Situational Analysis | Feb. 18, 2025

It's Tuesday and Thumb Appreciation Day. ðð¼

There are 845 bills now available

Three things today:

SB277 by Sen. Mike McKell would eliminate the State Records Committee and replace it with a single administrative law judge. The bill would also eliminate the weighing provision which currently favors public access to government records. This bill will be heard in the Senate Government Operations Committee at 4:00 pm.
HB100 by Rep. Tyler Clancy would provide free breakfast and lunch to all students who currently qualify for free and reduced lunches according to federal guidelines. The bill also prohibits local education agencies from publicly identifying or stigmatizing students who cannot afford meals. This bill will be heard in the House Education Committee at 8:00 am.
HB351 by Rep. Ryan Wilcox would make Election Day in November a state holiday. If passed, Utah would join 14 other states that have designated Election Day a holiday. This bill will be heard in the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee at 8:00 am.

On the Hill Today - Day 28 of 45

8:00 am: House Business, Labor & Commerce; House Economic Development and Workforce Services; House Education; House Health & 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 - 12:00 pm: House Floor Time
2:00 - 3:50 pm: Senate and House Floor Time
4:00 pm: House Judiciary; House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice; House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment; House Transportation; Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services; Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions; Senate Revenue & Taxation
6:10 pm: Executive Appropriations

Utah Headlines

Legislative session

Crime, banning cellphones, tax cuts: What to expect in the second half of Utahâs legislative session (Deseret News)
Unions react to Utah bill signed into law, preventing collective bargaining for public employees (KSL Newsradio)
Utah teachers voice concerns after Gov. Cox ends collective bargaining for public workers (KUTV)
Utah stands by the words, but maybe not the spirit, of its compact on immigration (KUER)

Business and Labor

Lawmakers advance bill that could close more Utah stores on Sundays, other âreligious daysâ (Salt Lake Tribune)

Government Operations

Is Utah's open records law dying a slow death? (Deseret News)
Proposal criticized for making Utah public records access more expensive and difficult (KSL TV)
âMoms for Americaâ group strongly opposes bill to limit government transparency (Fox13)
Republicans could dominate many of Utahâs regulatory boards and oversight commissions if this bill passes (Salt Lake Tribune)

Health and Human Services

Utah firefighters share how new bill will 'save lives' (Fox13)
Lawmakers seek more transparency on meat labels (KSL Newsradio)

Revenue & Taxation

New bill would refund drivers for unused car registrations (KSL Newsradio)

Other Utah News

Politics

Provo considering water rate hikes to address aging infrastructure (KSL)
âNot My Presidentâ protest draws about 1,000 to state Capitol (KSL TV)
âItâs devastatingâ: Utah federal worker scrambles for work after mass layoff (KSL TV)

Utah

Utah historic site tells story of internment camps for Japanese Americans 80+ years ago (KUTV)
Father-son duo survives night in Utah wilderness after finding âmiracleâ backpack (ABC4)

Biz/Tech

Aaron Starks, Jacob Andra: The U.S. needs to innovate fast with AI while staying true to democratic values (Deseret News)

Crime/Courts

3 injured after domestic violence-related shooting in Price (ABC4)
Utah woman stole veteran disability benefits for nearly 9 years, sentenced to probation (ABC4)
Additional sexual abuse charges filed against Salt Lake fire captain after more victims speak (ABC4)

Education

Provo school district considering $70M in bonds to finish Timpview High School rebuild (Daily Herald)
Utah ranks No. 37 among states in reading recovery since the pandemic (KUER)

Energy

Trump and energy: What will change in Utah, the nation? (Deseret News)

Environment

How is the Great Salt Lake doing right now? A new 'live' billboard will tell you (KSL)
Connecting with the Great Salt Lake through stories and art (KSL)
'Crisis' at Zion as mandated job cuts hit popular national park (Fox13)

Health

Health agencies lose staff in key areas as Trump firings set in (NPR)
WSJ asks Kennedy to cast aside âantivax hooeyâ amid Texas measles outbreak (The Hill)

National Headlines

General

Opinion: Reflections on service and sacrifice in the FBI (Deseret News)
Delta jet flips upside down on a snowy Toronto runway and all 80 aboard survive (AP)

Political news

Thomas B. Griffith: Why it is important to support the federal judiciary as they wrestle with major issues (Deseret News)
Exclusive: FDA staff reviewing Muskâs Neuralink were included in DOGE employee firings, sources say (Reuters)
Elon Muskâs DOGE seeks access to taxpayer data at IRS: AP sources (AP)
Social Security head steps down over DOGE access of recipient information (AP)
NY Governor Hochul signals she may move to force NYC Mayor Eric Adams from office (NPR)
Critics, including some conservatives, say the president uses inflated emergency claims to create legal justifications for forceful action. (Wall Street Journal)
Trump administration fires thousands for âperformanceâ without evidence, in messy rush (Washington Post)
Records show how DOGE planned Trumpâs DEI purge â and who gets fired next (Washington Post)
Agent Orange twisted her limbs. The U.S. is abandoning a vow to help. (New York Times)
Musk signals DOGE could look into gold at Fort Knox (The Hill)
Republicans consider cuts and work requirements for Medicaid, jeopardizing care for millions (AP)
Trump's cuts target next generation of scientists and public health leaders (New York Times)

Ukraine and Russia

Europe says it is committed to Ukraine ahead of Russia-US talks (Reuters)
European leaders want a say in talks to end Russiaâs war in Ukraine. The US is brushing them off (AP)
Saudis host US-Russia peace talks without Ukraine or Europeans (Reuters)
David French: The disrupter in chief can't end a war like this (New York Times)

Israel and Gaza

Israel preparing to receive bodies of four hostages on Thursday, security official says (Reuters)

World News

Mexico's President Sheinbaum threatens to take legal action over the Gulf name change (NPR)

On This Day In History

1867 - HBCU Morehouse College founded in Atlanta, Georgia
1901 - Winston Churchill makes his maiden speech in the British House of Commons.
1916 - Mabel Stark, one of the worldâs first female tiger trainers, is mauled in California.
1930 - Pluto is discovered
1931 - Toni Morrison is born. The Pulitzer Prize winning novelist was the first Black American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.
1934 - Activist and poet, Audre Geraldine Lorde is born.
1965 - Church deacon Jimmie Lee Jackson is beaten and shot during a peaceful march in Marion, Alabama. His death 8 days later inspires the Selma to Montgomery marches.
2001 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. killed in crash at the Daytona 500.
2010 - WikiLeaks publishes the first documents leaked by Chelsea Manning.
2011 - Green River serial killer Gary Ridgeway pleads guilty to 49th murder.
2021 - NASA's Perseverance rover successfully lands at Jezero Crater, Mars, on mission to find microfossils

Quote of the Day

âUnless one lives and loves in the trenches, it is difficult to remember that the war against dehumanization is ceaseless.â
â Audre Lorde

On the Punny Side

Breaking news: historians believe that they've uncovered a cache of pencils that once belonged to William Shakespeare.

A spokesperson said, "They're so badly chewed on the ends, we can't tell if they're 2B or not 2B."