Before Democratic State Representative Jackie Biskupski resigned from the Utah Legislature earlier this week, she was the last remaining gay state lawmaker. Does this mean the Democratic Party should strive to replace her with someone who is also LGBT? For one Democratic delegate in her Salt Lake City district, the answer is yes.
After 12 years on the job, Democratic State Representative Jackie Biskupski, the first openly gay legislator on Utah’s Capitol Hill, announced her resignation from the Legislature yesterday, saying it was time to put her family first. KCPW’s Jessica Gail spoke with her and her colleagues about her decision, and what comes next.
The new mapping software for Utahns to draw and submit their own political boundaries during the redistricting process is now available to the public. Political Mapping Toolbox allows anyone to create maps for each type of district, share maps with other users and the public, offer feedback on other maps and make proposals for the Redistricting Committee to consider.
If you walk through the Avenues in Salt Lake City, it’s not easy to figure out which congressional district you’re in. That’s because the neighborhood is split up among two of them. And that’s concerning for Democratic State Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck, who represents the neighborhood.
To build or not to build a nuclear power plant in Utah? That was the question before the legislature’s Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee Wednesday at the state Capitol. The meeting focused on the possibility of the federal government approving a nuclear power plant in Utah in the next five years…but as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, some say there’s too much at stake.
A federal judge has put the brakes on an illegal immigration enforcement law that went into effect today, following a lawsuit from the ACLU and National Immigration Law Center. HB 497 requires local law enforcement to check the citizenship status of anyone suspected of a felony or Class A misdemeanor, and makes that optional for lesser offenses. Salt Lake City Police Chief Burbank has continually opposed the legislation, but says with today’s injunction, there will at least be some much-needed discussion about how officers are expected to implement the law.
The Utah Senate dealt Governor Gary Herbert a second blow Saturday night, convening in a rare weekend session to override his veto of HB 328, which requires all state agencies to be open for business on Fridays. Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins noted, however, that the bill still gives each agency the flexibility to determine employee work schedules.
A veto override session that was supposed to last one day, will now last two… at least for the Utah senate. The legislature met today to override a couple of Governor Gary Herbert’s vetoes, one of them a bill that would eliminate the four day work week for state employees. But as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, the senate didn’t quite have the votes.
Utah lawmakers who have been appointed to re-draw the state’s legislative and congressional boundaries adopted a set of redistricting principles this morning, making very few changes to the ones that were used in 2001. The committee discussed a proposal to consider creating districts represented by multiple lawmakers, but it was rejected, to the disappointment of Democratic Representative Brian King of Salt Lake City.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert is standing firm in his decision to veto SB 229, a bill that sets aside a portion of future sales tax growth to fund transportation projects. He says even though lawmakers plan to override his veto in a special session next Friday, the bill is bad policy and unwise.
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