| Cash for school attendance, school fees, and firearm safety training .png?width=1200&upscale=true&name=Utah_Policy_Logo_Email_Full%20(1).png) | 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. 5, 2025 It's Wednesday and National Chocolate Fondue Day. There are 660 bills available. Three things today: - HB206 by Rep. Sahara Hayes proposes a pilot program to reduce chronic absenteeism in Utah schools by providing a cash payment of $100 per quarter to be deposited into a my529 educational savings account, up to $400 per year. The pilot program would be limited to 5 schools. This bill will be heard in the House Education Committee at 3:40 pm.
- HB104 by Rep. Rex Shipp would require firearm safety training every year in elementary school, once in junior high and once in high school. The training may be provided in conjunction with a hunter safety course, physical education curriculum or suicide prevention instruction. This bill will also be heard in the House Education committee
- HB344 by Rep. Mark Strong would require schools to ensure that students have at least one option to complete all required courses without having to pay a fee. Fees can still be charged for extracurricular activities and electives. This bill will be heard in the House Education Committee at 3:40 pm.
On the Hill Today, Day 16 of 45 | | |
Utah Headlines Legislative session - Utah lawmakersâ constitutional changes could cost taxpayers millions in 2026 (ABC4)
- Sen. Mike Lee focuses on housing and energy needs in report to Utah Legislature (Deseret News)
Business and Labor - Union bill in limbo: Senators consider ditching compromise for controversial original version (Daily Herald)
Criminal Justice - Utah House passes bill allowing 18-year-olds to openly carry firearms (KSL)
- Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault fights for awareness and prevention (KSL TV)
Economic Development - Lawmakers say Utah houses are for families, not big investors with big cash (KUTV)
Education - Lawmaker: Utah high school students should pass a âU.S. constitutional and citizenshipâ class to graduate (Deseret News)
- Opinion: Limiting devices in schools could be the key to restoring classroom community (Deseret News)
- Legislature: âNo cellphones in classâ bill advances (Deseret News)
Government Operations - On the Hill: Utah Constitutional amendment âsecuresâ Utah electoral votes (KSL Newsradio)
- Utah could see major changes to vote-by-mail system (KUTV)
- Big Utah election bills pass House committee (Deseret News)
Health and Human Services Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice - Will Utah follow Tennesseeâs lead by banning adult-themed performances in public? (Deseret News)
- Bill seeks to clear Utahns of their spousesâ medical debts after they die (KSL Newsradio)
- 'Stop sending naked pictures': Utah bill expands sexual extortion laws to cover AI-generated images (St. George News)
- âIâm threatened with my life over a missed called strikeâ: Utah legislators look to protect sports officials (Salt Lake Tribune)
Other Utah News Politics - Utah A.G. Derek Brown joins brief supporting Trumpâs order to end birthright citizenship (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Utah mayor says ICE agents may have broken the law in viral traffic stop (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Utahns watch RFK Jr. confirmation process with interest, concern (Fox13)
Utah news - âI am thrilledâ: Salt Lake to host State Games of America in 2030 (KSL)
- Hundreds gather in St. George to protest Trump's immigration policies (St. George News)
- Fear grips Utahâs Venezuelans as Trump orders rollback of protections (Salt Lake Tribune)
Biz/Tech - VA return to the office work order may affect hundreds across Utah (Deseret News)
- Bird flu spurs diner chain Waffle House to add 50-cent fee per egg (Reuters)
- The future of the driverless car is here but public remains skeptical (Deseret News)
Crime/Courts - Viral Lake Powell TikTok connects fraud victims, uncovers suspect's alleged Utah schemes (KUTV)
- VIDEO: Utah man unexpectedly taken into ICE custody during misdemeanor hearing, worrying judge (Salt Lake Tribune)
Culture - Did this 11-year-old Utah baker survive a face-off on Food Network? Hereâs what happened (Deseret News)
Education - University of Utah, Utah Tech propose partnership to address Utahâs âmedical desertâ (KSL)
Environment - Interior secretary orders review of public lands withdrawals (Deseret News)
- Who vandalized this iconic southern Utah petroglyph? (Deseret News)
- Voices: Iâm an environmental scientist. Utah must learn from the devastation of the recent LA wildfires. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Health - St. George resident is beta tester for cutting-edge cane for the blind (Fox13)
