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Situational awareness - May 2, 2018

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City.

More proposed Utah GOP bylaw changes. Salt Lake City leaders approve a sales tax hike. Mueller threatens to subpoena Trump.

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TICK TOCK

27 days until the last day to register to vote by mail for the 2018 primary election (5/29/2018)
28 days until the last day to change your party affiliation before the primary election (5/30/2018)
34 days until primary election mail-in ballots are sent to voters (6/5/2018)
41 days until in-person early primary voting begins (6/12/2018)
48 days until the final day to register to vote online or in person before the primary election (6/19/2018)
51 days until in-person early primary voting ends (6/22/2018)
55 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
188 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
271 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
916 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

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HERE ARE THE STORIES DRIVING WEDNESDAY

GOP civil war continues

Some Utah GOP hardliners have proposed bylaw changes that could result in some members being kicked out of the party [Utah Policy].

Utah's economy tops again

Utah once again was tops in the annual "Rich States, Poor States" rankings [Utah Policy].

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

The Salt Lake City Council votes to approve a $25 million sales tax hike [Deseret News, Tribune (paywall)].
Federal regulators have given Utah three years to reverse rising pollution levels in parts of seven counties [Daily Herald, Tribune (paywall)].
Attorney General Sean Reyes's office is looking for private law firms to handle possible litigation against opioid manufacturers [Deseret News].
The Utah Transit Authority is accelerating the name change to Transit District of Utah [Deseret News].
Former Democratic Rep. Carl Duckworth, husband of current Rep. Sue Duckworth. dies after a protracted battle with cancer [Deseret News, Fox 13, Tribune (paywall)].
Gov. Gary Herbert appoints Paul Garver as the new executive director of the Department of Human Resource Management [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune (paywall)].
Attorney General Sean Reyes signed on to a pro-fracking letter despite concerns from his chief deputy that the move was mostly political [Tribune (paywall)].
The Salt Lake Chamber unveils an initiative to address the lack of affordable housing in Utah [Utah Policy, Deseret News].

NATIONAL HEADLINES

Special counsel Robert Mueller threatened to subpoena President Trump to appear before a grand jury if he did not agree to a sit-down interview with federal investigators [Washington Post].
Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators want to ask President Trump an incident at the 2016 GOP convention where the Trump campaign pushed a change in the GOP platform about Russian aggression against Ukraine [Politico].
President Trump's lawyers for the Russia investigation do not have the required security clearances to discuss some of the sensitive issues that would come up during an interview federal investigators [Bloomberg].
Special counsel Robert Mueller asks for a two-month delay in sentencing for former national security adviser Michael Flynn [CNN].
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein hits back at conservative members of the House who have drafted articles of impeachment against him saying the Justice Department "is not going to be extorted" [New York Times].
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she plans on running for speaker if Democrats retake control of the House in November [Boston Globe].
A lobbyist helped arrange a controversial $100,000 trip to Morocco for embattled EPA head Scott Pruitt last year [Washington Post].
President Trump's personal doctor says Trump's bodyguard and lawyer "raided" his office shortly after Trump took office and took the President's personal medical files [NBC News]. Trump's doctor also says Trump dictated a letter released during the presidential campaign saying Trump would be the "healthiest individual every elected to the presidency" [CNN].
Teachers in Arizona said they would end their walkout if the legislature passes a budget by Thursday that increases funding for schools [CNN].
Facebook announced on Tuesday they are building a Tinder-like dating app that will live inside their already existing platform [Washington Post].

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1536 - Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason, and witchcraft.
1611 - The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London by printer Robert Barker.
1670 - King Charles II grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
1863 - Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own soldiers. He died eight days later.
1945 - The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin in World War II.
1986 - The city of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the nuclear disaster.

Today At Utah Policy

Utah GOP hardliners proposing radical changes to party rules
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Well, it never seems to end....

Utah tops again in annual 'Rich States, Poor States' rankings
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Utah ranks #1 in the American Legislative Exchange Counsel's "Rich States, Poor States" index for 2018....

Utah business leaders unify to protect housing affordability
By Salt Lake Chamber
The Salt Lake Chamber and Utah business leaders officially launched the Housing Gap Coalition....

Gov. Herbert appoints new executive director of the Department of Human Resource Management
By Press Release
Gov. Gary R. Herbert has announced the appointment of Paul Garver as the executive director of the Department of Human Resource Management....

Weekly survey: Mia Love vs. Ben McAdams
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Who do you expect to win the November matchup between Mia Love and Ben McAdams? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Policy News

Governor Herbert to sign legislation to help Utah's refugee communities
Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Utah legislators, Utah refugee community leaders, and members of the Refugee Justice League celebrate the unanimous passage and signing of House Bill 189, Driver License Exam Revisions....

Speaker Greg Hughes statement about the passing of former Rep. Carl Duckworth
Speaker Greg Hughes issued this statement following the death of former Representative Carl Duckworth:...