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The Week Ahead
State of the Union & Legislature
President George Bush delivers his second-to-last State of the Union speech Tuesday evening, the first facing a Congress controlled by Democrats. See New York Times stories on speechwriting and energy topic likely to be part of speech.
The Legislature begins its second week with standing committees from 8-10 a.m., floor time from 10 to noon, appropriations subcommittees Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2-5 p.m., and standing committees in the afternoon Tuesday and Friday. You can check out the weekly schedules of the House and Senate and the calendar with links to agendas, committee members and audio/video. Sen. Bob Bennett addresses the House chamber at 10:45 a.m. today.
For other political events this week, see the Utah Policy Daily calendar.
Join On-Line Political Discussion
Rep. Steve Urquhart has launched Utah Politicopia?, a political discussion and interaction site designed to give citizens “a good handle on legislative issues and an opportunity to help shape the dialogue,” according to Urquhart. The site uses wiki technology offered by Socialtext. For more of Urquhart’s comments, see Blog Watch, below.
Mormons Go Global
In an article earlier this month entitled, “A modern prophet goes global,” The Economist (subscription required), a British news weekly, profiles the growth of the LDS Church around the world. It includes this paragraph: “Why do the Mormons attract followers while many other religions decline? Is it the aura of American prosperity, health and sobriety, which seems so appealing in an African village or a Mexican slum? Mr. (Douglas) Davies (a professor at Britain’s Durham University) thinks the most compelling feature of Mormon teaching is its confidence that death has been conquered: believers look forward with certainty to eternal life (with their spouses), and by conducting posthumous baptisms they can also save their dead forebears. For Margaret Barker, a Methodist scholar, part of the faith’s power lies in its insistence that prophecy and divine revelation did not just happen once, a long time ago: the flow of messages from God is still in progress.”
Washington Watch
Bush, Leavitt Visit NIH
Several photos of President Bush with HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt are posted on the White House web site. Leavitt and Bush visited the National Institutes of Health last Wednesday. The President’s remarks are also posted.
Bennett Amendment Approved
Article: "By a vote of 55-43, the Senate approved an amendment Jan. 18 that struck the controversial section of an ethics reform bill that would have threatened churches and pro-family groups with fines if they failed to register their actions with the government when informing people on moral issues. 'This legislation says that grassroots lobbying is defined as members of the general public communicating with their congressmen or encouraging others to do the same,' Sen. Robert Bennett, R.-Utah, said of the original bill while promoting the amendment on the Senate floor. 'I thought that's what we were all supposed to do. I was taught in civics class in high school that everyone had the right to do that without being forced to register and report all of their connections if somebody pays for it'" (Baptist Press) (see also Bennett press release and Congressional Quarterly, WorldNetDaily, LifeNews, and CBN News stories); Sen. Orrin Hatch is one of only two senators to vote against the amended ethics reform legislation (Associated Press).
Hatch: Restrictions 'Handcuff' Science
Sen. Hatch, participating in a Senate hearing on federal funding for stem cell research, says current funding restrictions have "handcuffed" science (see press release and Reuters story ); Hatch helps "introduce S. 338, The Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital Improvement Act of 2007, which aims to restructure which patients are admitted to long-term, acute-care (LTAC) hospitals, with the goal of saving taxpayers $1 billion over five years" (press release).
National Politics
Rush of Entries Means Early Start
New York Times article: “Two years before the next president is inaugurated and a full year before the first vote is cast, the contest for the White House is off to a breathtakingly fast start, exposing an ever-growing field of candidates to longer, more intensive scrutiny and increasing the amount of money they need to remain viable.”
Regional Politics
'Purplification' of the West?
Article looks at the Democrats' recent success in the West: "Democrats are not yet dominant in the inner Mountain West and may never be, not as long as states like Utah and Idaho remain a deep conservative crimson. ... But they have had considerable success in local elections -- and not just their stunning successes at the gubernatorial level. Since 2004 they have also won control of the Montana senate and both houses of the Colorado legislature. And the region's Democrats will throw disproportionate weight in the 2008 presidential selection process. ... Indeed, there are those who believe that the gradual purplification of the West may have dramatic national consequences" (TIME Magazine).
Colorado River Pact Approved
Article: "A sweeping interstate agreement that could help double the local water supply won the approval of the Southern Nevada Water Authority Board on Thursday. The agreement, which is on track for federal approval by the end of the year, lays out new rules for how shortages on the Colorado River should be shared during long dry spells. The rules were first proposed by the seven Colorado River states last February and are now under review by the U.S. Department of Interior" (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Wise Words
“If you want government to intervene domestically, you’re a liberal. If you want government to intervene overseas, you’re a conservative. If you want government to intervene everywhere, you’re moderate. If you don’t want government to intervene anywhere, you’re an extremist.”
-- Joseph Sobran, former editor of National Review
Political Trivia
Number of U.S. House and Senate members born in Cuba: 4. Number of House members born in Japan: 1. Number of House Republicans from New England: 1. (Source: National Journal 2007 Calendar of American Politics)
Management Tip
Double Communications Effort
“Administrators notoriously under-communicate because they share too little information and request too little input from their staff members. Communication is an almost infinitely expandable freeway which invites constant use in both directions.”
