| It's Day 37 of 45. On the Hill today, a bill to create a geothermal task force and one to restrict the AG from having a private law practice .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. 22, 2024 It's Thursday and National Chili Day! Wanna quick (under 60 seconds) overview of the day's proceedings? Be sure to check out the Utah Policy Minute on YouTube, Linked In, Facebook, Instagram or X! Three things to watch: - SB257 Geothermal Energy Production Amendments by Sen. Nate Blouin would require the Office of Energy Development to conduct a geothermal resources study to identify challenges and opportunities in using geothermal energy. The bill would also create a Geothermal Task Force. It will be heard in the Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Committee at 8 a.m.
- HB312 Professional Licensing Amendments by Rep. Bridger Bolinder would allow a person to practice animal massage therapy without needing a human massage therapist license. Yes, that is currently the law. Do the horses care? This bill will be heard in the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee at 8 a.m.
- HB380 Attorney General Amendments by Rep. Andrew Stoddard would prohibit the Utah Attorney General from engaging in the private practice of law. This bill passed out of the House unanimously and will be heard in the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee at 8 a.m.
On the Hill Today, Day 37 of 45 - 7:30 am: House Business and Labor
- 8:00 am: 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
- 10:00-11:50 am: Senate floor time
- 10:00 am-12:00 pm: House floor time
- 2:00-3:50 pm: Senate floor time
- 2:00-3:50 pm: House floor time
- 4:00 pm: House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice; House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment; House Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology; House Transportation; Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services; Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions
- 4:15 pm: Senate Revenue and Taxation
- 4:45 pm: Senate Revenue and Taxation
- 6:00 pm-as needed: Senate floor time
- 6:00 pm-as needed: House floor time
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Utah Headlines Legislative session - Sen. Lee explains votes on Ukraine, border in visit with Utah lawmakers (Deseret News)
Business and Labor - First lawmakers want $900M in taxes for MLB. Now they say $1B more from taxpayers will bring NHL to Salt Lake. (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Utahâs MLB ballpark funding bill worries SLC; key council member calls it âslap in the faceâ (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Utah eyes hotel room tax hike to help score MLB team (KUTV)
Government Operations - Utah lawmakers don't want calendars of elected officials' made public (Deseret News)
- Joel Campbell: Opinion: Utah lawmakers push âastoundingâ number of bills blocking transparency (Salt Lake Tribune)
Education - Chaplains in public schools? This lawmaker wants to give districts, public charter schools the option (Deseret News)
- Unlicensed, volunteer chaplains allowed in Utahâs public schools under new bill (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Utah takes another step toward NIL regulation (Deseret News)
Judiciary - Bill defining 'ritualistic' sex abuse passes out of Utah House Judiciary Committee (KUTV)
Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice - Lawmaker wants to increase maximum amount of time for involuntary civil commitments (KSL Newsradio)
Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment - âGenerationalâ water bill advances with an eye on Utahâs water future (Deseret News)
- New bill seeks to study creating a centralized place for Utah water data (KSL Newsradio)
- Bill linked to controversial Utah Lake islands project on track to be repealed (ABC4)
Revenue and Taxation - Another income tax cut is going to cost more. So what will the Utah Legislature do? (Deseret News)
Transportation - Better bus routes could change rural Utahnsâ lives, advocates say. Hereâs how. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Other Utah News Political news - âYou canât love your country if you hate half the people in itâ (Deseret News)
- Gov. Spencer Cox promotes his âDisagree Betterâ campaign in Washington (Deseret News)
Election news - Women are still underrepresented in Utah politics, research finds (UPR)
- Natalie Clineâs Republican opponent for state school board reports raising nearly 6x the funds Cline has (Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah news - Deseret News receives prominent international photojournalism award (Deseret News)
- Gabby Petitoâs parents agree to confidential settlement with Brian Laundrieâs parents, will avoid trial (ABC4)
Crime/Courts - Judge orders Tim Ballard to be interviewed under oath within 30 days (Fox13)
- Police break up identity-theft ring; at least 200 victims in Utah (KSL)
Culture - Ballet West ballerinas advocate for dancers of color (Fox13)
- London comedy musical spoofing Gwyneth Paltrow court case is coming to Utah (KSL)
- Bad Bunny concert becomes Delta Centerâs highest-grossing single-night concert of all time (ABC4)
Education - Utah school district says they made 'wrong call' during intense snow (Fox13)
Environment - Opponents want to sink proposed southern Utah reservoir and replace it with open-space nature park (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Why the Great Salt Lakeâs causeway may have staved off collapse more than once (Salt Lake Tribune)
Health - Silent brain changes precede Alzheimerâs. Researchers have new clues about which come first (AP)
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National Headlines General - Spanish archaeologists uncovered a chocolate factory in a 14th century mansion (Deseret News)
