Herbert calls for more education funding during his State of the State address. Lawmakers may combine non-discrimination and religious liberty legislation. Senators say lawmakers probably won't change SB54 this session.
Countdown:
- Days to the final day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 42
- Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 194
- Days to the 2015 election – 278
- Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 354
- Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 361
- Days to the 2016 Utah presidential primary – 516
- Days until the 2016 presidential election – 649
Thursday's top-10 headlines:
- Gov. Gary Herbert discusses education funding, transportation and public lands in his State of the State speech [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
- Legislative leaders say they are seriously considering combining religious liberty legislation and a non-discrimination proposal into one piece of legislation [Utah Policy].
- House leaders say any non-discrimination or religious liberty legislation won't be fast-tracked through the legislature [Deseret News].
- A poll taken before the LDS Church's announcement finds a slight majority of Utahns would favor non-discrimination legislation that includes protections for the LGBT community [Utah Policy].
- Senate GOP leaders say it's unlikely the Legislature will do any tinkering with SB 54 this session [Tribune].
- House Speaker Greg Hughes steps down from the Prison Relocation Commission, saying he no longer has time [Tribune].
- A new study says most local governments say their funding for road maintenance is woefully behind what they need [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
- Rep. Francis Gibson unveils his bill to make State Board of Education elections nonpartisan [Utah Policy].
- Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks to a packed house at the University of Utah [Tribune, Deseret News].
- A California school bans 66 students who haven't been vaccinated from attending in an attempt to control a measels outbreak [Los Angeles Times].
On this day in history:
- 1850 – Henry Clay introduced a Senate a compromise bill on slavery that included the admission of California into the Union as a free state.
- 1861 – Kansas became the 34th state.
- 1979 – President Jimmy Carter welcomed Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House following the establishment of diplomatic relations.
- 2002 – In his first State of the Union address, President George W. Bush warned of an "axis of evil" consisting of North Korea, Iran and Iraq.
