News Highlights

RSL opens its financial records to Salt Lake County numbers crunchers and the media (Deseret Morning News, KCPW, and Salt Lake Tribune) (see also related Doug Robinson column).

Gov. Huntsman to issue a $10 billion budget proposal today that includes tax cuts and more spending for education (Tribune).

Quote of the Day

"Money is money. We'll take it any way we can."

-- GOP Executive Director Jeff Hartley, looking forward to any help Sen. Orrin Hatch can provide the party. Hatch has an enormous campaign surplus (Morning News).

Extraordinary Budget

Gov. Jon Huntsman unveils his fiscal 2008 budget today, and it is quite remarkable. It will make for one of the more interesting legislative sessions ever.  

Washington Watch

Hatch, Cannon  Bill Approved

Congress approves legislation authored by Sen. Orrin Hatch and sponsored by Rep. Chris Cannon "that would require manufactures to notify the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of all serious adverse events for dietary supplements and over-the-counter drugs" (see press release).

Hatch Initiatives Approved

The Senate approves "legislation that would extend a series of Hatch-sponsored tax, energy, and health initiatives critical to Utah and the nation" (see press release).

Local Watch

ULCT Brief

The Utah League of Cities and Towns has posted a Pre-Legislative Session Brief, which highlights several "legislative issues for cities to watch in 2007."

Ogden Redevelopment

Ogden City has posted a new page summarizing its downtown redevelopment plans.

National Politics

One Win in 50 Attempts

White House ambitions burn intensely on the Senate floor, says an article in the Nov. 18 edition of National Journal (paid subscription required). This cycle, nine senators could run for president. But they face tough odds. Since 1960, 50 sitting senators have formally declared their candidacies for president. Only five won their party’s nomination. And only one, John F. Kennedy, was elected president.

Intriguing Matchup

Hang on tight . . . Hillary Clinton vs. Barack Obama is going to be a lot of fun to watch. (Washington Post).  

Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza ranks the presidential candidates.  

Regional Politics

Arizonans Oppose Pipeline Plan

Article: "Along the short stretch of Interstate 15 that dips into Arizona on its way from Nevada to Utah, it's easy to feel cut off from the rest of the Grand Canyon State. But residents of the isolated northwest corner of Arizona are calling on state officials in faraway Phoenix to protect them from an unprecedented plan that would pump groundwater across the border to feed growth in nearby Mesquite" (Las Vegas Review-Journal).

Blog Watch
Rep. Steve Urquhart says: "Bob Bernick maintains that Democrats cannot be effective legislators. Yet, his report card on legislative effectiveness always has some Democrats at the top of the list. So, which is it?".... At the Tribune’s Out of Context, Derek P. Jensen reports: "The Legislature has been called lots of things, but kryptonite seems a stretch. Still, Salt Lake County Councilman Randy Horiuchi is convinced the county 'is going to get killed' by state lawmakers looking for revenge over the Major League Soccer stadium soap opera. 'It doesn't matter if we have Superman or Hercules up there to protect us,' Horiuchi warned. 'It's going to be bad.' Publicly, most county leaders are confident, almost cocksure. Privately they are quaking over the Legislature's intent to take their restaurant-tax revenue. And perhaps, Horiuchi fears, hotel tax. Together, the cash loss may force the county to hand over the keys to its recreation and cultural facilities to the cities. And without lobbying power Tetris to protect it on Capitol Hill, the county worries a bloodletting -- like Clark Kent in that all-night cafe".... Paul Rolly says: "Utah Congressman Chris Cannon's statement in Monday's Salt Lake Tribune that the Democratic-controlled Congress won't pursue impeachment proceedings against President Bush because they 'would like to pretend they're Republicans' cries for a response. If Democrats wanted to pretend like they are Republicans, wouldn't that compel them to pursue impeachment proceedings? Isn't that what Republicans, like Cannon, did?".... At The Corner, Jonathan Martin reports: "A Florida source tells NRO that yet another member of Gov. Jeb Bush's close circle of advisers will soon sign up with Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign. Mandy Fletcher worked on Gov. Bush's re-election in '02 and then served as the political director for President Bush's Florida effort in '04. She's currently a top public affairs official in a politically active Florida law firm/lobby shop. More important, Fletcher also serves as the executive director of The Foundation for Florida's Future. Close followers of Gov. Bush's career will recall that the foundation was the think tank he originally set up after losing his '94 run against then-Gov. Lawton Chiles (D). The entity gave Bush a platform to speak out on policy issues in between his initial loss and successful '98 gubernatorial bid. Bush, ever the policy wonk, resurrected the foundation earlier this year in preparation for his re-entry into private life; he'll use it to keep a hand in the education issues he's championed as governor, particularly school choice. Notably, the finance director of the foundation is Ann Herberger, another Jeb Bush campaign veteran who's signed on with Romney's team" (see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).

Elected Officials Birthday List

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Utah in the National News

Article looks at the Delta Center/EnergySolutions Arena controversy (New York Times).

Columnist Howard Kurtz: "Less than four weeks ago, Joseph Cannon was chairman of the Utah Republican Party. On Friday, he was named editor of the Deseret Morning News. How could this be? Well, it didn't hurt that Cannon's grandfather and great-grandfather had edited the Salt Lake City paper, which is owned by the Mormon Church. But doesn't the naming of Cannon, a former Reagan administration official and Republican Senate candidate, make the paper look like a subsidiary of the GOP? Cannon told the Salt Lake Tribune that he would initially avoid handling local political stories and is 'pretty comfortable being nonpartisan'" (Washington Post [see end of column]).

