Two dozen companies may soon be prohibited from doing business with the Utah State Retirement Office. Republican Senator Curt Bramble is sponsoring SB 112, which would prevent Utah’s pension system from investing in companies that support the Iranian petroleum industry.
If Utah really wants to counter the rising rates of alcohol and drug addiction, it should promote programs that help people recover. That’s what a few addiction experts and several hundred recovering addicts who rallied in the Capitol rotunda Monday had to say to the Utah Legislature. As KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, they’re asking lawmakers to treat addiction more as a health problem than as a crime.
Utah lawmakers on a committee that oversees education funding were deadlocked this morning after spending two hours trying to decide where in the education budget to fit $91 million in unallocated money. Lawmakers trimmed the budget by $173 million, but are going back to fill in some holes.
Utah’s schools will have to teach that the United States is a constitutional republic, if a bill passed by the House of Representatives this morning becomes law. Republican Representative Mike Morley, a member of the highly conservative Patrick Henry Caucus, is sponsoring the legislation.
One state lawmaker believes big money and special interest groups are taking over the political process, but many of her colleagues don’t agree. House Bill 164, which would have limited campaign contributions, failed to advance out the legislature’s House Ethics Committee Friday. But the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck, hopes to bring it back to the table.
Multi-million dollar corporations could hold the answer to Utah’s education funding concerns, says one Utah lawmaker. Republican Senator Chris Buttars is proposing that construction companies, pencil factories, even fast food joints donate their products and services to schools. But as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, not all lawmakers are sold on the corporate sponsorship idea.
Utah drivers wouldn’t get points on their license for out-of-state traffic violations, under a bill the Senate discussed this morning. Drivers risk a suspended license once they’ve built up a certain number points. Bill sponsor Senator Chris Buttars says right now, only traffic crimes can be prosecuted in Utah regardless of where they were committed.
Week three of the Utah legislature’s 2011 session is wrapping up. We checked in with freshman Democratic Representative Joel Briscoe on the budget situation and controversial education and immigration proposals that are being floated.
Education funding is now threatening whether some students will be able to make it to school. Funds for school buses may have to be reduced to help the state reach its budgetary goals, and as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, some districts are already seeing the effects.
The M1911 handgun will likely be Utah’s official firearm, after a bill designating it as a state symbol passed the Senate this morning. The pistol was designed by Ogden native John M. Browning. Republican Senator Daniel Thatcher said he supports the bill in the interest of education.
Additional Programming Provided by
