Russia captures largest nuclear plant in Europe, Russia to clamp down on "fake news" (read: real news) & 3 assassination attempts this week | | | 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 [email protected]. | | |
Situational Analysis | March 4, 2022 Today is the last day of the legislative session (sine die at midnight) and the last day to file to run for office (by 5 pm!) It's also National Hug a G.I. Day - March Fourth (forth) - get it? Be in the Know Russia is saber-rattling in disturbing ways (well, war is always disturbing) - Russia's intelligence has drafted plans for public executions and is planning "violent crowd control" and detention to break the spirt of the Ukrainian people. Putin asserts that everything is going according to plan, says there are been no civilian casualties, and he won't stop until Ukraine is once again part of Russia (Note: he won't stop then, either). In the meantime, evidence to the contrary is everywhere, like this AP photo of a heartbroken father with his teenager's body. If you, like me, want to do something to help the people of Ukraine, now's your chance. Gov. Cox joined the Larry H. Miller Company and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation to announce a Driven to Assist community fundraiser and donation drive to benefit refugees fleeing Ukraine. You can donate cash through LHM.com, donate NEW with tags childrenâs shoes, coats, hats, and gloves and mittens, laundry detergent, diapers or feminine hygiene products at one of five locations along the Wasatch Front from today, March 4, until next Saturday, March 12. After donations have been collected, First Lady Abby Coxâs initiative, Show Up, will help organize volunteer efforts to sort and prepare donations for distribution and you can sign up to help with that. As mentioned above, today is the last day of the 2022 legislative session, when the legislature will adjourn sine die no later than midnight. If you're wondering what sine die means, it is Latin for "without day" and it means that it is the final adjournment of the meeting (legislature), without any future date being designated to reconvene. We always say it wrong by saying "sina die" but it's either "sina di-ee" or "sena dia." Now you know. | | |
| | FROM OUR SPONSOR, KEM C. GARDNER INSTITUTE The legislative session is ending. How will you be impacted? Join the Kem C. Gardner Institute, the Deseret News and Utah Policy for a legislative wrap-up on Tuesday, March 8th at 8:30 am. Legislative leadership will be discussing the session and how the laws passed this year will impact Utahns. Sign up here to join us for this free event. | | |
2022 Legislative Session 44 days done, 1 day to go Today Floor Time House - 8:00 - 12:00 pm, 2:00 - 5:50 pm, 7:00 pm - midnight Senate - 8:00 - 11:50 am, 2:00 -5:50 pm, 7:00 pm - midnight Popular hard seltzers to be scarcer in Utah under new law (KSL) Economic Development and Workforce Services Summit County councilor says bill is targeted at Dakota Pacific development, calls it âdespicableâ (KPCW) Education Utah schools to put free period products in bathrooms (ABC4) Utah legislature budgets millions to get schools earthquake ready (KUTV) Utah students will soon learn about racial and ethnic minorities' contributions to state history (Fox13) Government Operations Utah lawmakers tighten election security with new ballot rules, dropbox video surveillance (KUER) Health and Human Services Controversial homeless shelter bill advances despite concerns it would strain existing resources (Deseret News) Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Legislature addresses severe staffing shortage at Utah State Prison (KSL) Without debate, Utah Senate OKs limiting public access to certain statements from police (KUTV) Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Will Utah bill bring more puppy mills to the state? (Deseret News) Utah Headlines General How a phone call led to a Utah fundraiser, donation drive for Ukrainian refugees (Deseret News) How Utahns can send donations and supplies to help Ukrainian refugees (Salt Lake Tribune) LDS church says humanitarian efforts underway for Ukrainian refugees (Fox13) When a Utah State athleteâs family tried to escape from Ukraine, her teammateâs family came to the rescue. The USU volleyball players from Ukraine and Finland had been best friends. As war descended on Kyiv, their families formulated a plan. (Salt Lake Tribune) Utah transracial adoption families learn realities of racism through children (KUTV) Brandon Sandersonâs Kickstarter goal was $1 million. His fans gave him that and millions more (Deseret News) Judge dismisses civil lawsuit in Bernardo Palacios police shooting (Deseret News) 2nd virtual RootsTech conference kicks off with focus on connection (KSL) Yikes! Upside down American flag flies above Confederate flag in Magna (KUTV) Utah-based company CivicaRx, the brain child of former Utah State Senator Dan Liljenquist, announces plans to sell insulin at 'significantly' lower cost (Fox13) Elections Rand Paul and Kristi Noem coming to Utah to