Mitt Romney Watch
Article: "With the Bushes preparing to stand down from a quarter century in top elected offices, a frenzied competition has erupted in the Republican Party over who will inherit a fundraising and vote-getting machine built by the family over the years into one of the most valuable assets in modern politics. ... The leading potential heirs to that political fortune so far are Sen. John McCain ... and, a bit surprisingly, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ... Adding to the drama, a sibling divide appears to be emerging among aides closest to President Bush and his brother, outgoing Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Some key members of Gov. Bush's tight-knit inner circle have signed up to help Romney, while several of President Bush's senior strategists have gone to McCain" (Los Angeles Times).

Article on Romney's success in the business world notes that "[d]uring the 14 years Romney headed Bain Capital, the firm's average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was a staggering 113 percent. At that growth rate, a hypothetical $1,000 investment would grow to $39.6 million before fees. Few, if any, VC firms have ever matched Bain Capital's performance under Mitt Romney" (The American).

Local Headlines

Deseret Morning News

- So how will Hatch spend all that cash?

- Utah County leaders' salaries rising

- RSL's books forecast a profit, but county raising questions

- Doug Robinson: RSL finally delivers — but what?

- Gas prices drop below U.S. average

- Rosses' attorney booted

- USU may tap power of the canyon winds

- Employers eager to hire

- Correction: Christian Burridge FEC filing

Standard-Examiner

- Judge rejects Rosses' lawyer

- Holly to upgrade, expand oil refinery

- Editorial: A useful civic gesture

- Editorial: A good deal for Ogden

St. George Spectrum

- Op-ed: The simple solutions are always best, yielding the best results

Daily Herald

- House District 62 candidates announced

- Orem to refinance some of the city bonds

- Public works director renews interest in Utah Lake

- Op-ed: Lewis K. Billings: iProvo performing well in freshman year

- Editorial: Reporters need federal shield

KCPW

- County to Consider Mobile Home Initiative

- City Considers New Feral Cat Laws

- Peyote Ruling Pleases Tribal Church Members

- RSL Unveils Finances, Signs Soccer Phenom

- Commission on Aging Needs Lawmaker Approval for Two More Years

KSL Editorial Board

- Utah's Budget Surplus

Salt Lake Tribune

- State budget faces long, winding road

- RSL's numbers add up - barely

- Mayors tender priorities to lawmakers

- Paper trail shows how doubts grew

- Attorney disqualified from Davis scam case

- Basic-wage hike stalled?

- UVSC's bid for university status getting support

- Holly Mullen: You have to love your surroundings to criticize

- Salt Lake City's Westminster College appoints three to its board of trustees

- Logan councilman named to Utah Heritage Foundation

- City manager gone after less than a year

- Bonding proposal is studied

- Wilderness groups fight White River drilling plan

Please submit calendar items to Daily@UtahPolicy.com

- Dec 12: Midday Metro at 10 a.m. on KCPW 88.3 FM features guest host Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Anderson will focus on solutions to the present situation in Iraq with Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower; Prof. Peter Sluglett, a historian of the Middle East at the U of U, and Ibrahim Karawan, political scientist and director of the Middle East Center at the university. To participate, call 801-355-TALK or email midday@kcpw.org.
- Dec 12: RadioWest on KUER FM 90: "Escalante - The Best Kind of Nothing," 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. There are those that claim that there is "nothing" to be found on the 1.7 million acres of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. But as writer Brooke Williams explains, "nothing is not absence, but presence." In his new book, Williams and photographer Chris Noble explain the rich history of the area.
- Dec 13: Executive Appropriations Committee, 1 p.m., room W135.
- Dec 13: Legislative Audit Subcommittee, 3:30 p.m., room W110.
- Dec 19: Holiday Luncheon of the Democratic Women of Utah County, 12 p.m., Riverside Country Club, 2701 N. University Ave. The holiday service project will be providing gifts for a family in need. RSVP to Pat at 801-224-7199.
- Dec 20: Last day for Executive Appropriations Committee to set initial budget matters.
- Dec 28: Salt Lake County Libertarian Party Meeting, 7 to 9 p.m., Grecian Garden, 4816 South State Street, Murray.
- Jan 3: Medicaid Interim Committee, 8:30 a.m., room W135.
- Jan 9: United Way of Salt Lake third annual Legislative Preview Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown. For more information, please contact Bryson Despain at 801-736-7709.
- Jan 10: What's Up Down South Washington County Economic Summit, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dixie Center, St. George. Summit will feature economic analysis, breakout sessions and bullet point addresses about 13 of the area's most influential 2007 projects. Early bird registration is $60 per person before Dec 26, $100 per person after the deadline. No tickets sold at the door. Register here, or email summit@dixie.edu.
- Jan 11: Parents for Choice in Education annual Educational Freedom Conference, 7 p.m., Little America Hotel Grand Ballroom. Guest is John Fund, editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal. Cost is $25 per person and includes dinner. Platinum Members of PCE are invited as guests of Parents for Choice in Education.  For reservations or more information, call Lincoln Fillmore at 801-548-0144.
- Jan 15: First day of Legislative session.
- Jan 17: Local Officials' Day at the Legislature, State Capitol and Sheraton City Centre, Salt Lake City.
- Jan 25: Last day to request bills without floor approval (by noon).
- Jan 25: Last day to approve bills for numbering without floor approval (by noon).

- See the entire calendar