Utahns like Common Core as long as it's not called that. Lawmakers start working on the public education budget. Firing squad moves one step closer to returning in Utah executions.
Countdown:
- Days to the final day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 35
- Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 187
- Days to the 2015 election – 271
- Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 347
- Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 354
- Days to the 2016 Utah presidential primary – 509
- Days until the 2016 presidential election – 642
Thursday's top-10 headlines:
- A new poll finds Utahns like the goals of the Common Core educational standards as long as you don't use the words "Common Core" [Utah Policy].
- Lawmakers approve a $3.9 billion budget starting point for public education [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Rep. Ken Ivory wants Utah to join a constitutional convention of the states to consider a balanced budget amendment and terms limit for members of Congress [Utah Policy].
- Lawmakers advance a measure to bring back the firing squad in Utah executions [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Sen. Jim Dabakis' bill setting a 2016 deadline for the state to sue the federal government over control of public lands moves forward [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Lawmakers say they're looking for ways to slow down the flow of legislation this session [Utah Policy].
- The Utah Senate kills a measure to send fines from liquor violations to the attorney general's office [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Legislators kill one measure to eliminate daylight savings time [Deseret News, Tribune].
- A legislative committee advances a bill allowing the state to adopt air pollution rules that are more stringent than what the feds require [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Rep. Brian Greene attempts to walk back a statement he made during debate over a sexual assault bill [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
On this day in history:
- 1937 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of Supreme Court Justices. Critics charged that he was attempting to "pack" the court.
- 1988 – The Arizona House of Representatives impeached Gov. Evan Mecham, who was later convicted in the state Senate and removed from office.
- 2003 – Secretary of State Colin Powell urged the U.N. Security Council to move against Iraq, saying that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was harboring terrorists – claims that later turned out to be false.
