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What You Need to Know About Utah Politics Today - February 4, 2014

Tuesday, February 4, 2014 - 9:15am

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

What You Need to Know About Utah Politics Today - February 4, 2014

Utah files its brief defending Amendment 3. Urquhart's call for an outpouring of public support on his non-discrimination bill may be backfiring. Lawmakers pass just 3 bills during the first week of the 2014 session.

 

Countdown:

  • 37 days until the final day of the 2014 Legislature
  • 140 days until Utah's 2014 primary elections
  • 273 days to the 2014 midterm elections
  • 636 days to the 2015 elections
  • 701 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
  • 1007 days to the 2016 presidential election

Today's Utah political news highlights:

  • Utah files its brief defending Amendment 3 with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The state's arguments focus on the impacts of same-sex marriage on children [Tribune].
  • Sen. Steve Urquhart's call for supporters to post notes urging lawmakers to hear his non-discrimination bill may be backfiring [Tribune].
  • Lawmakers say any proposed fix to Utah's pollution problem will require action from the public, not just legislators [Deseret News].
  • Legislators spent the first six days of the session focusing almost exclusively on budgetary matters [Utah Policy]. Because of that, lawmakers passed just three bills in the first week [Tribune].
  • Lawmakers find nearly $70 million that will likely be shifted to meet other budgetary needs [Deseret News].
  • Rep. Jerry Anderson is ditching his bill that would have killed part of Utah's anti-polygamy laws because a federal judge has yet to rule on a case challenging that law [Tribune].
  • Rep. Ryan Wilcox says a state report on alcohol use is past due, which will hurt lawmakers' efforts to address liquor policy this year [Deseret News].
  • Sen. Todd Weiler is sponsoring a bill that would refine residency guidelines for political candidates [Utah Policy].
  • An offensive post on twitter roils Capitol Hill [Utah Policy, Tribune].
  • The future of the Utah State Fair is in doubt [Standard-Examiner].
  • Utahns praise immigration reform proposals put forward by House Speaker John Boehner [Utah Policy, Tribune].
  • House Majority Leader Brad Dee is working on legislation to unify emergency communications statewide [Utah Policy, Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War in 1783.
  • George Washington and John Adams were elected president and vice president of the United States in 1789.
  • John Marshall was sworn in as chief justice of the United States in 1801.
  • Delegates from six southern states met in Montgomery, Alabama to form the Confederate States of America in 1861.
  • Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet at the Yalta Conference in 1945.
  • Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974.
  • The Massachusetts Supreme Court declared gays had the right to marry in 2004.
  • The social networking site Facebook was launched in 2004.

A Few of The Unknown, Unobserved, Untraditional, Silly, Strange, Crazy, Odd, sometimes Bizarre, Goofy, Crazy, Dumb, Wacky, Weird, Wild, Respected and Traditional Holidays or Observances mostly only in the United States. 

*Facebook's Birthday

 

African American Coaches Day

 

*Liberace Day

 

*Quacker Day

 

*USO Day

 

*World Cancer Day