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What You Need to Know About Utah Politics Today – November 25, 2013

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Countdown:  There are 63 days until the start of the 2014 Legislature, 211 days until Utah’s 2014 primary elections, 344 days until the 2014 midterm elections and 771 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses.

  • A report from the Lt. Governor’s office finds outgoing Attorney General John Swallow violated election laws, which could have disqualified him from office [Tribune].
  • That damning report paints a not-too flattering picture of Swallow’s ethical compass [Tribune].
  • Despite his protests to the contrary, the timing of the report’s release seems to coincide with Swallow’s decision to resign [Tribune].
  • Swallow insists he resigned because he could no longer afford to defend himself from numerous investigations [Tribune].
  • Will Utah’s lawmakers make changes in the wake of the Swallow scandal? [Utah Policy].
  • The list of hopefuls to replace Swallow grows ever larger [Publius Online].
  • Utah’s Democratic Party plans to launch a lawsuit to force a special election to find Swallow’s replacement [Fox 13].
  • Why is Swallow waiting until Dec. 3 to resign? Because he wants to burn built up vacation time before leaving office [KUTV].
  • Paul Rolly runs down the winners and losers from the Swallow brouhaha [Tribune].
  • Gov. Gary Herbert says there should be no celebration following Swallow’s investigation [Deseret News].
  • A small group of Republicans have formed a group to push back against “Count My Vote” [Tribune].
  • Sen. Orrin Hatch says trade talks being held behind closed doors in Salt Lake City will benefit Utah [Tribune].
  • Utah will see an advertising blitz for e-cigarettes in the first part of 2014 [Tribune].
  • Dixie State University will institute a campus-wide tobacco ban next year [Deseret News].
  • Rep. Dixon Pitcher is drafting legislation to penalize people who commit vandalism against Utah wilderness [Tribune].
  • Rep. Jeremy Peterson wants to form a task force to look at possible changes for Utah’s court system [Standard-Examiner].
  • Reps. Paul Ray and Eric Hutchings say requiring more physical activity in Utah’s schools could lead to better test scores [Standard-Examiner].
  • An analysis finds crimes are more likely to be committed on UTA buses than trains [Tribune].
  • Utah’s unemployment numbers remain below the national average [Tribune].