Utah Policy: Policymaker Profile: Getting to Know Todd Weiler

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Situational Analysis - October 1, 2020

Happy Thursday morning. Welcome to Halloween month. We'll be seeing lots of ghouls and goblins and not all of them will be politicians.

TICK TOCK

6 days to the vice presidential debate at the University of Utah (10/07/2020)
11 days to the 4th Congressional District debate (10/12/2020)
12 days to the day mail-in ballots can begin to be sent out (10/13/2020)
14 days to the 3rd Congressional District debate (10/15/2020)
14 days to the second presidential debate (10/15/2020)
18 days to the 2nd Congressional District debate (10/19/2020)
20 days to the Utah Attorney General debate (10/21/2020)
21 days to the third presidential debate (10/22/2020)
33 days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)
110 days to inauguration day (01/20/2021)
116 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/25/2021)

This Week's Trivia Winner
Several people took a shot at answering Dave Schneider's question: Marty Stephens' three terms as speaker of the Utah House of Representative is the record length of time in that office. During the 50 years, or 25 legislative terms, preceding Stephens becoming speaker, 23 different legislators served as speaker -- 21 of them for just single terms. Name the only two speakers during this period to serve two terms.

There were a lot of good guesses, and most of them got one of the former speakers right. But only Douglas Devore got both of them: Norm Bangerter and Mel Brown. He gets to come up with the next trivia question.

Today At Utah Policy

Policymaker Profile: Getting to Know Todd Weiler
By Staff
Note: Utah Policy regularly profiles policymakers from across the state. This week we profile Utah State Senator Todd Weiler, District 23. Occupation: Attorney Education: BYU Growing up: Chicago suburbs Fond memory: Snowmobiling behind my house Childhood ambition: Become a lawyerWebb's Wrap: Executive/legislative relations are good, but a few tension exist . . . Lawmakers will be in person at the Capitol for 2021 session
By LaVarr Webb
Utah's Republican governor and the Republican Legislature get along very well, better than most executive/legislative branches in the country.Still, some tension exists, and that's probably healthy. The branches of government have different roles, and it's expected and proper for each branch to protect its turf with some periodic push and pull. We've seen a little of that with the Legislature's new authority to call itself into special session.State Auditor releases limited review of state emergency procurements and response
By Press Release
The Office of the State Auditor has released its Limited Review of State Emergency Procurements and Emergency Response. The Office has concluded its limited review of certain actions taken by the state of Utah (State) to prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The review included a high-level analysis of the State's level of preparedness prior to the pandemic and coordination in the beginning stages of the associated COVID-19 outbreak and declared emergency. These emergency procurements occurred between March 6, 2020 and May 7, 2020.

Utah Headlines

Deseret News

Op-ed: Supreme Court vacancies should always be filled without delay Op-ed: Instead of defunding police, we should reinvest in social services Op-ed: Utah elected officials should not use antitrust laws as a political cudgel Reps. Chris Stewart and John Curtis: Unraveling the threat from the Chinese Communist Party The Barrett factor: Will President Trump's Supreme Court nominee help end Obamacare? What Mitt Romney discussed with Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett National security adviser Robert O'Brien to speak at Salt Lake symposium Audit: Utah leaders were unprepared for pandemic with 'unclear chain of command' Cox takes aim at Salt Lake schools, says remote learning is 'damaging kids' Utah researchers find ways to identify patients susceptible to COVID-19-related death

Salt Lake Tribune

September was Utah's worst month for COVID-19 cases, but with far fewer deaths Against a spending deadline, counties express frustration over coronavirus aid restrictions Ballot initiative could ban new hog farms in Millard County Mitt Romney impressed after meeting Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, but doesn't commit to vote for her State auditors say Utah did 'not adequately anticipate or prepare' for COVID-19 China is America's greatest threat, says GOP task force with Utahns Chris Stewart and John Curtis Salt Lake City International Airport's 65% drop in passengers from COVID looks pretty good in national picture Governor appoints interim Utah insurance commissioner

