State lawmakers once again rolled up their sleeves this morning at the state capitol to discuss how Utah will approach the implementation of the federal health care overhaul, assuming it’s upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, officials say there are still a lot of questions and very few answers.
Utah lawmakers are debating whether automatic license plate readers, used by law enforcement to catch criminals, violate the privacy rights of Utah citizens. KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports on the ethical questions raised during a legislative committee meeting at the state capitol Wednesday.
About 80 percent of those who are incarcerated in Utah suffer from some sort of addiction and a third of inmates are sex offenders, state corrections officials told Utah lawmakers yesterday. And Mike Haddon, Deputy Director of the Department of Corrections, says since 1982, the incarceration rate has grown by 408 percent. He says typically, the state contracts with county sheriffs for additional beds, but they anticipate the prison system will occupy all of them by 2015. So what does the state do after that?
Utah’s new director of state parks says don’t plan on seeing park closures anytime soon. Fred Hayes, who took over the position at the end of April, spoke to lawmakers at the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment interim committee meeting this morning, saying he will do everything in his power to keep all 43 state parks up and running.
All eyes were on Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake Wednesday as U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined local and state officials for the groundbreaking of the Sugar House Streetcar project. KCPW’s Whittney Evans attended the event, where she spoke with the secretary and others about the significance of the project.
Salt Lake City’s budgeting process for next year is expected to be much smoother than in years past, with revenues up instead of down, bolstered by an estimated million dollars in sales taxes from the newly opened City Creek Center. But Mayor Ralph Becker says the city is still $11.5 million behind on its projects.
Two Utah State Office of Education employees have resigned after officials identified a miscalculation in next year’s education budget that resulted in a $25 million gap. State Superintendent Larry Shumway says the error goes back to November on a spreadsheet formula used to calculate Utah’s minimum school program funding. He says it was a simple mistake, but one that was questioned multiple times during the appropriations process.
Democrat Jim Bradley has been a longtime fixture in Salt Lake County politics. Serving as chairman of the county commission for four years in the early 1990s and the past 12 on the county council, he’s now seeking re-election. In recent years, Bradley has overseen the county’s new urban farming program and the creation of the Unified Police Department which led to some controversy.
Governor Gary Herbert is defending his decision to sign a bill demanding the federal government transfer its public lands in Utah to the state by the end of 2014, despite a warning from legislative attorneys that it could be declared unconstitutional. Speaking at his monthly news conference on KUED, Herbert said the legislation has been mischaracterized.
Sex education, including discussion of contraception, will continue in Utah schools. Friday night, Governor Gary Herbert vetoed House Bill 363, which would have required schools teach abstinence-only or nothing at all. Senate President Michael Waddoups believes it was a good piece of legislation, and a special session to overturn the veto could be in the cards.
