As Chief Deputy Utah Attorney General, Republican John Swallow has battled against the federal government on issues like health care reform and public lands. Now, with incumbent Mark Shurtleff retiring at the end of 2012, he’s running for his boss’s job.
Although Utah leaders frequently participate in efforts like the Clean Air Challenge, 2012 looks to be the year the Utah Legislature could actually take action on the state’s notoriously bad air quality by passing a new law. Democratic Representative Patrice Arent’s bill, which cleared the House Public Utilities and Technology Committee Wednesday with bipartisan support, would create an Air Quality Task Force to look at how to change state regulations or law to make a change.
Registered voters in Utah may no longer have to worry their email addresses will be made public when registering to vote, if a new bill passes out of the state legislature. But as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the bill doesn’t protect voter’s birthdates, which some say is more important than keeping emails under wraps.
The fate of a proposed nuclear power plant in Utah’s Emery County is now in the hands of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, following the state’s approval of two water rights applications for the Blue Castle Holdings project on the Green River. Although some environmental and citizens’ groups have been swift to condemn that decision, Utah State Engineer Kent Jones with the Division of Water Rights says they had to be approved under law if certain criteria were met.
The 2012 session of the Utah legislature will feature a lot of familiar issues, as lawmakers once again tackle the state budget and education funding, which both parties have promised to make a priority, along with alcohol policy and taxation. But as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, there will also be added interest in e-commerce and health care.
The Utah Democratic Party decided Monday to deliver a check to the Legislative Records Committee instead of fighting over the $5,000 fee it was asked to pay for a public records request detailing last year’s divisive redistricting process. The party’s attorney advised for it to pay up, rather than file an appeal, because he said the issue would not be fairly addressed unless they took it to District Court.
Utah State Engineer Kent Jones has approved water rights from the Green River for Blue Castle Holdings’ proposed nuclear power plant in Emery County, much to the dismay of environmental groups. Matt Pacenza, Policy Director of the anti-nuclear group HEAL Utah, says the decision was the only opportunity for a Utah official to reject the plan. He says the company now faces two hurdles, the easier of which will be getting permission from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Monday marks the start of the 2012 session of the Utah Legislature. So far, it seems all sides agree that education funding should be the state’s top priority – but exactly how to fund education could prove to be a contentious issue, alongside immigration and whether to repeal Utah’s guest worker law, HB 116.
Utah’s largest business association, the Salt Lake Chamber, is calling on Utahns to make “big decisions” as the 2012 legislative session begins next week. One of them is for the legislature to pass a statewide nondiscrimination law, modeled after the ordinance passed in Salt Lake City and 11 other municipalities.
The Executive Director of Utah’s Department of Workforce Services says the state and federal governments need to take a closer look at work exemptions for people who receive public assistance because incompatible policies and expectations do more to discourage work than support it. But as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, one national advocate for government assistance says not so fast.
Additional Programming Provided by