- Alabama hospital puts pause on IVF in wake of ruling saying frozen embryos are children (AP)
- Scientists scanning the seafloor discover a long-lost Stone Age 'megastructure' (NPR)
Political news - Lara Trump says RNC needs to raise $500 mln, sees interest in paying Trump legal fees (Reuters)
- Biden mulling plan that could restrict asylum claims at the border (New York Times)
Election news - Trump faces warning signs that his fundraising prowess may have limits in 2024 campaign (AP)
- Donors keep pouring millions into Nikki Haley's long-shot campaign (Wall Street Journal)
Ukraine ðºð¦ - A Russian missile killed 59 Ukrainian villagers â and divided the survivors (Washington Post)
- How life in Ukraine has been shattered by two years of war (Reuters)
Israel ð®ð± - Israel intensifies strikes on Gaza's Rafah, killing large family in home (Reuters)
World news - Leaked files from Chinese firm show vast international hacking effort (Washington Post)
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Number of the Day 
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 | News Releases Governing Group PAC announces board members and senior advisor Today, the Governing Group PAC, founded by former Utah State Representative Becky Edwards with a commitment to promoting civil discourse and thoughtful policymaking, is excited to unveil its leadership team. This team, comprising a senior advisor and board members, is dedicated to supporting Republican and unaffiliated candidates across Utah who share the PACâs vision for a more respectful and productive political environment. The senior advisor is former Gov. Gary Herbert and board members are Dr. Susan Madsen, former Congresswoman Mia Love, former Utah Rep. Lowry Snow, and co-creator of the Dignity Index, Tami Pyfer. (Read More)
Utah Valley University announces 2024 Autism Conference The Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism at Utah Valley University (UVU) announced its annual Autism Conference. Pre- and one-day conferences will be held Feb. 22-23 from 9 am-4 pm in the Sorensen Student Centerâs Grand Ballroom on UVUâs Orem Campus. The theme is âEmpowering Quality of Lifeâ
(Read More)
Turning up the heat on geothermal: Rep. Curtisâs bill to streamline development Last week, Representative John Curtis (R-UT) introduced legislation to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 and remove overregulation for power production projects. Utah is a case study for geothermal as proven by UTAH Forge, a dedicated underground field laboratory sponsored by the Department of Energy for developing, testing and accelerating geothermal breakthroughs. (Read More)
Majority of likely voters in Utah want the option of ranked choice voting, new Sutherland survey finds The majority of likely voters in Utah are in favor of ranked choice voting as an option for cities and towns, a new survey from Sutherland Institute finds. Support for ranked choice voting is broad but not universal, with a few groups being opposed to its use. (Read More)
Utah first in the nation to recognize Citizen Diplomacy Day In recognition of Utahâs prolific citizen diplomacy work throughout the state, The Utah Senate and Utah House of Representatives issued legislative citations designating Friday, February 16 as Citizen Diplomacy Day in Utah â a first in Utah history and a first at the state level in the United States. The citation was sponsored by Representative Robert Spendlove and Senator Luz Escamilla. âBy bringing people together to shake hands, sit down, and share their life stories, knowledge, and values with each other, we are taking action to make the world a better place for everyone,â said Felecia Maxfield-Barrett, President & CEO of Utah Global Diplomacy. âThis day promotes these values and recognizes the tremendous contributions made by volunteer citizen diplomats across Utah.â (Read More) | | |
Tweet of the Day 
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Upcoming - Feb. 22 â Understanding Utahâs Caucus-Convention System, with GOP Chair Rob Axson and Dem. Chair Diane Lewis, sponsored by Utah Women Run, 6:00-7:30 p.m., Register here
- Mar. 1 â Legislative session ends
- Mar. 5 â Caucus night
- Mar. 20 â Utah Foundation Annual Lunch, 11:45 am-1:30 pm; Grand America, Purchase tickets here
- Apr. 20 â United Utah Partyconvention
- Apr. 27 â State GOP and Democratic Conventions
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On This Day In History - 1455 - Johannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible.
- 1836 - The siege on the Alamo begins.
- 1868 - W.E.B. DuBois is born. An American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, he was awarded the Spingarn medal by the NAACP in 1920 and the Lenin Peace Prize by the USSR in 1959.
- 1940 - Woody Guthrie writes This Land Is Your Land.
- 1945 - U.S. Marines raise the American flag on Iwo Jima.
- 1954 - First mass inoculation against polio with the Jonas Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh
- 1968 - The US Equal Opportunity Commission rules that a candidateâs gender (female) or marital status (single) could not be a required qualification for employment as a flight attendant.
- 1979 - Frank E. Peterson, Jr. is named the first Black general in the Marine Corps.
- 1991 - President George H. W. Bush gives Iraq a 24-hour deadline to withdraw from Kuwait or face a ground war.
- 1998 - Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders.
- 2020 - Ahmaud Arbery shot to death after being chased down by two white men in Brunswick, Georgia. Video of the killing emerges in May, prompting arrests.
Quote of the Day âEither America will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States.â
â W.E.B. DuBois
On the Punny Side Scientists have successfully grown human vocal cords from stem cells in the lab. The results speak for themselves. | | |
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