It's Day 29 of 45. Sen. Weiler wants to have app stores verify age; Rep. Chevrier wants to ban 'ultraprocessed' foods from schools | | | 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. 19, 2025 It's Wednesday and National Chocolate Mint Day. Have you found any chocolate mint treats that don't taste like toothpaste? Enquiring minds want to know. There are 849 bills now available Three things today: HB488 by Rep. Ken Ivory is a federalism bill that would expand the membership of the Federalism Commission from 9 to 14 and would require UVUâs Center for Constitutional Studies to do quite a few things, including holding an annual conference and developing training programs. This bill will be heard in the House Public Utilities Committee at 8:00 am. SB142 by Sen. Todd Weiler would require that app stores verify user ages, obtain parental consent for minor accounts and prohibits app store providers from enforcing contracts against a minor without parental consent. This bill has passed the Senate and will be heard in the House Economic Development Committee at 4:00 pm. HB402 by Rep. Kristen Chevrier would prohibit ultraprocessed foods from being served or sold on public school campuses. The bill specifically prohibits 7 food dyes, as well as other additives. This bill will be heard in the House Education Committee at 4:00 pm. On the Hill Today - Day 28 of 45 8:00 am: House Government Operations; House Public Utilities & Energy; House Rev & Tax; Senate Business & Labor; Senate Education 8:30am: House Political Subdivisions; Senate Health & Human Services 10:00 - 11:50 am: Senate Floor Time 10:00 - 12:00 pm: House Floor Time 12:15 pm: Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee 2:00 - 3:50 pm: Senate and House Floor Time 4:00 pm: House Business, Labor, and Commerce; House Economic Development and Workforce Services; House Education; House Health and Human Services; 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 Criminal Justice Senate committee OKs bill aimed at immigrants thought to be involved in organized crime (KSL) Utah lawmakers advance bill mandating jail time for some immigrants after making big changes to initial legislation (KSL Newsradio) Government Operations Utah was the last state to allow Native Americans to vote. Ending vote by mail will take that right away, advocates say.(Salt Lake Tribune) Economic Development What state oversight is there for Utahâs next Olympics? (Deseret News) Education A new Utah bill would protect religious clubs at universities (Deseret News) Opinion: House Bill 265 risks individual student choice (Deseret News) Utah lawmakers work to ensure modesty, privacy for children in schools (Deseret News) Utah House panel advances bill for colleges to directly pay athletes (Deseret News) Energy Legislative committee focused on plotting Utahâs nuclear path (Deseret News) Government Operations Senate panel advances major change to Utah public records law (Deseret News, KSL, Salt Lake Tribune, KUER) Health and Human Services Utah lawmaker moves to restrict transgender adultsâ access to gender-affirming care (Salt Lake Tribune) Other Utah News Politics Former Utah congressional candidate takes on new role at the Pentagon (Deseret News) Rev. Theresa Dear: An open letter of gratitude to Mitt Romney (Deseret News) Salt Lake County Council votes to increase sales tax by .2% to fund Oxbow jail (KSL TV) Utah How a Utah history exhibit is recognizing the service of the Buffalo Soldiers (Fox13) Utah's job market thrives with strong growth across industries, economists report (KUTV) Voices: I worked at USAID. Closing it down will impact Utahns.(Salt Lake Tribune) Crime/Courts Springville teen treatment center cited after staff harms teen â and itâs not the first time (ABC4) Education University of Utah president: Discover âspiritual gritâ with courage, patience and gratitude (Deseret News) Utah Valley University president takes sabbatical in wake of husbandâs death (Salt Lake Tribune) Energy Gov. Cox wants Utah to build toward safe, beneficial advanced nuclear reactors (Deseret News) Environment NPS staffing cuts lead to concerns over visitor experience at Zion National Park (KUTV) Health As sports betting rises, more seek help for gambling addiction (Deseret News) Morning lark, night owl or 'perpetually exhausted pigeon'? (Deseret News) What every backyard chicken owner needs to know about bird flu (Deseret News) A breakthrough HIV drug was developed using Utah biochemistry research (UPR) | | |