fundraise for Mike Lee (Salt Lake Tribune) Former prosecutor blasts Utah County Attorney David Leavitt (KUTV) As filing deadline approaches, just one Wasatch County race is contested (KPCW) Environment Is groundwater the new ground zero in Western water wars? (Deseret News) Utah water worries: 2022 driest start to year on record (KSL TV) Martin Nichols: As a visitor who skis in Utah, I say no to the gondola. I am not yet persuaded that the gondola project is justified when compared with other potential solutions, such as adding carbon friendly buses to the fleet or a seasonal rush hour toll system. (Deseret News) COVID Corner 396 new cases, 6 deaths Peace Corps plans to start sending volunteers overseas again (AP) National Headlines General US added 678,000 jobs in February in sign of economic health (AP) Suicide bombing kills 56 at Shiite mosque in Pakistan (AP) U.S. Funding Markets Show Signs of Stability Despite Russia Sanctions (Wall Street Journal) Politics Bipartisan calls for Russian oil ban meet resistance from White House (ABC News) Oregon, New Jersey consider the unthinkable: Letting people pump their own gas ð (The Hill) DeSantis defends scolding students over masks â and fundraises off it (Politico) Ukraine Thanks to Vladimir Putin, itâs OK to talk about good and evil again (Deseret News) U.S. backs expulsion of Russian, Belarusian athletes from 2022 Paralympics in Beijing (AP) Ukraine asks game developers to ban Russian players (Deseret News) Russians take Ukraine nuclear plant; no radiation after fire (AP) Fire out at key Ukraine nuclear plant, no radiation released (AP) What we know about the capture of Europe's largest nuclear power plant (NPR) Ukrainian operator says employees at seized nuclear plant are working at 'gunpoint' (The Hill) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky survives three assassination attempts in the last week (NY Post) 'My city is being shelled, but my mum in Russia wonât believe me' (BBC) China Declared Its Russia Friendship Had âNo Limits.â Itâs Having Second Thoughts. (Wall Street Journal) Russia's largest airline yanked from global reservation systems (CNN) Financial screws turned on Russia as insurers exit (Reuters) Russiaâs Duma votes to punish spreading 'fake news' about the military with up to 15 years in prison (NPR) Russia blocks access to BBC and Voice of America websites (Reuters) Putin Thought Ukraine Would Fall Quickly. An Airport Battle Proved Him Wrong. (Wall Street Journal) With almost all Russian forces inside Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv explore limited cease-fire (Washington Post) | | |
News Releases Gov. Cox joins announcement of Driven To Assist fundraising initiative to benefit Ukrainian refugees Gov. Spencer Cox joined the Larry H. Miller Company and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation to announce a Driven to Assist community fundraiser and donation drive to benefit refugees fleeing Ukraine. âThis donation drive of cash and goods will make a life-saving difference to those Ukrainians forced to leave their homes,â Gov. Cox said. âUtahns are drawn to help those in need and I encourage those who can to give and support this effort.â Monetary donations made to the Community Foundation of Utah (CFU) through LHM.com will be matched up to $2 million. (Read More) Romney seeks commitment from nominees on supporting Ukraine U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today sought commitments of strong support for Ukraine from two nominees appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. After the hearing, U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) submitted questions for the record for the nominee to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) who will oversee the agencyâs foreign assistance efforts in Europe and Eurasiaâincluding Ukraine. Additionally, in light of Russiaâs ominous warnings against the strong NATO-partner Finland joining NATO, Romney also raised questions with the nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to Finland. (Read More) Sen. Lee introduces bill countering inflation Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Preventing Runaway Inflation in Consumer Expenditures (PRICE) Act today. This bill builds upon Senator Leeâs budget amendment that received 49 votes during the August 2021 budget reconciliation process. The PRICE Act requires a 3/5 majority of Senators to approve new spending measures when the nationâs inflation rate is at or above 3%. Runaway federal spending has been a major contributor to current inflation, which is now charted as the highest rate in four decades. (Read More) Owens, Cohen introduce the No Travel for Traffickers Act Today, Reps. Burgess Owens (UT-04) and Steve Cohen (TN-09) introduced the No Travel for Traffickers Act, bipartisan legislation to revoke a countryâs eligibility for the U.S. Visa Waiver Program if they participate in citizenship-by-investment, the practice of selling passports in exchange for economic investment. Also known as âgolden passports,â these schemes require little