News Highlights

Legislative budgeting gets tougher as revised revenue estimates show that the state's projected surplus is $340 million less than earlier projections (Deseret Morning News, Daily Herald, KCPW, and Salt Lake Tribune).

Committee supports another attempt to reduce school class sizes (Tribune).

Quote of the Day

"To have it taken to the extreme of hate that it has achieved is . . . I have no idea how people could act like that. I thought once again the first couple days, 'Well, you're getting beat up but you deserve it, you made a mistake.' But then they started getting meaner and meaner and meaner to the point it is just a hate lynch mob."

-- Sen. Chris Buttars, firing back at critics, and adding that he will seek re-election this year (Tribune). See also Daily Herald and Morning News stories.

Tuesday Musing

Now Comes the Hard Part

With only 12 working days left in the legislative session, it’s time for a lot of hard decisions. With final revenue projections in (down significantly from earlier estimates), budget decisions can begin to be finalized. It will be excruciatingly difficult to choose among the competing interests for state appropriations. The most difficult legislation will also come up for final action in the last several days.

As floor debate heats up, it’s also time for my annual reminder on how to judge a legislature. The legislative process often seems messy and muddled. Silly bills are introduced and outrageous speeches are delivered. With 104 independently-elected, hard-charging lawmakers, each with a big ego and a mandate from the voters back home, there’s no way to keep a session tranquil and controlled.

But it’s not fair to judge a legislature by any bill, any speech, any committee action or even any particular floor vote. A legislature should only be judged by what it has produced when the session is over, all the votes are counted, and the governor has had his say. The process is chaotic by design, but the legislative obstacle course eventually weeds out bad legislation and produces a good democratically-decided budget. Silly speeches have little impact and angry words are forgotten. When final gavel sounds, the Legislature has usually done very good work, reflecting the desires and values of the citizenry.   

Utah, Hungary Sign MOU

Global Utah, World Trade Center Utah's weekly newsletter, notes that Hungarian Ambassador Dr. Ferenc Somogyi, Consul General Balazs Bokor, Peter Gomori, director for the Hungarian National Tourist Office, and Geza Vass, Consul for Commercial Affairs were in Salt Lake City last week for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the State of Utah and Hungary. Signing of the MOU kicked off the ceremonial opening of the Honorary Hungarian Consulate in Utah.

Washington Watch

The 'Odd Couple' of Health Care
American Prospect: Columnist Ezra Klein: "Set next to each other, Sens. Ron Wyden and Bob Bennett are a bit of an odd couple. Where Wyden is friendly and effusive, Bennett is deliberate and contemplative, with an almost funereal air. Where Wyden hails from bluish Oregon, Bennett comes from Utah, the reddest state in the union. Where Wyden made his way into politics by forming the Grey Panthers, a legal aid group for the elderly, Bennett's father was a senator and he himself has served as everything from legislative liaison in the Department of Transportation to director of public relations for one of Howard Hughes' companies. Indeed, they appear to have only two things in common. They're both tall. And they want to solve America's health-care crisis."

Cannon Seeking Leadership Post
Danbury News Times: "Rep. Chris Shays apparently will face intra-party competition in his bid to become the next top Republican dog of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. ... Rep. Darrell Issa of California and Rep. Chris Cannon of Utah have expressed interest in leading the Republican side of the committee .... '[Shays] is a great guy and he would do a good job as chairman, but I don't think anything is assured yet,' said Cannon, who believes his legal background and his experience in the judiciary committee make him an attractive choice. 'I would hope the three of us would have a very pleasant discussion about what would make sense on that committee,' Cannon said."

View Jarvis Announcement

Democrats continue their quest to win a legislative seat or two in Utah County. Prominent citizen Don Jarvis announces his campaign for House District 63 in person and also on YouTube.

Today in Political History

Feb. 19, 1807:  Former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr is arrested on charges of treason. He is later acquitted.

Feb. 19, 1881:  Kansas becomes the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages. (Source:  Perspicuity) 

Feb. 19, 1942:  President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an executive order giving the military the authority to relocate and intern Japanese-Americans.  (Source:  NBC5) 

Feb. 19, 1945: During World War II, some 30,000 United States Marines land on the Western Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where they encounter ferocious resistance from Japanese forces. The Americans take control of the strategically important island after a month-long battle. (New York Times)

Wise Words

“The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men.”

