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Thursday’s Talking Points – March 3, 2016

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Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 63rd day of the year. There are 303 days left in 2016.

GOP candidates get ready to debate again in Detroit. Romney set to lambaste Trump in a speech at the University of Utah. The Utah Senate kills hate crimes legislation.

The clock:

  • Seven days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
  • 12 days to the Florida, Ohio and North Carolina primaries – (3/15/2016)
  • 17 days to the GOP presidential debate in Salt Lake City – (3/21/2016)
  • 19 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
  • 27 days to the last day the governor may sign or veto bills (3/30/2016)
  • 51 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
  • 67 days to the last day a veto override session may begin (5/9/2016)
  • 117 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
  • 137 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
  • 144 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
  • 250 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)

Ten talking points for Thursday:

  1. The GOP field debates for the 73,823rd time tonight in Detroit. Expect the proceedings to be fascinating as candidates are getting more and more desperate to stop Donald Trump [Washington Post, Politico].
  2. Mitt Romney will speak at the University of Utah Thursday morning where it’s expected he will forcefully make the case against Trump as the GOP nominee, calling him a “phony” and a “fraud” [Utah Policy, Politico, 2 News, Tribune, Deseret News].
  3. Ben Carson suspends his presidential campaign saying he does not see a path forward [Politico, U.S. News and World Report, NBC News, New York Times].
  4. The Supreme Court hears a significant abortion case from Texas that closed most of the clinics in that state [New York Times].
  5. The Utah Senate kills Sen. Steve Urquhart‘s hate crimes bill. LGBT advocates blame the LDS Church for the legislation’s failure [Tribune, Deseret News, Fox 13, KUER].
  6. A new poll shows Utahns are divided on whether the state should force online retailers to collect sales taxes [Utah Policy].
  7. The Utah Senate narrowly passes a bill to end the death penalty in Utah [Tribune, Deseret News].
  8. Sen. Gene Davis says the state should lease, not sell, the land in Draper where the state prison now stands [Utah Policy].
  9. The Utah House passes a bill that re-criminalizes polygamy as a felony [Tribune, Fox 13].
  10. Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski forcefully pushes back against calls to release the police body camera footage from the Saturday night shooting of a teenager in downtown Salt Lake [2 News].

On this day in history:

  • 1845 – Florida was admitted to the United States as the 27th state.
  • 1879 – Attorney Belva Ann Lockwood became the first woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • 1931 – An act of Congress designated “The Star-Spangled Banner” the national anthem of the United States.
  • 1991 – Home video capture a Los Angeles police beating of motorist Rodney King. The acquittal of the LAPD officers in 1992 led to deadly riots in the city.