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What You Need to Know About Utah Politics Today – February 7, 2014

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Negotiations over Medicaid expansion continue. Herbert renews his call to ban wood burning stoves and fireplaces. House Republicans divided on a plan to move the prison.

 

Countdown:

  • 34 days until the final day of the 2014 Legislature
  • 137 days until Utah’s 2014 primary elections
  • 270 days to the 2014 midterm elections
  • 633 days to the 2015 elections
  • 698 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
  • 1004 days to the 2016 presidential election

Today’s Utah political news highlights:

  • Lawmakers are continuing to negotiate with Gov. Herbert over Medicaid expansion [Tribune, Deseret News].
  • The House Republican caucus is divided over a plan to move the state prison away from Draper [Deseret News].
  • Herbert again calls for legislators to ban wood burning stoves and fireplaces, but there’s quite a bit of pushback from the legislature [Utah Policy, Standard-Examiner].
  • A proposal by Sen. Wayne Harper to hike fees for electric cars is raising some eyebrows [Deseret News].
  • Utah Senators endorse a resolution calling on Congress to come up with a reliable plan to fund PILT payments so rural counties can budget without uncertainty [Tribune].
  • Lawmakers consider a bill to expand preschool education for at-risk kids [Tribune, Deseret News].
  • The Senate pushes forward a measure allowing school districts to convert classroom time into professional development for teachers [Tribune].
  • Legislators say the state is spending too much money to use a Clearfield storage facility [Standard-Examiner].
  • A bill targeting “revenge porn” moves out of a House committee [Tribune].
  • State water officials are worried Utah’s lower than normal snowpack will lead to more drought in the summer [Tribune].
  • Mormons in Congress create an informal caucus where they gather monthly to focus on faith instead of politics [Tribune].
  • Holladay City officials discuss a proposed ordinance prohibiting discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people [Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • The 11th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1795.
  • Author Charles Dickens was born in 1812.
  • President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba in 1962.
  • The Beatles arrived in New York for their first American tour in 1964.
  • The Soviet Union’s Communist Party gave up a monopoly on power by allowing other political parties to compete in elections in 1990.
  • A federal appeals court ruled California’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional in 2012.