Utah Policy: SCOTUS rejects Texas case, Utah's electors, new transportation funding options needed

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Utah Policy Daily Newsletter

The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Send news tips or feedback to lwebb@utahpolicy.com,.

Situational Analysis - Dec. 14, 2020

Happy Monday! The big news over the weekend is that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit brought by Texas for lack of standing. Also, today is the day the Electoral College meets, casts their votes and Joe Biden's victory becomes official.

TICK TOCK

7 days until Winter Solstice and the Christmas Star is brightest (12/21/2020)
21days to Utah inauguration day (1/4/2021).
22 days until Senate runoffs in Georgia(January 5, 2021)
23 days until a joint session of Congress to certify the presidential election (January 6, 2021)
36days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/19/2021)
37days to presidential Inauguration Day (01/20/2021)
82days to the end of the 2021 Utah Legislature (3/5/21)

Today At Utah Policy

SCOTUS won't hear Texas case
By Staff
On Friday, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas that asked the court to rule that the election results in four battleground states must be overturned.In the brief order issued by the court, they said that Texas lacked standing in the case and all other points were moot.Who are Utah's electors?
By Staff
We've heard a lot about the electoral college in the six weeks since the election. KSL had a series of articles about why we have the electoral college andhow it works.Basically, there's an elector for each member of the federal delegation, so Utah has a total of 6, since we have 4 members of the House and 2 members of the Senate.Guest opinion: Rapid growth means we need new funding options
By Wayne Harper
Since 1869, when the last spike was driven and completed the first transcontinental railroad, Utah has been considered the crossroads of the West. To this day, our state continues to be the intersection of commerce and transportation. Though we have made immense progress with transportation over the last 151 years, Utah is at a current crossroad regarding the future of the state's transportation.

Utah Headlines

Deseret News

Salt Lake Tribune

Andy Larsen: How I distributed $55K sent to me by everyday Utahns to help others Two years after North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor's death in Afghanistan, donors resurrect his mini-farm Group argues for Joe Biden to appoint more Latter-day Saints to his administration

Other

Utah officials celebrate another refinery now producing cleaner 'Tier 3' fuel for cars (KSL) How Governor-elect Cox intends to change up homeless services (KUTV) Holocaust survivors honored with online event amid pandemic (KUTV) The Inside Utah Politics Panel on the COVID vaccine, relief funds and election lawsuits (ABC4) Utah Democratic Party chair on the 2020 election results (ABC4)

Covid Corner

Should you get the vaccine? Here are your answers, from pregnancy to allergies to breastfeeding(Deseret News) Coronavirus in Utah: State's deadliest week ends with 2,083 new cases, 17 more deaths reported(SL Tribune) During COVID-19 pandemic, Salt Lake City elementary students failed fall classes at triple last year's rate(SL Tribune) Navajo Nation reports 203 new COVID-19 cases, 7 more deaths(SL Trib) The final pass: How COVID-19 is bringing an end to a longtime passion for a gymnastics lifer(KSL) What Utah learned from the failed vaccine attempts of the 1918 pandemic that helps us in 2020(KSL) COVID-19 vaccine shipments begin in historic US effort(AP)

National Headlines

Utah Sen. Mike Lee blocks bills for Latino American, women's history museums in D.C. (KSL) Pro-Trump protests decry president's election loss, opposing groups clash in Washington (Reuters) U.S. Senate backs massive defense bill, despite Trump veto threat (Reuters) Lithuania swears in most-gender-balanced cabinet in Eastern EU (Reuters) Buttigieg tops list for Biden Transportation secretary (CNN) Five things to watch when the Electoral College votes (CNN) Vandals hit Black churches in D.C. during pro-Trump rallies (Politico) EU countries withdraw from Iran business forum over journalist's execution (Politico) 'Home Alone' mansion gingerbread replica created for 30th anniversary (KUTV) Is there a Doctor in the White House? Not if you need an M.D. (Wall Street Journal) The Wall Street Journal column about Jill Biden is worse than you thought (Washington Post) Hijacking the electoral college: The plot to deny JFK the presidency 60 years ago (Washington Post) This Is the test of our lifetimes (New York Times) Russian hackers broke into federal agencies, U.S. officials suspect (New York Times)

Policy News

Latest news on Biden's cabinet picks
The Biden/Harris administration continues to nominate additional key picks for their cabinet. President-elect Joe Biden has said he wants his administration to reflect America's racial and ethnic diversity.Secretary of State: Antony Blinken, former national security advisorUEA praises school employee vaccine prioritization
"The Utah Education Association expresses appreciation to Governor Gary Herbert and the Utah Department of Health for prioritizing public school educators in the state's proposed COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan. Teachers and school staff risk their health each day by being in school face-to-face with students. It is critical those dedicated public school employees who elect to receive the vaccine, many of whom are at-risk themselves, have convenient access as soon as feasibly possible.Senate passes defense bill with Romney measures
The Senate today voted 84-13 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, which authorizes funding for our national defense, promotes innovation and technology to keep our country safe, authorizes $9.1 billion to procure 93 F-35s, and provides a pay raise for our troops. The NDAA includes provisions which Senator Romney (R-UT) fought for to counter China's growing influence in the world, limit misguided U.S. troop reductions in Germany, support Hill Air Force Base, and protect Utah's Dugway Proving Ground.Will Utah renters have a home on January 1?
2020 has been the year that showed that state elected officials can work well with staff from the executive branch, which, in turn, granted millions of federal dollars to local non-profit organizations and prevented a major housing crisis during a pandemic. 2020 showed that we can achieve so much more by working together. Non-profits cannot do the work alone, and the government alone cannot properly address a major issue in our society. Zions Bank: December economic snapshot
This month's Economic Snapshots provide an overview of state and national trends, highlighting indicators such as employment, demographics, housing, consumer sentiment and more. A few of this month's points of interest include the following:

Business Headlines

Businesses, familes rely on fraying social safety net amid COVID-19 crisis (Deseret News) Private equity group snags ZAGG as business lags for Utah firm (Deseret News) Robert Redford sells Sundance Mountain Resort to pair of high-end resort firms (Salt Lake Tribune) How Utah's Top Workplaces are determined (Salt Lake Tribune) Utah's new unemployment claims jump 35% as winter nears and COVID-19 worsens (Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. households' net worth hits record $125 trillion as stocks boom, but debt is also surging(Forbes) OIl prices edge up on hope vaccines will improve fuel demand (Reuters) U.S. gaming platform Roblox to delay IPO until next year (Reuters)

On This Day In History

(From History.com)

1503 - Nostradamus is born in St. Remy, France

1799 - George Washington dies at age 67 at his estate in Mount Vernon, Virginia

1819 - Alabama is admitted to the union as the 22nd state

1897 - Margaret Madeline Chase Smith was born. She became the first woman elected to Congress in both the House and Senate. She represented the state of Maine.

1911 - Roald Amundsen becomes first explorer to reach the South Pole

1961 - The President's Commission on the Status of Women is established to examine discrimination against women and ways to eliminate it

1972 - Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan beome the last men to walk on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission

1977 - "Saturday Night Fever" premieres in LA.

1985 - Wilma Mankiller becomes the first woman in modern history to lead a major Native American tribe when she took office as the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma

2012 - Adam Lanza goes to Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut and kills 20 first-graders and six school employees before turning the gun on himself.