Utah could spend $2 million defending Amendment 3. Lawmakers may crack down on payday lenders. Predictions for 2014.
Countdown:
- 28 days until the start of the 2014 Legislature
- 176 days until Utah’s 2014 primary elections
- 309 days to the 2014 midterm elections
- 672 days to the 2015 elections
- 736 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
- 1043 days to the 2016 presidential election
Today’s Utah news highlights:
- Utah’s fight to defend Amendment 3 could top $2 million [Deseret News]. Gov. Gary Herbert has not yet signed off on that $2 million price tag [KSL].
- Utah plans to seek outside legal help in their effort to stop same-sex marriages from continuing [Deseret News, Tribune]. That outside assistance may be for more than the gay marriage battle [Tribune].
- Same-sex unions are helping to shatter records for marriages in the state [Tribune].
- Utah will begin extending benefits to same-sex couples in the wake of the Amendment 3 ruling [Tribune].
- Hill Air Force Base will allow same sex weddings [Tribune].
- The lifting of the ban on same-sex marriage could boost the economy of Park City [Park Record].
- Did Gayle Ruzicka’s support of former Attorney General John Swallow play a role in Utah’s poor response to the ruling allowing same-sex marriage? [Tribune]
- An ethics complaint against Swallow with the Utah State Bar has been dismissed [Deseret News].
- A number of lawmakers say their probe into Swallow’s dealings likely would have led to his impeachment [Tribune].
- Newly appointed Attorney General Sean Reyes talks about his priorities for the office once he’s sworn in [KSL].
- Former Rep. Brad Daw, who lost his seat in the House following a withering attack funded by payday lenders, is urging his former colleagues to crack down on the industry [Tribune].
- Rep. Larry Wiley will propose two measures to tighten regulation on payday lenders [Tribune].
- Sen. Aaron Osmond is drawing praise and scorn for his proposals to change Utah’s compulsory education laws [Tribune].
- Following the John Swallow scandal, will Utah be able to clean up campaign funding? [Tribune]
- Sen. Wayne Harper plans to bring up internet sales tax again during the 2014 Legislature [Standard-Examiner].
- Our “Political Insiders” and readers give their predictions for 2014 in Utah politics [Utah Policy].
- Four e-cigarette shops in Bountiful are fighting a decision by the city to not renew their business licenses in 2014 which would force the stores to close [Tribune].
- Utah Valley leaders worry the area won’t have enough water to meet demand this summer [Daily Herald].
- Utah set a one-day record for liquor sales in the state [KSL].
On this day in history:
- British troops burned Buffalo, N.Y. in 1813
- The United States purchased 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico in the Gadsen Purchase in 1853
- The USSR was formed in in 1922
- California’s first freeway opened in 1940
- Iraqi citizens took to the streets to celebrate the hanging of former leader Saddam Hussein in 2006
