper straws (Deseret News) USAID watchdog fired after critical report on the bid to dismantle the agency (Reuters) Musk and Trump allies ratchet up rhetoric against the judiciary (Reuters) White House bars AP reporter from Oval Office because of AP style policy on âGulf of Americaâ (AP) Republicans once railed against armed IRS agents. Now they want them for immigration enforcement (AP) Trump and Musk appear together in the Oval Office to defend the work of DOGE (NPR) Republicans try to save USAID food program by moving oversight of the $1.8 billion program to the Agriculture Department (Wall Street Journal) GOP lawmaker proposes renaming Greenland âRed, White, and Bluelandâ (The Hill) GOP senator: âWe have toâ follow court decisions (The Hill) Ukraine and Russia Vance, Bessent set to meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy (Deseret News) Israel and Gaza After meeting with Trump, Jordanâs king says his country opposes displacing Palestinians in Gaza (AP) Other world news UN food agency worker dies in a Yemeni prison after being detained by Houthi rebels (AP) | | |
| | News Releases USBE: Data shows improvement in attendance, less absenteeism in Utah The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) is pleased to announce that the chronic absenteeism rate across the state has decreased. Chronic absenteeism, which is defined as missing 10 percent or more school days per year, was sitting at 23.8 percent for the 2023-2024 school year. During the 2022-2023 year, both the national average and Utah rates were at 26%. While the national average held steady at 26 percent, Utah has shown improvement and is continuing to inch closer to pre-pandemic levels of attendance. (Read More) USBE: High school students receive awards, scholarships for artwork Purchase Awards at a ceremony for the 53rd Annual Utah All-State High School Art Show today at the Utah State Capitol. This art show features artwork from students in grades 11 and 12, from both public and private schools. (Read More)
Lee introduces bill to cut funding from NPR and PBS Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced the Defund Government Sponsored Propaganda Act, which would end federal taxpayer funding of the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio in light of longstanding concerns about their fairness and bias. The legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY). (Read More) Lee, Hageman introduce legislation to protect firearm manufacturers and dealers Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act Jurisdiction Act, which protects law-abiding American firearm manufacturers and sellers by creating an independent basis for removing frivolous lawsuits against them to federal court. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) introduced the House version of the bill. (Read More) Lee reintroduces Impoundment Control Act repeal Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has again introduced legislation to repeal the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) of 1974, a law that undermines the constitutional authority of the President to exercise fiscal restraint by declining to spend appropriated funds. Congressman Andrew Clyde (GA-09) has introduced a companion bill in the House. (Read More) Rep. Maloy introduces WEST Act to overturn illegal conservation and landscape health rule Today, Congresswoman Celeste Maloy (UT-02) and Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-01) introduced the Western Economic Security Today (WEST) Act. This legislation would repeal the Bureau of Land Managementâs (BLM) Conservation and Landscape Health final rule. (Read More) Rep. Maloy: Federal agencies need to do more with less During a House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing, Rep. Celeste Maloy (UT-02) questioned Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke about how federal agencies and red tape are costing taxpayers time and money in land management decisions. (Read More) Curtis-backed bill pursuing $200 billion in COVID fraud advances The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship passed the Complete COVID Collections Act, legislation cosponsored by Senator John Curtis (R-UT) and led by Committee Chair Joni Ernst (R-IA) to extend the life of the watchdog tasked with tracking down criminals who stole COVID relief funds designed for small businesses. The senators introduced the bill after the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) warned that its authority was expiring and estimated that criminals would evade consequences for stealing more than $200 billion. (Read More) | | |
Upcoming Feb 12 â Navigating the 2025 Tax Reconciliation Bill webinar with the Hatch Center, 10:00 am - 11:00 am, MST, Register here Feb 12 â Crossing the Divide: Making an Impact in Career and Community with UWLP, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, Register here Feb 20 â BioHive Live, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, Hale Centre Theater, Sandy, Register here Mar. 7 â Utah legislative session ends | | |
On This Day In History 1793 - First Fugitive Slave law passed by Congress. 1809 - Abraham Lincoln is born. So is Charles Darwin. 1865 - Born a slave, Pastor Henry Highland Garnet became the first Black person to speak in the U.S. Capitol when he delivered a sermon on the abolition of slavery to the House of Representatives. 1870 - Utahâs acting territorial governor signed the suffrage bill into law. 1884 - Alice Roosevelt Longworth, âPrincess Alice,â is born. When her father Theodore Roosevelt was asked why he could not discipline her, he explained that he do that or rule the country but he couldnât do both. 1909 - The NAACP is founded. 1930 - In Tuskegee, Alabama, the Rosenwald Fund made grants to the Alabama State Board of Health to help meet the cost of a study of syphilis in Black men - and the women they infected - living in rural Georgia and Alabama. Over 400 men were allowed to carry the disease without medical treatment for nearly 40 years. 1973 - The release of US POWs from Hanoi begins. 1999 - President Bill Clinton acquitted on both articles of impeachment. 2000 - Charles Schultz dies at age 77 from colon cancer. 2002 - Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial for war crimes. 2007 - Gunman kills 5 people at Trolley Square Quote of the Day âHappiness is waking up, looking at the clock and finding that you still have two hours left to sleep.â
â Charles M. Schultz On the Punny Side In a safety meeting at work they asked me what steps l'd take in a fire. Apparently "Really big and fast ones" was the wrong answer. | | |
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