Situational awareness - February 7, 2018

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Bill would prohibit secret recordings of telephone conversations; LDS Church may support the change

By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor

A GOP lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make it a crime to record a personal conversation or telephone call without telling the other party you are doing so.

And leaders of the LDS Church could well end up endorsing the bill, as a way to stop the secret recording of their local lay leaders during various kinds of "interviews," including those with teenagers recently criticized publicly.

Read more...

Situational awareness - February 7, 2018

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City.

A Utah Republican wants to prohibit secret recordings of conversations. The Legislature and Salt Lake City are still trying to figure out how to develop the city's northwest quadrant. Congress moves closer to a budget deal. Trump wants a military parade.

Tick Tock:

• 29 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 32 days until the filing period for candidates in the 2018 election opens (3/9/2018)
• 36 days until the filing deadline for the 2018 elections (3/15/2018)
• 41 days until the statewide caucus meetings for Utah Republicans and Democrats (3/20/2018)
• 73 days until the Utah GOP State Convention (4/21/2018)
• 80 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention (4/28/2018)
• 139 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
• 271 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 355 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
• 1,000 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

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Here's what's driving the day:

No more secret recordings?

Rep. Lowry Snow is proposing legislation that would make recording conversations or telephone calls illegal unless both parties know it's being recorded. The LDS Church is supportive of the bill as it might stop secret recordings of bishop meetings [Utah Policy].

Republican lawmaker demoted

Rep. Norm Thurston was stripped of the vice-chairmanship of a House committee for making an inappropriate comment to a woman on Capitol Hill [Utah Policy].

Hatch bought tobacco stock while on Senate health panel

An investigation found Sen. Orrin Hatch was part owner of an account that bought at least $15,000 worth of stock in Phillip Morris when he was on the Senate panel that dealt with public health policy in 2012. Hatch's office says the account has been put into a blind trust [Utah Policy].

Let in the sunlight a little

Sen. Curt Bramble wants to make some information from public meetings that go into closed session available to the public, as long as those asking to see the information can prove the public right to know outweighs the need to keep it secret [Utah Policy].

Other Utah headlines:

• Legislative leaders want to partner with Salt Lake City to build an inland port in the city's northwest quadrant, but SLC leaders aren't convinced yet [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Rep. Mia Love's proposal to halt the use of taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment claims by members of Congress passes the House [Deseret News, Tribune]. 
   
• Senators change a bill to establish a toll road in Little Cottonwood Canyon to apply to all Utah roads, then passed it to the House [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Lawmakers pass next year's base budget with about $69 million worth of cuts to programs, but most of those reductions may be restored [Tribune].
   
• Lawmakers push ahead with a plan to fund the remaining $10 million for Operation Rio Grande [Deseret News].
   
• Rep. Mike Noel says the legislature should have a say when Congress is going to make federal land decisions that affect Utah [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Clean air bills in this year's legislature carry a price tag of more than $3 million in funding [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Sen. Allen Christensen pulls a proposal to require legal immigrants to live in Utah for five years before they can qualify for Medicaid [Tribune].
   
• Advocates are asking lawmakers for $1.4 million to fund domestic violence programs next year [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Lawmakers quickly passed a resolution backing another bid for Utah to host the Winter Olympic Games in either 2026 or 2030 [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• The House passed a bill to add assisted suicide to Utah's manslaughter statute, which makes it a second-degree felony to provide the means for someone to aid a suicide attempt [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Rep. Stephen Handy wants the state to study how much it costs to carry out a death penalty sentence for a prisoner [Tribune].
   
• Rep. Mike Winder wants to establish the Jordan River Recreation Area to help lessen the impacts from the new homeless resource centers around the Salt Lake Valley [Deseret News].

National headlines:

• The government runs out of money on Thursday. Senate leaders say they're closing in on a two-year budget deal, but it remains to be seen if it can be reconciled with the House version that passed on Tuesday [Washington Post].
   
• The proposed Senate budget deal would get rid of caps on domestic and military spending, raise the debt limit. However, it does not address immigration, meaning DACA will probably be left as a separate issue [Axios].
   
