Situational Analysis | February 10, 2022

It's Thursday and National Cream Cheese Brownie Day. Yes please. 

Don't miss tonight's town hall with Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson in Spanish Fork. 

Be in the Know

1. Nathan Chen wins gold in Beijing in the men's single figure skating competition and helps his teammates take silver in the team competition. He landed five quadruple flip jumps in his free skate, including a quad lutz, the most difficult jump in figure skating. Westminster College alum Lindsey Jacobellis also wins Olympic gold after 16 years of trying.

2. Prices climbed 7.5% in January compared with last year, continuing inflation’s fastest pace in 40 years. In the shorter term, data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also showed prices rose 0.6 percent in January compared with December, same as the November to December inflation rate, which officials revised upward slightly.

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2022 Legislative Session

23 days done, 22 days to go

General

• Plan to limit journalists’ access at Capitol moves forward (Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, KUER)

Today

Committee Meetings, 8 am

• House Business and Labor, House Education, House Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology, Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice, Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment

8:30 am - House Health and Human Services

9:00 am - Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology

Floor Time

• House - 10:00 - 11:50, 2:00 - 4:00
• Senate - 10:00 - 11:50, 2:00 - 4:00

4:10 - Executive Appropriations

4:15 - Senate Health and Human Services

Tomorrow

Committee Meetings

• 8:00 am: House Judiciary, House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment, Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services
• 8:30 am: House Transportation
• 8:40 am: Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions
• 12:15 pm: Executive Appropriations

Floor Time

• House - 10:00 - 11:50
• Senate - 10:00 - 11:50

Education

• Plan for $300M scholarship endowment on track after Utah’s exit from student loan processing (Deseret News)

Government Operations

• Utah House committee abruptly yanks bill expanding use of ranked-choice voting from agenda (Salt Lake Tribune)

Health and Human Services

• Utah has a mental health problem. Here's what lawmakers are doing about it (KSL)
• Bill would require online dating sites to have a safety warning (Fox13)

Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

• Utah bill would require police officer training for responding to hate crimes (Deseret News)
• Utah bill would increase penalty for 2nd-offense DUI (KSL)

Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

• Bill targeting emissions from old cars amended to promote hydrocarbon highways (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Water conservation bill targeting cities and HOAs stalls in House committee (KUTV)
• Utah bill aims to make fundraising for wildlife conservation more transparent and accountable (St. George News)

Revenue and Taxation

• Bill lowering state income tax passes Utah House, heads back to Senate amended. The proposed legislation would drop the state income tax rate by 0.1%, allow Social Security recipients to keep more of their benefits and establish a state Earned Income Tax Credit. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Transportation

• Bill to name local highway after fallen soldier, now idle on Capitol Hill (Fox13)

Utah Headlines

General

• 'Today is a tough day': Jazz trade Ingles, Hughes for Alexander-Walker and Hernangomez (KSL)
• 😥 Gordon Monson: Say a sweet farewell to Joe Ingles. The Aussie wing transformed himself from an unheralded journeyman into one of the Utah Jazz’s most beloved players (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Editorial Board: Time to rally behind another Utah Olympics (Deseret News)
• Poll shows little unity among Utahns when it comes to mask mandates and who should enact them (Deseret News)
• Police uncover large Utah burglary ring, recover thousands of stolen items (KSL)
• Two additional videos discovered showing LDS Church leader making controversial race statements (ABC4)

Education

• Alexia Jensen: Are we using the best measurement for student success? We teach our children how to be test-takers, rather than focus on building and honing skills. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• A top researcher says it's time to rethink our entire approach to preschool (NPR)
• Utah’s only master’s program for American Sign Language eliminated (KSLTV)
• Office for Civil Rights dismisses complaint against BYU, says BYU is exempt from Title IX regulations associated with LGBTQ-related complaint (Deseret News)
  

Elections

• Ogden Valley man hoping to launch new party to challenge Sen. Mike Lee (Standard-Examiner)