vetting and are notoriously abused by human traffickers, international criminals, and corrupt oligarchs. Russia is one of the worldâs worst offenders when it comes to using these golden passport schemes as a back door into other countries. (Read More) Declaration of No Confidence in Utah County Attorney David Leavitt An Open Letter to Residents of Utah County, We, the undersigned, are former criminal prosecutors in your County Attorneyâs Office. Collectively we served you for a total of 111 years. And though we come from different backgrounds, and hold to differing political philosophies, weâre united in two distinct ways: First, we all prematurely left your County Attorneyâs Office as a result of the prosecution policies and procedures David Leavitt established since his election in 2018; and, Second, we are united in presenting this public declaration of no confidence in David Leavittâs capability and competence to perform his constitutional and statutory duties as the lead criminal prosecutor in Utah County. We declare that Mr. Leavitt has vacated his responsibilities to provide you safety and protection in your person and property by failing to enforce criminal laws against offenders and by prioritizing the protection of criminals from the lawful consequences of their misconduct. (Read More) Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute: Utah consumer sentiment survey shows another modest gain Utahâs consumer sentiment rose by 1.9 points from January to February, increasing to 78.8, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Instituteâs Utah Consumer Sentiment Survey. While the overall outlook increased, certain groups reported mixed views. Sentiment increased among college graduates and households making less than $100,000 in annual income but fell for those without degrees and households making $100,000 or more. All age groups had favorable views and was particularly high for those under 25 and over 55. âThis is the second consecutive month where Utahâs index rose while national sentiment declined,â said Joshua Spolsdoff, senior research economist at the Gardner Institute. âWhile Americans feel pressed by concerns around inflation, interest rate hikes, and general uncertainty, Utahâs economy, which remains one of the strongest in the nation, is bolstering sentiment for Utahns.â Utah Inland Port Authority hires environmental engineer Simona Smith Mona Smith has joined the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) as an environmental engineer to support the portâs environmental compliance program. She will help implement environmentally sustainable practices that reduce risk and positively impact the quality of life for Utahns.
âAs a steward of the environment and now an addition to the UIPAâs team, Iâm most excited to take ownership in cultivating a conscious and growing relationship between us and the natural world,â said Smith. (Read More) | | |
Upcoming Campaign filing period: Feb 28-March 4 (early this year!) Utah legislative session ends â Mar 4, 2022, midnight Legislative wrap-up with Kem C. Gardner Institute, Deseret News and Utah Policy â Mar 8, 2022, 8:30 am, Register here GOP caucus night â Mar 8, 2022 United Utah Party caucus night â Mar 8, 2022 Fireside chat with Justice Clarence Thomas hosted by the Hatch Foundation â Mar 11, 2022, 7 pm. Register here.
Dem. caucus night â Mar 22 Last day for a registered voter to change voter affiliation before the regular primary election. - Mar 31 Ballots are mailed - June 7 Primary election day - June 28 General election - Nov 8 | | |
On This Day In History 1522 - Anne Boleyn makes her debut at the English Court. 1628 - England's King Charles I grants a royal charter to Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1789 - The first session of the US Congress is held. 1861 - Abraham Lincoln inaugurated. 1869 - The 42nd Congress convened with five Black congressmen, including Josiah T. Walls from Florida who was the first Black congressman to represent an entire state. 1917 - Jeannette Rankin (R-MT) took her seat as the first female member of Congress. âWeâre half the people. We should be half the Congress.â 1918 - First cases reported in the US in a deadly flu pandemic that eventually killed 675,000 Americans. 1933 - FDR inaugurated and Frances Perkins becomes the United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet. 1936 - The first - and last - flight of the Hindenburg. 1966 - John Lennon says âWe (the Beatles) are more popular than Jesus.â 1989 - The Louvre Pyramid designed by I. M. Pei is inaugurated by French President Francois Mitterrand. 1994 - John Candy dies of a heart attack at age 43. Wise Words "You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake." â Jeannette Rankin Lighter Side âIkea has announced it will temporarily pause manufacturing and retail operations in Russia and Belarus due to the invasion of Ukraine, while Ikea in Ukraine is opening their doors to Russian soldiers and hoping they canât find their way out.â â SETH MEYERS | | |
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