-- Samuel Adams (Patriot Post) 

Utah History

WWII Period Hard for Japanese

Opportunities for the Japanese constricted further during the thirties, and more than a thousand left Utah. However, the greatest blow fell in 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japanese already residing in Utah faced much wartime prejudice, including the vandalization of their cemeteries, which were segregated from the graves of the other dead. The Utah legislature considered a bill to intern Utah Japanese along with those evacuated from California, but it failed to pass; however, Utah did pass a law prohibiting land purchase by aliens, mandating a yearly lease instead. Despite generally widespread prejudice, Utah Japanese found a champion in U.S. Senator Elbert D. Thomas, who did what he could to mitigate the effects of wartime hysteria.

Japanese residing in California were forced to leave the state for unsubstantiated "strategic" reasons. In the few weeks before internment became mandatory, Japanese were allowed to leave the West Coast voluntarily if they could prove they had a place to go. Fred Wada, a former Utah resident living in California, negotiated with the sheriff of Wasatch County to lease almost 4,000 acres of land near Keetley for an agricultural colony. It shortly became the home for ninety relocated Japanese. (Source:  Utah.Edu) 

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Politico: The Clinton campaign accuses Barack Obama of plagiarism.
 
-- Lansing State Journal: A Michigan superdelegate who supports Clinton says "the delegates that are picked in red-state caucuses that are never going to vote Democratic" are "second-class."

-- The Hill: Former Pres. George H.W. Bush endorses John McCain.

-- Weekly Standard: Columnist Michael Makovsky says McCain should woo conservatives by claiming the mantle of Winston Churchill rather than Ronald Reagan.

UDOT Open Houses
UDOT, which is trying to "analyze and get ahead of looming east-west transportation needs tied to rapid growth in Davis and Weber Counties," is holding two open houses on Wednesday and Thursday in Clearfield and Ogden to receive feedback from the general public on four distinct packages of transportation projects. For more info, click here.

Blog Watch

 -- At The Senate Site, Sen. Margaret Dayton says: "I appreciated Representative Chris Herrod's perspective on immigration in debate on the House floor (read here on Rep. Frank's blog). In a nutshell, he argues that those who support the lenient enforcement of our current immigration laws are often considered 'compassionate.' This 'compassion,' however, effectively discriminates against legal immigrants who oftentimes wait several years to come to the United States, then wait several more years to become naturalized citizens. Are legal immigrants foolish for obeying our laws?" (See also related Under The Dome and Salt Blog posts.

Lighter Side

Friendly Politician Jokes

“Vote for the man who promises least; he’ll be the least disappointing.” —Bernard Baruch
“If a politician found he had cannibals among his constituents, he would promise them missionaries for dinner.” —H. L. Mencken
“We’d all like to vote for the best man but he’s never a candidate.” —Kin Hubbard
“We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex—but Congress can.” —Cullen Hightower

“The government solution to any problem is usually at least as bad as the problem.” —Milton Friedman (Patriot Post)

Elected Officials Birthday List

Utah Policy Daily is a service
of Utah Policy.com

Publisher: LaVarr Webb
Editor: Paul Hollingshead
News: Golden Webb
Calendar and Subscriptions: Luci Hollingshead

Utah Policy Daily
Crandall Building, Suite 300
10 West 100 South
Salt Lake City UT 84101
801.537.0900 Office
801.537.0901 Fax

Special E-Mail Messages: Utah Policy Daily may send subscribers e-mails with information about new features, special offers, or messages on public policy issues from clients and advertisers. If you do not wish to ever receive these e-mails, please let us know by e-mail at daily@utahpolicy.com.

Utah in the National News

New York Times editorial calls for the protection of the Spiral Jetty, an earthwork sculpture that rises out of the Great Salt Lake near a proposed oil-drilling site.

Love boat for liberal policy wonks: Former SLC Mayor Rocky Anderson is mentioned a couple of times in this New York Times travel story about an Alaskan cruise sponsored by The Nation.