COVID Corner

• 2062 new cases, 15 new deaths
• Johnson & Johnson has stopped production of its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine (Deseret News)
• Moderna’s omicron vaccine booster didn’t protect any better than the normal vaccine in a small study (Deseret News)
• Mask mandates continue to fall as Fauci says U.S. may be approaching ‘normality’ (Washington Post)
• U.S. CDC stands by K-12 school masking guidance as states relax rules (Reuters)
• COVID-19 seems to increase risk of serious heart ailments year after recovery (Fox News)
• A Common Over-The-Counter Drug Could Treat Long COVID, Case Study Reports (Science Alert)

National Headlines

General

• Millions of low-income Americans are eligible for a huge tax refund boost this year. Here’s how to get it (Deseret News)
• Family: Bob Saget died after accidental blow to the head (AP)
  Russian star practices despite report of positive drug test (AP)

Politics

• State legislators ramp up push for election control. The rules for conducting elections aren’t the only thing being debated in state legislatures. Some want more control over the entire process. The bills reflect a growing loss of trust in democratic systems. (Governing)
• How 3 leading contenders for a Supreme Court spot rate on religious liberty (Deseret News)
• National Archives seeks Justice Department investigation of Trump's handling of White House documents (CNN)
• States get go-ahead to build electric car charging stations (AP)
• No, the federal government isn’t spending $30 million on ‘crack pipes’ (Washington Post)
  Democrats' social spending dreams stuck in winter purgatory (Politico)
• Stock trading ban gains steam but splits Senate GOP (The Hill)

International

• Russia begins military exercises in Black Sea and Belarus, stoking fears of preparations for an attack on Ukraine (Washington Post)

Guest Opinion: The anti-poverty tax credit

by Derek Miller

Lifting families from poverty to the middle class is a universal priority, a transition that requires the best in public and private sector engagement. Too many poverty programs suffer the unintended consequences of perverse incentives and economic deterrents that need to be overcome in order to bridge the structural and behavioral chasm between public assistance and self reliance.

Friedman’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which was embraced by President Gerald Ford and expanded under Ronald Reagan, changed all of that by addressing disincentives – allowing workers to receive money back from the government depending on income level, size of family, and filing status. The EITC proved itself a success so much so at the federal level that 30 states have adopted matching programs, and now Rep. Mike Winder wants Utah to become the 31st.  This is not the first attempt to create a state ETIC match in Utah, but it is particularly important now as more Utah families are struggling under the burden of high-inflation while the state is experiencing historic tax revenue and a large budget surplus....

The EITC is in line with the Salt Lake Chamber’s broader efforts on social impact. Utah Community Builders, the Chamber’s nonprofit social impact foundation, is launching a new upward mobility initiative called the Opportunity Coalition. This effort will, among other things, identify barriers to work that confront too many Utahns. The only way for an anti-poverty program to be truly successful in the long-term is through a work-centered approach. This is at the core of Utah Community Builders’ Opportunity Coalition, and it’s also at the core of the intent and design of the EITC. (Read More)

News Releases

Romney welcomes Interior Deputy Secretary Beaudreau’s decision to visit Utah

Today, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) issued the following statement in response to Interior Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau’s announcement of his upcoming visit to Utah to highlight the historic investments in the bipartisan infrastructure bill for water infrastructure and ecosystem restoration. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, negotiated by Romney and his colleagues, was signed into law on November 15, 2021. (Read More)

Sen. Romney discusses the state of family policy and the Child Tax Credit with AEI

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) joined Michael R. Strain, Director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), for a discussion on family policy ranging from Romney’s Family Security Act to the child tax credit. The discussion was part of a larger event hosted by AEI and the Brookings Institution to mark the release of their working group’s report on U.S. childhood policy. (Read/Watch More)

Sen. Lee shares ‘Return Utah’ success story in JEC hearing

Ranking Member Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) shared an illustrative story from the Return Utah program in today’s Joint Economic Committee hearing on older workers. The new workforce training initiative, created by Utah’s Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, is designed to help Utahns who are looking for work after an extended absence. (Read/Watch More)

