The Week Ahead
The political world is gradually slowing down as Christmas nears. Two important events this week, however, will keep things interesting. On Tuesday, Gov. Jon Huntsman unveils his 2007-08 fiscal year budget with an expected large surplus, meaning there’s plenty of money to fight over for public education, tax cuts, transportation and tax reform (see Sunday Morning News story on the budget and tax reform).
On Wednesday, the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee meets and will work through a lengthy agenda. One item that will be closely watched is the discussion on the transportation priority process. Leaders of the Salt Lake County Council of Governments and Wasatch Front Regional Council will present the prioritization process to the committee with the hope of getting it approved so a list of transportation projects, including new TRAX lines and highway projects, can be finalized. The projects will be funded through the quarter cent sales tax increase authorized by passage of Proposition 3 in the November election.
See the Utah Policy Daily calendar for other political events.
Washington Watch
Hatch, Bennett Endorse FDA Leader
Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett vote to confirm Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach as the next Food and Drug Administration Commissioner (see Hatch and Bennett press releases).
Hatch Treatment Measure OKed
Congress approves a provision introduced by Hatch that "would more than triple the number of patients that authorized doctors can treat for heroin addiction with the medication buprenorphine" (see press release); the Senate approves Hatch's supplement reporting system bill (press release).
Wise Words
“The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.”
-- Winston Churchill
National Politics
Insiders Rank Hopefuls
Lengthy National Journal cover story looks at 2008 presidential contenders. Insiders rank Mitt Romney No. 2 behind John McCain among Republican hopefuls.
Regional Politics
Poaching on Increase
Poachers in the West hunt big antlers to feed big egos (New York Times).
Nevada Lands Bill Approved
Utah’s Washington County lands bill didn’t get considered in the lame duck session. But Congress passed legislation "that would auction some 45,000 acres of federal land in White Pine County, Nevada, to private bidders, while setting aside more than half-a million acres of new wilderness in the county. The White Pine County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act of 2006 now goes to President Bush. It was passed as part of a sweeping tax and trade bill that cleared the House and Senate in the final hours of the GOP-led 109th Congress" (Associated Press) (see also related Las Vegas Review-Journal story).
Wyoming Roads Crisis?
Wyoming highways "are deteriorating at a frightful pace, according to the Wyoming Department of Transportation. Increasing truck traffic and heavy equipment associated with the red-hot energy industry are pummeling roadways. And while the transportation department struggles to hold the system together, flat federal funding and massive increases in construction costs are crippling its ability to cope" (Casper Star-Tribune) (see also related Star-Tribune story).
Blog Watch
At The Hill's Congress Blog, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton says: "[Rep.] Tom Davis and I got the D.C./Utah House vote bill further than anyone anticipated. We're disappointed about the Republican leadership's decision against consideration of the bill .... Our hats go off to Governor Jon Huntsman and to the Utah legislature, who jumped through hoops to meet the unexpected requirements of the Judiciary Committee only to be disappointed after all. Very special thanks are due to the two Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Robert Bennett and to Senator Joe Lieberman who wrote to the Republican and Democratic Leaders this week and asked them to 'move to hold the bill at the desk and pass it before the 109th Congress ends'".... Rep. Craig Frank defends the Utah redistricting process.... Paul Rolly reports: "Now that the election is over and the Republicans have kept their super majorities in both houses of the Utah Legislature, rumors are bouncing around Salt Lake County government circles that the county will be punished".... At Out of Context, Dan Harrie says: "Longtime Utah Republican Chairman Joe Cannon is the newly named editor of the Deseret Morning News. Who Wudda thunk it? Not D-News political editor Bob Bernick Jr. Bob wasn't commenting on the Cannon announcement Friday. (Yeah, we tried.) But in a column this summer he talked about the neutrality trials and tribulations of the GOP head being the brother of a politician, Congressman Chris Cannon, running for re-election against other Republicans. Conflict-of-interest suspicions arose naturally from such relationships. So, too, did they arise from the fact Joe Cannon was a member of the D-News' board. The July 7 column notes that editors at the paper decided to put a disclosure statement at the end of some news stories on Chris Cannon's race pointing out Joe's board membership. Awkward, to be sure. Now imagine that discomfort magnified 1,000 times by Joe's new role as the paper's top editor as it writes about Chris Cannon and Republican politics" (see also here, here, here, here, here).... At The Corner, Kathryn Jean Lopez says: "You mean all Mormons aren't going to vote for Mitt Romney? His presidential aspirations are not part of a theocon conspiracy from Utah? It's almost as if Mormons [are] just like everyone else -- Americans who can endorse or vote for whichever candidate they chose to. Weird" (see also here, here, here, here, here, and here).
Utah’s Top Issues
Here is our weekly issues list, generated by observing what’s hot in the news media, what’s on the agenda of various policymaking groups, and what’s being discussed among opinion leaders and policymakers. We welcome suggestions and input from UPD readers. E-mail daily@utahpolicy.com.
Hottest of the Hot
- Real soccer stadium funding
- Prop. 3 transit, roads project list
- Utah’s 2008 budget and big surplus: Cut taxes or spend it?
- Tolling on highways
- Cyber-safety issues (cyber predators, child pornography, identity theft, Internet scams, etc.)
Emerging
- School nurse shortage
- Education achievement gap of disadvantaged students
- School nurse shortage
- Western states primary
- Snake Valley water pumping for Las Vegas
- SITLA land sale on Green River
- Minimum wage increase
Mature
- Downtown SLC massive construction
- Immigration
- Washington County land sales
- Open space funding
- Affordable heath insurance
Oldies But Goodies
- Banks/Credit Unions
- Highway funding
- Vouchers/School Choice
- Tax cuts vs. education funding/class size
- No Child Left Behind
- Healthcare reform/Medicaid
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