Utah lawmakers can breathe at least a small sigh of relief about the budget. New state revenue estimates show the 2012 budget has a $263 million surplus, which is $47 million higher than before. But Republican Senator Lyle Hillyard noted this morning that is still $50 million short of what they need to eliminate the budget’s structural deficit, which stands at $313 million.
The unrest in Egypt has topped national headlines during the first weeks of 2011. During a round table Friday at the Salt Lake City Library, Native Egyptian experts and Middle East scholars from several Utah universities discussed the facts and causes of the conflict, explained the history and regional influences, and discussed whether democracy is possible for Egypt.
Throughout this year’s legislative session, you’ve heard from Utah lawmakers pushing bills on immigration, education, taxes and much more. But how much do everyday people in the Salt Lake area keep up with what legislators do on Capitol Hill during the session, and what do they care about? KCPW’s Whittney Evans talked with some of those people to find out.
Up at the Utah Capitol, if you look past the lawmakers and the lobbyists, and tune out the rallies and the noise, you’ll see men in green coats who are quietly working security during the 45-day legislative session. 86-year-old Walter Dillman is the oldest greencoat serving at the Utah Legislature, and as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, he has no intention of leaving the job.
Should the state look at fixing a system that many say isn’t broken? That was the question before the legislature’s Senate Health and Human Services Committee Friday, which debated whether to consider privatizing the State Mental hospital. As KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, many don’t think a change would net any better results.
After a 90-minute debate in a packed House Revenue and Taxation Committee, lawmakers approved a bill this morning to repeal in-state college tuition for students who are in the country illegally. KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports.
After a two-hour debate, the Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act cleared the Utah House of Representatives this morning and will now go to the Senate.
Today, we broadcast a panel discussion KCPW moderated at Sprague Library in Sugar House, called Immigration Policy, the Arizona Experience, hosted by the City Library and the Enriching Utah Coalition. It explored Arizona’s experience with SB 1070, a controversial anti illegal-immigration law in that state, and HB 70, a similar Utah bill that just passed out of the Utah House of Representatives.
A Republican lawmaker wants the state to pay $8 million for a website that he unveiled with IBM Thursday at the state capitol that would help Utah students align their education choices with jobs that are available in the state. But as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, many wonder why the state should consider adding a new program during a time of budget cuts.
The LGBT community is breathing a sigh of relief Thursday after Representative LaVar Christensen announced he’s pulling three of his bills, including one that would have impacted protections for gays and lesbians already passed by several cities. And as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, the LDS Church has met with the lawmaker.
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