Utah Headlines

Legislative session

• Dawn Hawkins, Todd Weiler, Melissa McKay, Michael Toscano: App stores are exploiting our children. We must change that (Deseret News)

Business and Labor

• Golf course water usage bill passes unanimously in committee, moves to Utah Senate vote (Deseret News)
• Kids featured in their influencer-parents’ social media would have protections under this new bill (Deseret News)
• Utah bill targeting squatters, one of several aimed at illegal immigration, gets committee support (KSL)
• Lawmakers ‘just not listening’: Utah bill to end collective bargaining for public workers advances despite mass opposition (Salt Lake Tribune)

Education

• Opinion: How Utah's school choice initiative could harm democracy (Deseret News)
• Lawmaker: Kids need more sandlot ballgames, skinned knees and unstructured play (Deseret News)
• Bill would require firearm safety be taught to all students from kindergarten to high school (KSL)
• New bill would provide qualifying students with free school meals (KSL TV)
• Utah legislature looks to ban cell phones in schools — with exceptions (ABC4)
• These Utah lawmakers, including some Republicans, defended liberal arts during a debate over higher ed cuts (Salt Lake Tribune)

Energy

• Will Utah become a nuclear powerhouse some day? (Deseret News)

Government Operations

• State House Majority Whip Lisonbee unveiled a bill to remove Utah from the ERIC voter roll system (Deseret News)
• Salt Lake County closer to moving operations with legislative effort (KSL)

Health and Human Services

• Bill aims to prevent unlicensed life coaches from practicing mental health therapy (KSL)

Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice

• Changes to Utah gun laws gain steam in Legislature, including letting 18-year-olds open carry (Standard-Examiner)

Natural Resources

• Securing water from out of state will be a 'Herculean' effort, Utah's water agent says (KSL)

Revenue and Taxation

• Lawmaker wants to put brakes on Montana vehicle registrations to avoid Utah taxes (KUTV)

Other Utah News

Politics

• Garfield County Commission decides against renaming highway after Trump (Deseret News)
• Sen. Mike Lee renews call to eliminate TSA (Deseret News)
• Utah's newest congressman is adjusting to life in Washington (KSL)

Utah news

• Utah daughter of Holocaust survivor shares parents' story of survival (KSL) 

Biz/Tech

• Always ‘on’: How constant connectivity fuels workplace burnout (Deseret News)
• Republican state attorneys pressure Costco to drop diversity policies (Reuters)

Crime/Courts

• Salt Lake City officials warn of a new parking fee scam (KSL TV)
• As immigration enforcement action rises, Utah will focus on 'anybody with criminal activity' (KSL)

Culture

• Why is everyone so outraged? Kurt Gray has some ideas — and some solutions (Deseret News)
• Prominent photojournalist Jeffrey Allred retires from Deseret News after 32 years (KSL TV)
• Justin Timberlake helps Utah County mom with gender reveal during concert (KSL)

Education

• Utah County school districts stress student safety amid increased immigration enforcement concerns (Daily Herald)

Housing

• Utahns agree housing is a problem. What they don’t agree on is why, new survey finds (Deseret News)

National Headlines

General

• Immigration officers are operating with a new sense of mission. Now, ‘nobody gets a free pass’ (AP)

Political news

• How Republicans plan to get Trump’s agenda through Congress (Deseret News)
• Trump is pausing federal loans and grants as his administration reviews spending (AP)
• Trump Justice Department says it has fired employees involved in prosecutions of the president (AP)
• Top USAID career staff placed on immediate leave. “This is like taking out all the generals,” said a former Trump administration official informed of the decision. (Politico)
• ‘It will kill people’: Chaos, confusion after Trump halts US foreign aid (Politico)
• Trump order set to halt supply of HIV, malaria drugs to poor countries, sources say (Reuters)

Ukraine and Russia

• Defectors offer insight into mindset of North Korean soldiers fighting in Ukraine (NBC News)

Israel and Gaza

• Palestinians celebrate their return to northern Gaza after 15 months of war (AP)

Other world news

• Paraguay’s disappeared: A dictator’s shadow is a roadblock for justice, but a few keep up the fight (AP)

Number of the Day 

Public service has been modeled to me my whole life. A lifelong Utahn, I was raised by a police officer and a school social worker who worked to keep our state safe and prosperous. I was educated in the Utah public school system, being influenced by teachers and becoming a public school educator myself. Public service is in my blood.