Reps. Curtis, Salazar, and colleagues introduce complete immigration reform programs

This week,Congressman John Curtisstood with Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar and a group of Republican House colleagues to introduce the long-awaited Dignity Act, a complete immigration reform bill consisting of 3 core principles: providing a dignified solution for immigrants living in America, strengthening the American workforce and economy, and stopping illegal immigration

“The Utah Compact on Immigration, first adopted by Utah’s government and business leaders in 2010, established 5 pillars of focus for immigration policy: Federal Solutions, Law Enforcement, Families, Economy, and a Free Society. While I have been in Congress, I have used the Utah Compact to guide me in developing and voting on immigration policy. In line with these values, I am proud to support the Dignity Act, which addresses all 5 of these pillars,” said Rep. Curtis. “Like the Compact, the Dignity Act balances the need for a secure and working border with compassionate policies that keep families together, ensures employers have access to reliable foreign workers, and welcomes people into our society and communities. Fair immigration policy is the Utah way, and I am proud to be an original cosponsor and supporter of this important bill to provide certainty to Dreamers, reform asylum laws and procedures, provide a path to redemption for those who have contributed to our society for decades, and overhaul our broken immigration system consistent with Utah’s values.” (Read More)

Two Salt Lake City teachers honored with Presidential Awards for excellence in mathematics and science teaching

Heidi Boogert, a third grade teacher at Highland Park Elementary in Salt Lake City and Jennifer Carver-Hunter, a fifth grade teacher at Mountain View Elementary in Salt Lake City were named as recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the nation’s highest honor for teachers of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM, including Computer Science). Carver-Hunter was also a finalist for 2022 Utah Teacher of the Year. (Read More)

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Upcoming

• Lt. Governor Town Hall – Feb. 10, 6:30 pm meet-and-greet, 7 pm town hall, River Bridge Event Center, Spanish Fork Register here
• 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

On This Day In History

• 1763 - The French and Indian War ends.

• 1846 - Mormon exodus begins, leaving Nauvoo and heading to the Rocky Mountains. 

• 1870 - The Utah Territorial Legislature passes a bill allowing women to vote and they do it unanimously. Go, Utah!

• 1883 - Edith Clarke is born. She became the first woman to earn an M.S. in electrical engineering from MIT (1919), first woman professor of electrical engineering (1947), and she invented the Clarke Calculator, a graphical device for solving power transmission line equations.

• 1886 - Gobo Fango dies in Idaho at age 30. He came to Utah as an enslaved boy and was sold at least twice. A sheepherder, he was shot and killed by a cattleman.

• 1907 - Grace Hamilton is born. She was the first African-American in the Deep South’s state government, serving in the Georgia General Assembly from 1966-84 and is credited with Andrew Young’s victory in Georgia’s Congressional election in 1980.

• 1957 - Laura Ingalls Wilder died

• 1957 - The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is founded. Martin Luther King Jr. invited about 60 black ministers and leaders to Ebenezer Church in Atlanta where they organized the SCLC. King served as the first president.

• 1989 - Attorney Ron Brown was elected chairman of the DNC, the first Black person to hold the post. He later became the Secretary of Commerce. He died in 1996 when the plane he and 32 others were in crashed while on a diplomatic mission in Croatia.

• 1992 - Famed author Alex Haley dies.

• 1996 - Garry Kasparov loses the first game of a six-game match against Deep Blue, an IBM computer. However, he ended up winning overall, with 3 wins and 2 ties.

• 2011 - Jerry Sloan resigns as head coach of the Jazz.

• 2014 - Shirley Temple dies at age 85.

• 2020 - More than 30 bushfires put out by heaviest rainfall for 30 years in New South Wales, Australia, helping end one of the worst bushfire seasons ever, 46 million acres burnt, over 1 billion animals killed, 34 people dead

Wise Words

“In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are and where we came from.”
-- Alex Haley

Lighter Side

Q: What's the difference between a $20 steak and a $55 steak?

A: February 14th.

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