• President Donald Trump has long wanted a grand military parade in Washington, D.C. to showcase the might of America's armed forces. The parade may happen later this year after Trump gave explicit orders to military leaders. However, he may need money from Congress to make it happen [Washington Post].
   
• President Trump's lawyers want to seek a compromise with special counsel Robert Mueller. Instead of having Trump sit down for an interview in the Russia investigation, they want him to respond to questions in writing, which is the same deal given to President Ronald Reagan during Iran-Contra [Politico].
   
• President Trump is mulling another staff shakeup in the West Wing [Vanity Fair].
   
• Democrats pick up a deep-red legislative seat in Missouri. President Trump carried the seat by 28-points in 2016, but the Democratic candidate won last night by 3-percent [The Hill].
   
• It wasn't just Twitter and Facebook. Thousands of Russian trolls posed as black activists on Tumblr by spreading anti-Hillary Clinton and pro-Bernie Sanders content during the 2016 campaign [BuzzFeed].
   
• Casino mogul Steve Wynn, who recently stepped down as the head of the Republican Party's fundraising arm, is also leaving his company following allegations of sexual misconduct [New York Times].
   
• The U.S. military will spend $45 billion in Afghanistan this year. The U.S. has been in Afghanistan for nearly 17 years, but the Taliban still controls 70% of the country [Axios].
   
• SpaceX successfully tested the largest rocket on the planet on Tuesday, returning two of the boosters to the ground where they can be used again [Los Angeles Times]. The rocket also sent a Tesla roadster into orbit around the sun where it will remain for hundreds of thousands of years. The car has a copy of "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" in the glove box [Space.com]. 
   
• The U.S. Postal Service will unveil a stamp honoring Mr. Rogers next month [Associated Press].

On this day in history:

• 1497 - The Bonfire of the Vanities in Florence, Italy, took place when followers of Girolamo Savonarola burned thousands of books, art, and cosmetics.
   
• 1795 - The 11th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified.
   
• 1940 - Walt Disney's second full-length animated film, Pinocchio, premiers.
   
• 1962 - The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports.
   
• 1964 - The Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time and set off a frantic wave of "Beatlemania."
   
• 1973 - The U.S. Senate voted to set up a committee to investigate a break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate complex.
   
• 2013 - Mississippi officially certifies the 13th Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery.

Today At Utah Policy

Bill would prohibit secret recordings of telephone conversations; LDS Church may support the change
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
A GOP lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make it a crime to record a personal conversation or telephone call without telling the other party you are doing so....

Weekly survey: Down syndrome abortion bill
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Utah lawmakers are considering a bill to prohibit abortions when the sole reason is the child has Down syndrome. Legislative lawyers are warning the bill is likely unconstitutional. Do you think they should continue with the bill even though it may spark a lawsuit?...

Report: Hatch bought tobacco company stock while serving on Senate health committee
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Sen. Orrin Hatch reported purchasing at least $15,000 worth of stock in Phillip Morris in 2012 while a member of the Senate committee tasked with public health policy....

Rep. Norm Thurston punished by House leadership for inappropriate comments to a female staffer
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
With the news Tuesday that state Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, lost the vice chairmanship of a House standing committee, UtahPolicy.com has confirmed that House Speaker Greg Hughes took the action over a woman's complaint about something Thurston said to her....

Bill would make some closed-door government meeting records available to the public
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Right now, when a government body or committee goes into closed session, the record of what happens behind those closed doors usually is protected from public consumption....

Billions for K-12 education: Where does the money go?
By Press Release
Administrative costs in Utah's K-12 public schools are among the lowest in the nation, Utah received the lowest amount of federal funding of any state, and spending varies widely among Utah's school districts....

Policy News

House passes Rep. Love's bipartisan STOP Act
Rep. Mia Love's bill to stop the use of taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment cases on Capitol Hill has passed the House of Representatives as part of H.R. 4924, bipartisan and comprehensive legislation to address how Congress considers harassment, discrimination, ...