Other

Utah County commissioner criticizes 'rammed-through process' of mask mandate (Daily Herald) Sen. Romney meets with Supreme Court pick Barrett, touts her 'impressive' resume (Standard-Examiner) Reclaiming public lands: Bureau of Reclamation to turn southern valley canals over to local control (Logan Herald Journal) The Cache Venue receives first bar license not tied to private club, restaurant in Logan (Logan Herald Journal)

National Headlines

Bombshell Allegation: Hillary Orchestrated Collusion Hoax to Distract From Her Emails, According to Russian Intel (National Review) Sen. Mike Lee Rips Comey: You Don't Seem To Know Anything About An Investigation That You Ran (RealClearPolitics) Growing signs that mass mail-in voting is going to be a disaster (New York Post) Newt Gingrich: How the Bidens worked with China to get rich - at America's expense (FOX News) Mnuchin coronavirus relief plan includes more state, local funds (Roll Call) The debate? Trump was great, Chris Wallace was a dreadful disgrace (American Thinker) 5 Reasons Joe Biden (Probably) Won the First Debate (New York Magazine) Trump Wins Round One, Barely (American Greatness) An Epic Moment of National Shame: The Debate Was an Embarrassment for the Ages (POLITICO) Chris Wallace fiddles while ANTIFA, BLM burn our country (Outkick) An 'Ecotopian' Future: Can California's Green Extremism Go National? (RealClearEnergy) MIT Researchers Say Their Fusion Reactor Is 'Very Likely to Work' (Futurism) Liberals smear Judge Amy Coney Barrett, clutching their pearls (Washington Times) Conservatives' assault on the supreme court is a judicial tragedy in the making (Guardian) What That Was About (RealClearPolitics) Trump is waging asymmetric warfare and it's working (The Critic) Unseemly brawl unlikely to change a thing (The Hill) 'I'd still prefer to sit outside': restaurants open indoor dining to hesitant New Yorkers (Guardian)

Policy News

SBA awards Utah record-high STEP grant to accelerate international business growth
SALT LAKE CITY - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that World Trade Center Utah (WTC Utah) will receive a State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Grant of $641,000 on behalf of the state, a record-high STEP Grant in Utah, to accelerate the growth of international sales for Utah small businesses.A discussion with Utah's next governor
In this episode of Utah Thrives, produced by Utah Foundation, we hear Spencer Cox and Chris Peterson talk about Utahns' top priorities: * Health care (costs and accessibility) * State taxes and government spending * K-12 education * Jobs and the economy * Public health / COVID-19 pandemicRomney, Murphy statement on reports of U.S. withdrawal from Baghdad Embassy
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, released the following statement regarding reports that the U.S. plans to fully withdraw diplomatic forces from its embassy in Baghdad:Governor appoints Tanji Northrup as interim commissioner of Utah Insurance Department
Gov. Gary R. Herbert has announced the appointment of Tanji Northrup to serve as the Interim Commissioner of the Utah Insurance Department following the retirement of former Commissioner Todd E. Kiser.

BUSINESS HEADLINES

Future of Utah's rooftop solar industry at stake in utility rate case starting Tuesday (Salt Lake Tribune) Utah County-based company Pollen Sense providing real-time data for seasonal allergy sufferers (Deseret News) Tooele County unemployment drops to 4.8% (Tooele Transcript Bulletin) Park City projections point toward an economic drubbing during ski season (Park Record) Housing market at record hot level this summer (Deseret News)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

(From History.com)

1890 - An act of Congress establishes Yosemite National Park, home of giant sequoias. Environmental trailblazer John Muir campaigned for the congressional designation. Pres. Benjamin Harrison signed the legislation, making Yosemite America's third national park.

1908 - Ford Motor Company produces the first Model T, and goes on to build some 15 million Model T autos between 1908 and 1927.

1961 - New York Yankee Roger Maris becomes the first-ever major league baseball player to hit more than 60 home runs in a single season. Babe Ruth set the previous record with 60 home runs in 1927.

2017 - A gunman opens fire on a crowd attending the final night of a country music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and injuring more than 800.

Wise Words

Action: "Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." Dale Carnegie