Local Headlines

Deseret Morning News

- Buttars says he'll run for re-election in November

- Utah's projected surplus shrinks by $340 million

- South Salt Lake urged to disband police

- Funding bill for charters thrills no one

- Doug Robinson: Public outrage by rote

- Limits on personal use of campaign funds hit snag

- SB81 requires E-Verify checking for workers

- In-car smoking ban may have hit a dead end

- Young crusader helps push passage of animal-cruelty law

- Retired BYU administrator seeking state House seat

- Editorial: Allegiance to English

Standard-Examiner

- Op-ed: Warden Turley is doing a fantastic job at Utah State Prison's Draper facility

- Op-ed: Animal agriculture is not ruthless and barbaric

St. George Spectrum

- Op-ed: Transportation is top priority

Daily Herald

- Budget surplus $300M less than projected

- Buttars will run for re-election

- City gov't amendments get OK

- Sex assault evidence bill OK'd

- Renewable energy gets new life

- Ban on smoking in cars fails

- Patient transport bill passes

- Midwife regulations approved

- Editorial: Slowdown has a fringe benefit

KCPW

- Reach Out and Read Needs $$ To Expand

- K-3 Class-Size Reduction Proposal Moves Forward

- State Revenues Below Expectations

- New Minority Leader, Same Democratic Causes

Logan Herald Journal

- Open-space law may be retooled

Salt Lake Tribune

- New way to trim class size gets nod

- Utah's turn for downturn?

- Buttars: His critics are a 'hate lynch mob'

- Tough law gets mixed reviews

- Mayor's freshman exams

- PTA: Highway would hurt schoolkids

- Walsh: Chief cop wants to hide dirt

- Lower markup on alcohol awaits guv's say

- Nuclear, coal energy renewable?

- Riddle to seek Davis commission seat

- New way to trim class size gets nod

- Utah ranked so-so in traffic safety

- Becker rethinks his support of bill to keep cop discipline records secret

- Committee OKs bill limiting benefits for injured workers

- Measure that would give more state oversight on UTA advances in Senate

- Strangulation penalties may get tougher

- School cell-phone policy voted down

- Utah drivers may pay up to 10% more

- S. Salt Lake considers contracting with sheriff

- Editorial: Stage combat: Theater for touring Broadway shows should be in S.L.

- Editorial: Beyond minutes: Public meetings should be available online

- Op-ed: Health-system reform will require the tipping of sacred cows

- Op-ed: Utahns benefit much from the economic impact of immigrants

Please submit calendar items to Daily@UtahPolicy.com

- Feb 19: Wisconsin Republican Presidential Primary

- Feb 19: Hawaii and Wisconsin Democratic Presidential Primaries and Caucuses

- Feb 19: Legislative meetings scheduled throughout day. See Legislative calendar for details.

- Feb 19: Diverse Business Day at the Legislature, 9 a.m., Utah State Capitol Complex, State Room, East Building. Guest speakers Senator Ross Romero, Representative Mark Wheatly and Josie Valdez, former administrator of Minority Affairs for Salt Lake City. Discussion on the legislative process and how a community can influence the laws that are being made.

- Feb 19: Midday Metro at 10 a.m. on NPR Utah, KCPW 88.3 FM: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has opened the public comment period on a plan by Utah-based Energy Solutions to process and dispose of 20,000 tons of Italian nuclear waste. Vanessa Pierce of HEAL Utah tells Midday Metro why approving the permit would set a bad precedent and make Utah a nuclear waste dumping ground.

- Feb 19: RadioWest on KUER FM 90: "The Enemy at Home," 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Conservative thinker Dinesh D'Souza says that America has earned its bad reputation around the world. More specifically, he argues that it is the cultural left that bears the responsibility for anti-Americanism. Doug talks to Dinesh D'Souza about his book "The Enemy at Home."
- Feb 19: Utah Women's Alliance for Building Community Networking Event, 5:30 p.m., Wells Fargo Building, 299 S. Main, 11th Floor, Salt Lake City. Senator Carlene Walker and State Representative Karen Morgan will speak. Learn about the legislative process and ways to participate in local government. Free event, refreshments provided. RVSP here.
- Feb 20: Women's State Legislative Council, 11:45 a.m., State Office Building Auditorium. Sex Offense Bills will be presented, Gen. Session II will present HB 241 – Repeal of Exemptions from Non-resident Tuition Education. Opposing views presented, Q & A by delegate members. Visitors welcome. For info visit www.wslcofutah.org.

