Situational Analysis | February 16, 2022

How is it already Wednesday?? That means it's National Do A Grouch a Favor Day. 

And, just so you know, in the year 600, Pope Gregory the Great decreed that saying "God bless You" is the correct response to a sneeze. You're welcome.

Be in the Know

1. The Hope Scholarship bill that would give families up to $8000 to use for private school payments passed out of committee 6-5 and heads to the House floor. Opponents call it a voucher bill that only benefits the wealthy.

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2022 Legislative Session

28 days done, 17 days to go

General

• Why Utah lawmakers voted to keep the death penalty this year (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Health care worker protections, a ban on car ‘selfies,’ film tax incentives: These Utah bills are closer to becoming laws (Deseret News)
• Advocates rally at Utah Capitol for national ‘Day Without Immigrants’ (KUER)
• When conspiracy theories control the Legislature. Crowds of people with misinformation seem to be getting their way on Utah’s Capitol Hill. That’s not good for government (Deseret News)

Today

Committee Meetings:

• 8 am: House Judiciary, House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, House Transportation,
• 8:40 am: Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services, Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions
• 9:00 am: House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment
• 4:00 pm: House Economic Development and Workforce Services, House Government Operations, Senate Business and Labor, Senate Education, Senate Health and Human Services

Floor Time

• House - 10:00 - 12:00, 2:00 - 3:50
• Senate - 10:00 - 11:50, 2:00 - 3:50

Tomorrow

Committee Meetings:

• 8:00 am: Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice,

Floor Time

• House - 10:00 - 12:00, 2:00 - 5:00
• Senate - 10:00 - 11:50, 2:00 - 5:00

Health and Human Services

• Vaccine passports draw ire of lawmakers as House committee advances bill to prohibit them (Deseret News)

Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

• ‘It really hit home how bad it is’: Utah lawmakers get aerial tour of Great Salt Lake (Deseret News)

Utah Headlines

General

• Farmers Feeding Utah has identified hundreds of military families who could use its support in the form of food donations. (KSL)

Education

• USU names new Executive Director for Office of Equity (Cache Valley Daily)
• New critical race theory laws have teachers scared, confused and self-censoring (Washington Post)

Environment

• "...We will not support or attend a trade show even in Utah so long as its elected officials continue attacks on national monuments and public lands protections.” Companies threaten boycott if Outdoor Retailer show returns to Utah. (KUTV)
• How the climate fight landed in the kitchen (Politico)

COVID Corner

• 771 new cases, 27 new deaths - cases coming down, hospitalizations coming down, deaths not dropping yet
• Utah doctors have noticed a pattern in how COVID long-haulers finally recover (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Vivint Arena lifts COVID protocols for Utah Jazz games starting on Feb. 25 (Deseret News)
• Disney World: No more masks indoors for vaccinated visitors (KUTV)
• Netherlands to drop most COVID measures starting Friday (Reuters)

National Headlines

General

• Families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims agreed to a $73 million settlement with Remington, the maker of the rifle used in the 2012 shooting that left 20 first graders and six educators dead.(AP)
• A small boat launched in October 2020 by some New Hampshire middle school students and containing photos, fall leaves, acorns and state quarters has been found 462 days later — by a sixth grader in Norway. (NBC News)
• Conspiracy theories fueling rise in killings by domestic extremists (The Hill)
• Only 3% of white collar workers want to return to the office full-time (Forbes)
• U.S. Government Recorded $119 Billion Budget Surplus, Its First Since Before Pandemic (Wall Street Journal)

Politics

• Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. (AP)
• Texas elections officials are rejecting thousands of mail-in ballots sent in by Texas voters, citing issues with ID requirements created by the state's new Republican-backed voting law. (NPR)
• School boards get death threats amid rage over race, gender, mask policies (Reuters)
• GOP boycotts Biden Fed nominees' vote as bank fights inflation (The Hill)

International

• In a joint court filing, lawyers for Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew said both parties had reached a settlement which includes an undisclosed sum and that Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Giuffre's charity in support of victims' rights (Reuters)
• Biden says diplomacy continues but a Russian invasion of Ukraine is still possible (NPR)
• Russian government hackers have likely penetrated Ukrainian military, energy and other critical computer systems, U.S. government says (Washington Post)

Olympics

• The Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva had other drugs that can be used to treat heart conditions in her system before the Olympics. Only one is banned, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. (New York Times)

News Releases

Gov. Cox and Pamela Atkinson advocate for our state’s homeless population by asking Utahns to donate on their state tax forms

Following today’s visit to formerly homeless residents of Pamela’s Place, a permanent supportive housing apartment complex, Gov. Spencer J. Cox encouraged Utahns to give to the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund on their 2021 Utah state tax forms. 