House Bill 267, Public Sector Labor Union Amendments, run by Representative Jordan Teuscher, makes it more difficult for public employees to access safe working conditions, livable wages, and benefits by stripping public labor associations the right to collectively bargain. Instead, this bill forces workers to rely on the goodwill of employers to provide these benefits. If passed, it will make it extremely difficult for Utah’s Public Employees, like me and my parents, to provide for our families. 

Representative Teuscher claims HB267 will ensure “all voices are heard,” and thus Utah public employees will somehow be better off without unions collectively bargaining for them. What about all the voices against this bill? What about the thousands of emails against the bill from Utahns our representatives acknowledged receiving on the house floor in the General Session January 27th? What about the Utah Education Association’s petition, which has garnered over 13,000 Utah signatures against this bill? What about the four packed rooms of Utahns who showed up for public comment during the House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee last week? Thousands of Utahns have let their voices sound in opposition to the bill. Yet, for some reason, these voices are being ignored by a majority of the Utah House, as the bill passed the house 42-32. (Read More)

News Releases

Utah House Democratic Caucus on H.B. 267 Public Sector Labor Union Amendments

The Utah House Democratic Caucus released the following statement on H.B. 267 Public Sector Labor Union Amendments. 

“We are disappointed that H.B. 267, Public Sector Labor Union Amendments, was passed on the House floor despite bipartisan opposition and widespread criticism from constituents. This legislation directly contradicts Utah’s commitment to supporting our education professionals, public safety officers, and public service employees. By eliminating unions’ ability to negotiate fair compensation, the bill threatens the livelihoods of thousands of working families. It also exacerbates the growing challenge of filling critical public sector vacancies in education, public safety, and city management. (Read More)

Envision Utah, Utah Workforce Housing Advocacy report highlights path forward for addressing the Utah housing crisis

Envision Utah, in conjunction with Utah Workforce Housing Advocacy, has released an in-depth report on Utahns’ perceptions of the state’s housing situation. Conducted in Q4 of 2024, the research sheds light on how Utahns think about the state’s housing shortage. The report reveals that most Utahns agree there is a housing problem and that we must build more homes to increase supply and drive down prices. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• Jan 29 — A Conversation with Pat Jones on Women's Leadership with UWLP, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, Register here
• Feb 3 — Building Bridges: Leading as Women in Local Government with the Utah Women and Leadership Project, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, Register here
• Feb 5 — Women and Policy, Strategy, Politics, and Change with UWLP, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, Register here
• Feb 10 — Gail Miller: Making a Difference with UWLP, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, Register here
• Feb 11 — "Heart on the Hill" Day with the American Heart Association, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm, Copper Room in the Senate Building
• Feb 12 — Navigating the 2025 Tax Reconciliation Bill webinar with the Hatch Center, 10:00 am - 11:00 am, MST, Register here
• Feb 12 — Crossing the Divide: Making an Impact in Career and Community with UWLP, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, Register here
• Feb 20 — BioHive Live, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, Hale Centre Theater, Sandy, Register here
• Mar. 7 — Utah legislative session ends

On This Day In History 

• 1913 - Hazel Garland is born. A journalist, she became the first African American woman to serve as editor-in-chief of a nationally circulated newspaper (The Pittsburgh Courier).
• 1915 - President Woodrow Wilson refuses to prohibit immigration of “illiterates”
• 1958 - The Lego company patents their design for their famous bricks.
• 1985 - Music stars gather to record “We are the World.” It goes on to sell more than 7 million copies.
• 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger explodes after liftoff. 
• 2021 - The mittens Bernie Sanders wore to the inauguration sell for $1.8 million, which is donated to Vermont charities after images of Bernie on a chair go viral

Quote of the Day

"My urgent advice to you would be, not only always to think first of America, but always, also, to think first of humanity. You do not love humanity if you seek to divide humanity into jealous camps. Humanity can be welded together only by love, by sympathy, by justice, not by jealousy and hatred."

—President Woodrow Wilson

On the Punny Side

I got my shot for Shingles today.

Just to be safe, I also got one for Vinyl Siding too. 

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