Housing - Property owner, software company accused of conspiring to raise rent on hundreds in Utah (KUTV)
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National Headlines General - At major religion summit, faithful wonder and worry what Trump will do as Vance speech looms (Deseret News)
- Recovery crews retrieve remains of last D.C. plane crash victims (Washington Post)
Political news - US military flying migrants to Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday for first time (Reuters)
- Democrats release retaliatory measures in attempt to rein in Trumpâs agenda (Deseret News)
- Trump spending bill stalls in Congress as cracks form over spending cuts (Deseret News)
- Trump says heâs given advisers instructions for Iran to be âobliteratedâ if it assassinates him (AP)
- Trump administration prepares to withdraw USAID staff from overseas posts by weekend (NPR)
- How Trump gutted America's $40 billion aid agency in two weeks (Wall Street Journal)
- El Salvador offers to jail âAmerican criminals,â including U.S. citizens (Washington Post)
- 'Beyond betrayal.' Venezuelans in Florida are angry at Trump immigration policy (NPR)
- What is the U.N. Human Rights Council, from which Trump has withdrawn? (Washington Post)
- Foreign aid freeze results in mass layoffs that could âcrashâ the industry (Politico)
Ukraine and Russia - US aid freeze puts at risk Ukraineâs wartime help for frontline evacuees (AP)
Israel and Gaza - In shock announcement, Trump says US wants to take over Gaza Strip (Reuters)
- Trump's Gaza plan for 'Riviera of the Middle East' triggers international condemnation (Reuters)
Other world news - Fear, pain and hunger: The dire impact of U.S. funding cuts in Africa (Washington Post)
- Exclusive: US food purchases for foreign aid halted despite waiver, sources say (Reuters)
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Number of the Day 
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 | News Releases Weber State professor explores volcanoes as origin of life on earth at international conference A Weber State University microbiology professorâs research into the origins of life earned her an invitation to speak at a prestigious National Science Academy conference in Japan last fall. Katrina Twing was one of six Americans who presented at the 2024 Japanese-American-German Kavli Frontiers of Science conference in Kyoto, Japan, last October. Twing was asked to speak on the origins of life â specifically her research into âlife moleculesâ found in deep sea volcano vents. (Read More)
Sen. Lee introduces resolution affirming US creation and protection of the Panama Canal Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced a resolution recognizing the great American achievement of creating the Panama Canal, the vital importance of the Canal in trade, national security, and geopolitics, and the necessity to ensure the neutrality of the Canal from interference by global adversaries like China. The resolution is co-sponsored by Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). (Read More) | | |
Tweet of the Day  | | |
Upcoming - Feb 5 â Women and Policy, Strategy, Politics, and Change with UWLP, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, Register here
- Feb 10 â Gail Miller: Making a Difference with UWLP, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, Register here
- Feb 11 â "Heart on the Hill" Day with the American Heart Association, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm, Copper Room in the Senate Building
- 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
- Mar. 7 â Utah legislative session ends
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On This Day In History - 1917 - Immigration Act passed after President Wilson had vetoed it the week previously. The law required a literacy test for immigrants and barred Asiatic laborers, except for those from countries with special treaties or agreements with the United States, such as the Philippines.
- 1941 - Hitler scolds Mussolini, tells him to fight harder.
- 1958 - Clifton R. Wharton is confirmed as minister to Rumania, the first Black diplomat to head a U.S. Embassy in Europe.
- 1990 - Barack Obama becomes the first Black student named as president of the Harvard Law Review.
- 1994 - White supremacist Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of killing Medgar Evers, more than 30 years after the crime.
- 2012 - Josh Powell kills himself and his two sons by blowing up their house.
- 2021 - Christopher Plummer dies at age 91
Quote of the Day "I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy."
âRabindranath Tagore
On the Punny Side How many skunks does it take to make a stink? Just a phew. | | |
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