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Morning must reads for Tuesday, February 7, 2017

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Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 38th day of the year. There are 327 days remaining in 2017.

Lawmakers say there’s not much extra money to go around this year. Chaffetz set to meet with Trump. Bill to dump the Zion Curtain will debut later this week.

The clock:

  • 21 days until President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress (2/28/2017)
  • 30 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
  • 273 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
  • 638 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
  • 1365 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Ten talking points for Tuesday:

  1. Legislators say there won’t be much extra money to go around this year when they set the final budget because the state’s revenue picture isn’t expected to pick up much [Utah Policy, Deseret News].
  2. Rep. Jason Chaffetz is set to meet with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday [Utah Policy].
  3. A bill to make State Board of Education elections non-partisan will die without a hearing this year [Utah Policy].
  4. Sen. Brian Shiozawa is pushing a resolution that puts the state on the side of refugees and immigrants [Utah Policy].
  5. Rep. Brad Wilson says his alcohol reform bill, which includes a provision to get rid of the Zion Curtain in bars and restaurants, is set to debut later this week. The bill has ballooned to 150 pages [Utah Policy, Tribune].
  6. Attorney General Sean Reyes and Rep. Mike Noel each took a clandestine trip last week that were possibly related to jobs with the Trump administration [Utah Policy].
  7. The Outdoor Retailers show is looking at leaving Utah over the state’s stance on public lands. The massive convention is soliciting bids from other cities to host the twice-a-year event. Patagonia said they would no longer come to shows in Utah after Gov. Gary Herbert signed a resolution last week asking President Donald Trump to erase the Bears Ears national monument [Tribune, Deseret News]. 
  8. A legislative panel rejects a bill to allow parents to enroll their kids in comprehensive sex education classes [Deseret News, Tribune].
  9. Sugar House residents are pushing the legislature to block funds for a proposed homeless shelter near a residential area. Meanwhile, state officials are asking lawmakers for $3.5 million for building four proposed shelters in and around Salt Lake City [Tribune, Deseret News].
  10. Some lawmakers are blasting the decision to audit the University of Utah Athletic Department. The audit came after the school canceled a scheduled basketball game against Brigham Young University [Tribune, Deseret News].

On this day in history:

  • 1962 – President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba.
  • 1964 – The Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time and immediately set off a frantic wave of “Beatlemania.”
  • 1973 – The Senate voted to set up a committee to investigate a break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters in Washington’s Watergate complex.
  • 2012 – A federal appeals court ruled California’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.