-- Pete Giacoma’s “Ten Thoughts for Successful Administration.”
Blog Watch
Rep. Steve Urquhart says: "For me, the beauty of the Internet is its ability to cut out the middleman. Though the Internet has moved sellers and consumers closer together, its strides in politics haven't yet been so grand. In politics, intermediaries -- like special interest groups, bureaucrats, and the media -- heavily filter information between people and their elected officials. In an effort to give people a more direct handle on the issues pending before the Utah Legislature (and to give elected officials a better read on what the public wants), some friends and I started Politicopia. Check it out, participate in the dialogue, and help move your government where you want it to go" (for more Legislature-related posts, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).... Jeff Bell says: "The vote to pass Ethics Reform in the Senate was 96 Yea - 2 Nay. 2. Just 2. And guess who half of those were? Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. Way to go Senator. What a shining example you set for the children in this state. I hope Mr. Mac takes away your discount" (see also here).... At The Right Angle, Amanda B. Carpenter notes: "[Thursday] night, Sen. Bob Bennett (R.-Utah) succeeded in passing his amendment to the Senate ethics bill that preserved communication rights for grassroots organizations. The Senate's version of the bill, S.1, had contained a measure that would require grassroots organizations to report communications made to 500 or more members of the general public if that message encouraged those persons to contact their elected representatives on a specific policy issue on a quarterly basis. It was a move to lump these free speech communications as a type of 'lobbying.' ... Thankfully, [Sen. Bennett] offered an amendment to strike this provision from the bill. Bennett told CBN news he drafted it because 'I'm kind of a First Amendment hawk. I believe the Founding Fathers didn't want to dilute the First Amendment and you can have a clear prohibition on the right to petition government for addressing your grievances and that will be struck down by the Supreme Court. You can achieve the same thing by stealth, by putting regulatory burdens in the way of people who want the right to petition Congress and that's what I think this provision does'" (see also here and here).... Jesse Harris explains why "renewable energy could be key to the West's future".... Roseanne Barr says of Mitt Romney's likely '08 presidential candidacy: "[Romney] is the devil himself, and the church has been working for forty years to elect one of its own to the highest office of this country, while trying to keep things hush hush about its practices of plural and child marriage... [his] temple vows are to uphold plural (child) marriage in heaven, even if prevented from doing so on earth. These are the people who oppose gay marriage too, by the way, I believe as a red herring to keep their own version of 72 virgins in heaven (multiple wives) out of the public eye. They began their anti gay marriage drive when women polygamists starting speaking up about the reality of living in Utah and Wyoming and anywhere else in the west where mormons rule. I believe they oppose gay marriage because the term CONSENTING ADULTS would be in its definition, thereby committing to law that to marry a MINOR would for once be a punishable infraction in Mormon held states. Mormons still want to marry their youngest nieces, ( age 8 ) exactly like their taliban twins do. The Mormons are the most fundamental of all the fundamentalists on earth.. they put the MENTAL in fundamental..." (hat tip: Article VI Blog) (see also here, here, and here).
Avoid Parking Hassles at Capitol
The biggest complaint about the Utah Legislature has nothing to do with public policy or the character of lawmakers. It’s all about parking. Finding a parking spot near the Capitol complex is simply horrendous, especially with the cold weather. People are walking long distances and filling up side roads.
But there is an alternative to driving and hunting for a parking spot. The Capitol Preservation Board and Utah Transit Authority have collaborated to provide a circulator shuttle bus that runs about ever 15 minutes. Route 23 winds through most of downtown and to the Capitol, starting around 6 a.m. and ending about 6:30 p.m.
On the UTA Web site is found a route map and schedule for Route 23. TRAX riders can pick up the Route 23 bus near the Courthouse TRAX station between 4th and 5th South on Main Street. There are bus stops in various locations downtown.
Drivers can park free all day in the parking lot across from the Triad Building downtown (300 West South Temple) and catch the Route 23 shuttle there. It is the site of the 2002 Olympics Medal Plaza. You should communicate your intention to visit the Capitol to the parking lot attendant.
Utah’s Top Issues
With the Legislature underway, issues too numerous to list will be addressed. We will update this list as issues get hot and emerge to the top of the agenda. This list was 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
- Education funding
- Utah’s 2008 budget and the big surplus
- House/Senate/Governor differences on tax cut/tax reform
- Vouchers/school choice
- Real soccer stadium funding
- Transportation funding and tolling on highways
Emerging
- Teen driving bill
- School nurse shortage
- Education achievement gap of disadvantaged students
- Western states primary
- Cyber-safety issues (cyber predators, child pornography, identity theft, Internet scams, etc.)
- Snake Valley water pumping for Las Vegas
- Minimum wage increase
Mature
- Downtown SLC massive construction
- Immigration
- Washington County land sales
- Open space funding
- Affordable heath insurance
Oldies But Goodies
- No Child Left Behind
- Healthcare reform/Medicaid
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