Donations can also easily be made online at jobs.utah.gov/htf.

Gov. Cox also assisted community advocate Pamela Atkinson in delivering book donations to the residents. Pamela’s Place is one of many organizations statewide that receive funding from the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund to assist Utahns in moving out of homelessness. Pamela’s Place is a permanent supportive housing complex with 100 units developed by the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City in 2020. (Read More)

Romney joins colleagues in urging administration to finalize rule to reverse disastrous Cottonwood decision

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) joined his colleagues, led by Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), in sending a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Director Martha Williams and U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore urging the Biden Administration to resolve challenges stemming from the disastrous Cottonwood decision. Utah and the American West are facing historic numbers of wildfires. Therefore, this issue must be resolved quickly because the Cottonwood decision places a huge and unnecessary administrative burden on the Forest Service at a time when the agency should be focused on wildfire management. Romney and Daines were joined by Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), John Boozman (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Michael Crapo (R-ID), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and James Risch (R-ID). (Read More)

Owens co-sponsors legislation to confront websites monetizing child abuse

This week, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) co-sponsored the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies (EARN IT) Act, bipartisan legislation to remove blanket immunity for violations of laws related to online child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The bill, led by Representatives Ann Wagner (MO-02) and Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) in the House, is a companion to Senate legislation introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

“We have a responsibility to protect young Americans from unsafe online platforms that promote and monetize sexual abuse and child exploitation,” said Rep. Owens. “The EARN IT Act rapidly expands our toolbox to protect children from sexual violence and threats to their online safety by limiting the liability protections of online service providers concerning claims alleging violations of child sexual exploitation laws. I am proud to join my colleagues in support of this bipartisan legislation to address the prevalence of these horrific crimes.” (Read More)

Number of the Day

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• The Emergence of the Crypto Economy with the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation and special guests – Feb. 16, 10 am MST. Register here.
• Independent American Party Organizing Convention – Feb. 16 from 4-6 pm at the Millcreek Library (2266 East Evergreen). Credentialing begins at 3:30 pm. 
• Campaign filing period: Feb 28-March 4 (early this year!)
• State of the Union address – Mar 1, 7 pm MST
• Utah legislative session ends – Mar 4, 2022, midnight
• Fireside chat with Justice Clarence Thomas hosted by the Hatch Foundation – Mar 11, 2022, 7 pm. Register here.
• Campaign Management Training with Utah Farm Bureau – Mar 24-25, registration deadline March 1. Register here
• Last day for a registered voter to change voter affiliation before the regular primary election.  - Mar 31
• Ballots are mailed - June 7
• Primary election day - June 28
• General election  - Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 600 - Pope Gregory the Great decrees that saying "God bless You" is the correct response to a sneeze.
• 1838 - Kentucky passes law permitting women to attend school under certain conditions. Way to be forward-thinking, Kentucky.
• 1840 - American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
• 1870 - Leonora O’Reilly, is born. She was a labor organizer, founding member of the Woman’s Trade Union League and helped found the NAACP.
• 1878 - Silver dollars become legal.
• 1905 - Louise Larson is born. She became the first Chinese American and first Asian American reporter in a mainstream daily paper (The Los Angeles Record) and also wrote for the San Francisco News, the Chicago Times and the LA Times magazine over her 51-year career.
• 1923 - Archeologist Howard Carter opens the tomb of King Tut. He had been searching since 1891.
• 1951 - New York City Council passes bill prohibiting racial discrimination in city-assisted housing developments. 
• 1957 - LeVar Burton is born. An actor for all seasons, he played in Roots, Star Trek: The Next Generation and as the host of Reading Rainbow.
• 1959 - Fidel Castro sworn in as prime minister of Cuba.
• 1968 - The first 9-1-1 call is placed.
• 1984 - Bill Johnson becomes the first American to win Olympic gold in downhill skiing.

Wise Words

"I believe we all have a contribution to make, we have all come here with a specific intention to contribute something unique to who we are. And our job is to identify as best as we are able what that thing is that we are meant to do."

― LeVar Burton

Lighter Side

On the Super Bowl half-time show

“Two legends of hardcore gangsta rap, or as the kids today call them: Martha Stewart’s friend and the headphones guy.” â€” STEPHEN COLBERT, on Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre

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