Swallow investigation looks to deal with deleted data. Lawmaker proposes plan to shut down the NSA facility. Gas tax measure moves out of committee.
Countdown:
- 28 days until the final day of the 2014 Legislature
- 29 days until the Utah candidate filing period opens
- 33 days until the Utah Democratic Party caucus meetings
- 35 days until the Utah candidate filing period closes
- 35 days until the Utah GOP caucus meetings
- 72 days until the Utah State Republican and Democratic conventions
- 131 days until Utah’s 2014 primary elections
- 264 days to the 2014 midterm elections
- 627 days to the 2015 elections
- 692 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
- 998 days to the 2016 presidential election
Today’s Utah political news highlights:
- One of the outcomes from the committee investigating former Attorney General John Swallow is a focus on what to do when the subject of a legislative probe destroys data or documents [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
- Rep. Marc Roberts is proposing legislation that will essentially shut down the massive NSA data center in Bluffdale by cutting of the facility’s water [Tribune].
- Meanwhile, another bill would exempt the NSA facility from paying taxes on utilities [Deseret News].
- A bill that would automatically increase the gas tax if the price of fuel rises moves out of a Senate committee [Tribune].
- Sen. Jim Dabakis says legislative Republicans and Gov. Herbert are “clueless” about the need for a statewide non-discrimination law [Standard-Examiner].
- Utah’s Latino lawmakers say the legislature needs to take action on Medicaid expansion [Tribune, Deseret News].
- The proponents of “Count My Vote” say their initiative to replace caucuses with primary elections will give more electoral power to women voters [Tribune].
- Lawmakers get caught in the middle of a brewing tussle between Rocky Mountain Power and Kennecott Utah Copper [Tribune].
- Utah’s farmers worry food prices could skyrocket without comprehensive immigration reform [Tribune].
- A bill raising the speed limit on some Utah highways to 80 mph takes another step forward [Tribune].
- Rep. Ken Ivory introduces a bill requiring constitutional notes on legislation to explain how legislation would help or hinder state sovereignty [Utah Policy].
- Rep. Jim Nielson wants to restrict panhandling next to state roads [Tribune, Deseret News].
On this day in history:
- The first public school in what is now the United States was founded in Boston in 1635.
- A jury found Bruno Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the kidnapping death of the son of Charles Lindberg in 1935.
- The League of Nations recognized the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland in 1920.
- France exploded its first atomic bomb in 1960.
- Konstantin Chernenko became general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party’s Central Committee in 1984.
- French figure skating judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne was accused of throwing the pairs competition to the Russian team in 2002.
- Washington became the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2012.