Hatch applauds Dominion Energy for passing on benefits of tax reform to Utah customers
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the senior Republican in the United States Senate, and author of the historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, issued the following statement following the announcement that Dominion Energy would be using their savings from tax reform to lowe...

Karl Rove to speak at the Hinckley Institute of Politics
 Iconic Political Strategist Karl Rove will present his lecture, "If You Think It's Bad Now, Think Again" on Thursday, February 8, at 2:00 PM at the Hinckley Institute of Politics....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: Promontory landfill will not receive hazardous waste

Editorial: EnergySolutions doesn't need a $1.72 million tax break

Utahns say campus trustees, not regents, should hire college presidents - but poll results suggest many don't understand the issue

Lawmakers want to stop your car from polluting - and hire a few more air scientists

Utah lawmaker seeks to restrict city and local officials from speaking up in favor of public-lands protections

Lawmaker pulls plan to delay Medicaid, CHIP coverage for new immigrants; poll shows most Utahns opposed mandating such a wait

Mormon church backs bill that could prevent recording bishop interviews

Utah Legislature assures no state government shutdown games by passing 'base budgets'

With last-minute change, Utah Senate passed a bill that leaves lawmakers out of toll road decisions, while opening door to tolling

House votes to shrink where panhandling is allowed on roads

House passes bill to allow 'water cremation' as an alternative to burial, traditional cremation

Part of Utah Rep. Mia Love's plan is in a House bill to stop use of taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment claims against lawmakers

Bill advances to make it easier to catch government employees who use official email for politics

House acts to close loophole in seatbelt law

Lawmakers balk at latest proposal to get rid of 'spring forward, fall back'

Salt Lake City can't build an inland trade hub by itself, Utah leaders tell the City Council, so let's work together

Deseret News

Jay Evensen: Lawmakers are hinting at more toll roads, and that's good

Jay Evensen: Another Olympics? This time, Utah should be making demands on the IOC

Editorial: Alternatives to incarceration look positive in Utah

$10 million request in state funds for Operation Rio Grande has early support

Utah lawmaker wants federal lands decisions to involve state Legislature

Utah House advances bill to add assisted suicide to state manslaughter statute

Bill would establish Jordan River Recreation Area

Another Olympic bid expected to be recommended, but there may be a roadblock

State doesn't want 'hostile takeover' for Salt Lake inland port, leaders say

Legislative effort for a permanent 'spring ahead' falls short - for now

Toll bill expanded to allow electronic assessment on any state road

Utah lawmakers push for bevy of clean air measures

Overworked domestic violence programs seeking $1.4M annually from Utah lawmakers

Bill would require consent to record a conversation in Utah

Other

2 pending Utah medical cannabis bills draw mixed reactions (Standard-Examiner)

Park City tourism industry leaders concerned about state's proposed transient room tax increase (Park Record)

Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley sign onto future Olympic efforts, crowd told (Park Record)

National Headlines

Is Pence going to meet with the North Koreans? (Washington Post)

Ivanka Trump to lead presidential delegation for Winter Olympics' closing ceremony (The Hill)

Facebook hired a full-time pollster to monitor Zuckerberg's approval ratings (The Verge)

Since #MeToo, the Number of Men Who Are Uncomfortable Mentoring Women Has Tripled (Fortune)

Donald Trump Jr. tweets his support for George P. Bush's re-election (Statesman)

Banks Cheer Return of Wild Markets (Wall Street Journal)

AccuWeather, feds trade blame for bogus tsunami warning (Associated Press)

Los Angeles Times owner will sell paper, ending a long-troubled relationship (Washington Post)

Trade deficit hits highest level since 2008 (The Hill)

Carl Icahn Says Market Turn Is 'Rumbling' of Earthquake Ahead (Bloomberg)

Stock market rebounds but concerns remain that tax cuts might overheat the US economy (Los Angeles Times)

Wise Words

Attitude

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

Lighter Side

Keeping Things Cool

"Some more news out of Washington. The government is spending $24 million to replace two refrigerators on Air Force One. Until then, they're keeping perishables cold by putting them between Donald and Melania." Jimmy Fallon