- Feb 21: Utah Republican Party Executive Committee Meeting, 7:30 a.m., Party Headquarters.

- Feb 21: KUED Governor’s Monthly News Conference, 10 a.m., KUED Studios.

- Feb 21: Lt. Governor Herbert to address the Gathering of Seagulls Conference, 4 p.m. Red Lion Restaurant, Salt Lake City.

- Feb 22: Washington's Birthday

- Feb 22: Lt. Governor Herbert to speak at the Uintah County Lincoln Day Dinner, 6:30 p.m., Utah State University Extension, Vernal.

- Feb 22: Lt. Governor Herbert to speak at the Duchesne County Lincoln Day Dinner, 8 p.m., Roosevelt.

- Feb 23: Lt. Governor Herbert to speak at the Cache County Lincoln Day Dinner, 6 p.m., Blackstone Restaurant.

- Feb 25: Lt. Governor Herbert to congratulate winners of the High School All-Star Art Show, 12 p.m., Utah State Capitol.

- Feb 26: United Nations Association of Utah program "Climate Change--Contrasting Approaches of the EU and USA," 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. program, Sugarhouse Garden Center, Sugarhouse Park. Guest speaker is Dr. Erich Pohl of the University of Heidelberg. The public is welcome to both the dinner and program. Contact Maxine Haggerty at 801-277-7493.

- Feb 26: Salt Lake Council of Women (SLCW) Hall of Fame Event, 6 p.m. Reception, 7 p.m. Dinner and Awards program, Joseph Smith Memorial Bldg, 15 E. S. Temple, 9th floor. Keynote speaker First Lady Mary Kaye Huntsman. SLCW will induct seven women who have given twenty-five years or more of voluntary service to the community. Reservations by Noon, Feb. 19. Contact: Peggy Rounds at 801-943-7462 or prounds@msn.com.

- Feb 28: Lt. Governor Herbert to attend the Utah Valley Leadership Conference, 3:30 p.m., Utah State Capitol.
- Feb 28: Salt Lake County Libertarian Party Meeting, 7 p.m., Mo's Neighborhood Grill, 358 South West Temple, Salt Lake City. For more information, visit LPUtah.org.

- Feb 28: Davis County Democrats Meeting, 7 p.m., Commission Chambers, Davis County Courthouse, 28 East State Street, Farmington. Precinct officers, delegates and the general public are invited.

- Mar 1: American Samoa Republican Presidential Caucus

- Mar 3: Desert Greens meeting, 7 p.m., Coffee Club, just south of 4800 S. Redwood Road (east side of the road). Desert Greens is Utah's national affiliate of the Green Party of the U.S. and meets on the first Monday of the month. For more info call Eileen at 801-201-0219.

- Mar 4: Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont Republican and Democratic Presidential Primaries

- Mar 7: 2008 political office filing period begins (runs through March 17)

- Mar 7: BYU Executive Master of Public Administration Information Session, 7 p.m., BYU- Salt Lake Center, 3 Triad Center, Room 101. For details call 801-422-4516, email, or click here.

- Mar 8: Wyoming Democratic Presidential Caucus

- Mar 10: American Samoa Democratic Presidential Caucus

- Mar 11: Mississippi Republican and Democratic Presidential Primary

- Mar 20: Utah Republican Party Executive Committee Meeting, 7:30 a.m., Party Headquarters.

- Mar 23: Easter Sunday
- Mar 25: Republican Party neighborhood political party Precinct Caucus meetings. Contact your county leadership for more info.

- Mar 29: Grand & San Juan Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinners

- Apr 1: Beaver County Republican Party Convention

- Apr 2: Millard & Juab County Republican Party Conventions

- Apr 3: District of Columbia Democratic Presidential Caucus

- Apr 3: Tooele County Republican Party Convention

- Apr 4: Wasatch & Summit County Republican Party Conventions

- See the entire calendar