Situational Analysis | June 1, 2022

Welcome to a new month. It's National Pride Month, National Camping Month, and National PTSD Awareness Month.

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Two Utah families file a lawsuit against the transgender student athlete ban. The lawsuit includes two transgender girls who attend public schools — a 16-year-old who wants to play volleyball and a 13-year-old swimmer. The families are filing the lawsuit anonymously to protect their children. Bill sponsor Rep. Kera Birkeland responded: "The lawsuit filed today is not surprising, as such actions have been threatened since the beginning. My goal has always been to protect girls sports and female athletes across the state and I hope the courts will recognize that and uphold the legislation." Senators Bramble and McCay had similar statements, that the bill "preserves women's sports" and that "litigation is part of the process." Rep. Andrew Stoddard tweeted "Message bills are fiscally irresponsible. This suit will cost millions of taxpayer dollars."

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On June 9, Utah Policy, World Trade Center Utah, Utah Valley University and others are partnering to organize the China Challenge Summit. A high-profile group of leaders from across the nation and world will provide quality thought leadership and business guidance around three themes:

Register to attend this unprecedented event at ChinaChallengeSummit.com.

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News Releases

Granite District High School graduation ceremonies to be held June 1 & 2

Schedule of Granite School District High School Graduation Ceremonies

Wednesday, June 1 and June 2 (Read More)

Granite School District to provide free meals to students throughout the summer

Granite School District will be providing free meals to kids aged 18 and younger throughout the summer as part of the USDA’s Summer Lunch program.

Lunch will be served in cafeterias and students must be present to receive a meal. Parents will not be permitted to pick up meals to take home. All sites will be closed July 4 and July 25. (More details here)

New Utah Foundation report: Social mobility in Utah

Utah ranks near top on homeownership, other measures of social mobility but Beehive State tracks national decline in children outperforming parents.

Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard said the new report “essentially explores whether the American Dream is still alive in Utah. We’re making headway when we look at homeownership, educational attainment and the engagement of young Utahns,” Reichard said. “But we need to look for ways to preserve these gains in the face of challenges like high home costs. We also need to find out whether it’s possible to buck the broader negative trend in intergenerational mobility.” (Read More)

Sen. Bramble and McCay respond to lawsuit against H.B. 11

Sen. Curt Bramble and Sen. Dan McCay issue the following statements regarding the lawsuit against H.B. 11 Student Eligibility in Interscholastic Activities: “All kids deserve fair opportunities; however, we must acknowledge the fact that biological boys and girls are built differently,” said Sen. Curt Bramble. “H.B. 11 is trying to protect two things: safety and the integrity of competition,” said Sen. Dan McCay. “It is our responsibility as lawmakers to pass legislation that ensures women still have a place in their sport. H.B. 11 does just that. At times, litigation is part of the process, and we will work within the legal system to get answers. H.B. 11 also creates a commission if a ban is put on hold that will help foster a safe and fair environment for all athletes.” (Read More)

Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute: Unprecedented federal fiscal response to COVID-19 propped up economy, but created significant challenges

In the midst of the tremendous challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, which included significant health impacts and widespread layoffs, the federal government began its fiscal response to help prop up the U.S. economy. A report released by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute details the federal government’s 2020 and 2021 fiscal policy (i.e., spending and taxing) responses to the pandemic and the initial impacts of these fiscal responses, particularly on western states.

“While the Federal Reserve’s expansionary monetary policy (i.e., money supply increase and corresponding interest rate reduction) played a significant role in stabilizing the U.S. economy through the early pandemic, the massive scale of the federal government’s fiscal response to the COVID-19 pandemic (about 25% of 2020 GDP) far exceeded its fiscal response to other economic downturns,” said Gardner Institute Chief Economist and Public Finance Senior Research Fellow Phil Dean. “The enormous and rapid response stabilized household and company budgets, which in turn helped stabilize state budgets; however, the unprecedented level of stimulus also contributed to current economic and budget challenges being faced today across the country.” (Read More)

Romney, Durbin lead call for robust research funding in final competition bill

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) with U.S. Representatives Sean Casten (D-IL) and Ken Calvert (R-CA) led a bipartisan letter to Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) and House-passed America COMPETES Act conferees urging the lawmakers to oppose provisions in USICA that would allocate a high, fixed percentage of future research funding at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE) based on the Established Program to Stimulate Competition Research (EPSCoR). EPSCoR is a federal-state partnership program designed to enhance the research capabilities of states that receive less than 0.75 percent of NSF funding every five years.

“For the United States to maintain and expand its innovation leadership, developing the total pool of research enterprises is essential. We must prioritize fostering scientific talent and developing new technologies. If large portions of science agency budgets are off limits to these institutions, innovative research in our states would be compromised. We urge you to ensure that the final bill broadens participation in our world-class research ecosystem and to support policies that elevate research in EPSCoR and non-EPSCoR states alike,” they wrote. (Read More)

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Wise Words

“The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal. From the viewpoint of our legal institutions and of our moral standards of judgment, this normality was much more terrifying than all the atrocities put together.”
― Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil

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