National Headlines General A crash, an alert, then the hardest days for hundreds of first responders (Washington Post) Political news What the fall of DEI means for religion (Deseret News) Republicans in the complicated crosshairs of DOGE and government layoffs (Deseret News) Exclusive: Office overseeing Afghan resettlement in US told to start planning closure, sources say (Reuters) Kennedy says panel will examine childhood vaccine schedule after promising not to change it (AP) The USAID shutdown is upending livelihoods for nonprofit workers, farmers and other Americans (AP) Trump, Musk target tax enforcers, rocket scientists, bank regulators for job cuts (Reuters) Defense Department firings expected to start soon, officials say (Washington Post) After ceding the power of the purse, GOP lawmakers beg Trump team for funds for their states (Washington Post) Trump administration ends legal representation for unaccompanied minors (Washington Post) Trump says âinflation is backâ: âI had nothing to do with itâ (The Hill) Ukraine and Russia Valerie Hudson: The end game in Ukraine ultimately depends on Europe, and thatâs not good (Deseret News) Major risks loom as Trump upends US Russia policy (Reuters) Trump says Zelensky âshould have never startedâ war with Russia (The Hill) Trump is living in a Russian-made âdisinformation space,â says Ukraineâs Zelenskyy (AP) Israel and Gaza Alarmed by Trumpâs Gaza plan, Arab leaders brainstorm on their own (New York Times) Hamas to hand over 4 Israeli hostages' bodies Thursday and 6 living hostages Saturday (NPR) World News Brazil charges Bolsonaro with leading plot to seize power, kill rivals (Washington Post) | | |
| | Guest opinion: Original public meaning, not subjective intent, should guide Utah judgeâs evaluation of scholarship law by William C. Duncan A recent news report about a challenge to the Utah Fits All program, which provides scholarships to parents to use outside the public school system, includes some good news and some concerning news. The court can make a great contribution by getting the legal issues right. What is positive about the case is that the judge correctly notes that the relevant question is the âoriginal public meaningâ of a 2020 amendment to the Utah Constitution. The phrase may sound simple, but itâs a critical protection of the integrity of our laws and constitution... It is important to focus on the original meaning, because language and circumstances can change and cause us to lose sight of what the provision meant at the time it became binding. It is public because it is open (as opposed to subjective) and it is what the informed public would have understood the language to mean. The term meaning also points to the importance of the actual text of the provision. A purpose like advancing equality or achieving fairness might motivate someone to vote for a legal text, but that motivation does not tell us what the legal provision means. Only the text itself can do that. It appears, however, that a recent decision of the Utah Supreme Court conflated original public meaning with a search for the intent of drafters or ratifiers of parts of the constitution. Perhaps that is why the judge in the Utah Fits All program lawsuit has asked the attorneys to provide evidence of the intent of the public when it voted on the provision of the state constitution that allows tax funds to be used to support public schools and to âsupport children.â (Read More) News Releases Utah consumer sentiment remains unchanged in January Utahâs consumer sentiment was unchanged at 91.3 in January, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Instituteâs Survey of Utah Consumer Sentiment. A similar survey conducted by the University of Michigan measured a decline in sentiment among Americans as a whole during the same time (from 74.0 to 71.1, or 3.9% decline). âThis marks the second consecutive month of the highest level of consumer sentiment among Utah residents in over three years,â said Phil Dean, chief economist at the Gardner Institute. âUtahns appear to be weathering the moderating economy well, even in the face of uncertainty.â (Read More) | | |
Upcoming Feb 20 â BioHive Live, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, Hale Centre Theater, Sandy, Register here Mar 7 â Utah legislative session ends Apr 24 â Giant in Our City with the Salt Lake Chamber, 6:00-9:00 pm, Register here | | |
On This Day In History 1473 - Polish astronomer Copernicus is born. 1847 - Donner Party rescued. 1910 - Typhoid Mary is freed from her first periods of isolation and goes on to cause several more outbreaks of typhoid in the New York area. 1913 - 1st prize inserted into a Cracker Jack box. 1942 - FDR orders detention and internment of all west-coast Japanese-Americans. Utah successfully pursues a contract to build the Topaz Internment Camp by Delta. 1942 - Tuskegee Airmen initiated. 1945 - The first US Marines land on Iwo Jima 2002 - Vonetta Flowers becomes the first Black gold medalist in the Winter Olympics. 2016 - Harper Lee dies. She is best known for her 1960 book, âTo Kill a Mockingbirdâ Quote of the Day âPeople generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.â
â Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird On the Punny Side What happens when a microscope crashes into a telescope? They kaleidoscope. | | |
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