Utah's Daily Policy Resource, Brought to you by Utah Policy

Message Center

We're podcasting!

You can listen to our interviews with Utah politicians and newsmakers, plus catch "Bernick and Schott on Politics" every week by subscribing to our podcast on iTunes.

Click here to subscribe.

Daily Briefing

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 333rd day of the year. There are 32 days remaining in 2017.

The clock:

• 34 days until candidates can declare their intent to gather signatures for the 2018 election (1/2/2018)
• 54 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 99 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 100 days until the filing period for candidates in the 2018 election opens (3/9/2018)
• 106 days until the filing deadline for the 2018 elections (3/15/2018)
• 111 days until the statewide GOP caucus meetings (3/20/2018)
• 143 days until the GOP State Convention (4/21/2018)
• 209 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
• 342 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,070 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• President Donald Trump will visit Utah on Monday to announce his decision to reduce the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Rep. Dan McCay wants to do away with so-called "secret bills" on Utah's Capitol Hill, which will hopefully cut down on a glut of proposed legislation [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Utah's international exports for the year should top $12 billion [Utah Policy].
  
  
• The Salt Lake City Council may seek a tax increase next year to hire 50 more police officers, which is double what the police department is asking for [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• It could cost more than $10 billion to deal with exploding growth and development around the Point of the Mountain according to a new report to lawmakers [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• An estimated 20 to 25% of businesses that violate Utah liquor laws don't pay their fines on time or at all, meaning the state has to spend resources to collect [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• Newly elected Rep. John Curtis introduces his first bill in Congress to extend recovery programs for endangered fish in the Upper Colorado and San Juan rivers [Deseret News].
  
  
• An outbreak of hepatitis A in Utah has ballooned to 87 cases, and it's showing no signs of slowing down [Tribune].

National headlines:

• Breaking! NBC News has fired Matt Lauer, the highest paid news anchor in the U.S., for inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace [Axios].
  
  
• A Senate panel approved the GOP tax reform plan on a straight party-line vote, which clears the way for the package to move to a vote in the full Senate [Washington Post].
  
  
• A new national poll shows growing opposition toward the GOP tax reform plans, with 58% opposed to the package, which is up from 52% who were against the tax package last week [Politico].
  
  
• The odds of a government shutdown are rising dramatically after Democratic leaders in Congress bailed on a meeting with President Trump after he sent out a tweet saying he did not "see a deal" on a spending bill [ABC News].
  
  
• North Korea's latest ballistic missile test appears to show that country can now hit all of the continental U.S. [Washington Post].
  
  
• A federal judge ruled in favor of the Trump administration in the fight over who is legally in charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [ABC News].
  
  
• Conservatives are growing increasingly frustrated with Attorney General Jeff Sessions's reluctance to open an investigation into Hillary Clinton [The Hill].
  
  
• The Congressional Black Caucus is pressing Michigan Democrat John Conyers to retire following numerous allegations of sexual misconduct [Politico].
  
  
• A new national poll shows Democrats are far more likely to believe allegations of sexual misconduct against public figures than do Republicans [Politico].
  
  
• President Donald Trump is telling people he thinks the "Access Hollywood" tape, which captured him bragging about sexually assaulting women, is a fake [New York Times].
  
  
• Boring but important: The Supreme Court is considering whether police must get a warrant to obtain cellphone data about the past locations of criminal suspects [Reuters].
  
  
• A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress is pushing a bill to make "revenge porn" illegal [Politico].
  
  
• CNN is boycotting the annual White House Christmas party due to President Trump's repeatedly calling the network "fake news" [Politico].
  
  
• Bitcoin has doubled its value over the past three months. That rise has been fueled by traditional investors who are taking a new interest in the cryptocurrency [Recode].
  
  
• Sen. Rand Paul says politics may have been a motivating factor why his neighbor attacked him earlier this month [Washington Times].
  
  
• A new report says automation may wipe out 1/3 of America's workforce by the year 2030 [Axios].
  
  
• Purchases made from mobile devices on Cyber Monday crossed the $2 billion mark this year [Recode].

On this day in history:

• 1777 - San Jose, California, is founded as Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe by Jose Joaquin Moraga.
  
  
• 1864 - Sand Creek massacre: Colorado volunteers led by Colonel John Chivington massacre at least 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe members.
  
  
• 1877 - Thomas Edison demonstrates his phonograph for the first time.
  
  
• 1929 - Admiral Richard Byrd leads the first expedition to fly over the South Pole.
  
  
• 1963 - President Lyndon B. Johnson establishes the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Today At Utah Policy

Lawmaker says eliminating 'secret' bills will improve transparency in the Utah Legislature By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor State Rep. Dan McCay says he just may have a solution to so many bills being drafted these days for the Utah Legislature to consider....

Utah's international exports should hit $12 billion this year By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Utah's international trade continues to grow, and the state is on pace to finish the year up 3% over 2016....

A conversation with Derek Miller (video) By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Derek Miller, President and CEO of World Trade Center Utah joins Managing Editor Bryan Schott to talk about President Trump's recent trip to Asia....

Trump to visit Utah on Monday to announce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante reductions By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor President Donald Trump will visit Salt Lake City on Monday to unveil his decision to reduce the size of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments....

Weekly survey: Tax reform By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Republicans in Congress are trying to push their tax reform package through before Christmas. Do you think they'll do it? Do you support the tax reform package? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Podcast: Interview with World Trade Center Utah's Derek Miller By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Derek Miller, President and CEO of World Trade Center Utah speaks with Managing Editor Bryan Schott....

Policy News

Utah consumer confidence remains high, propelled by fast-growing labor market After a record-setting high last month, the Zions Bank Utah Consumer Attitude Index (CAI) has remained relatively flat, decreasing only slightly from 125.4 in October to 124.4 in November....

Wise Words

Courage

"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lighter Side

Awesome Gift

"Donald Trump's website is selling a Christmas version of its "Make America Great Again" hat. It's embroidered with "Merry Christmas" on the back. It's the perfect gift for someone who has everything. Check that. Hates everything. It's the perfect gift for someone who hates everything. This is the hat that says "I love Christmas" but can't stand snowflakes." James Corden