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.
Utah lawmakers got their first look at what the Medicaid data breach could potentially cost the state on Wednesday. A legislative committee questioned several people who are working to resolve the issue, and as KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports the dollars are quickly adding up.
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.
Human error is to blame for a Medicaid data breach that compromised hundreds of thousands of Utahns personal information earlier this spring. That’s according to Governor Gary Herbert, who announced new plans Tuesday afternoon to restore public confidence in the state. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on what the state plans to do.
A new job title is in store for Denice Graham, the Utah Department of Transportation’s former Civil Rights Manager who was wrongfully terminated last year. Late last week, Graham accepted a new position with the state as a human resource analyst, and was reimbursed for the legal fees she paid while fighting her termination.
The Utah Attorney General’s office is filing the last of a series of lawsuits this week against the federal government in hopes of winning title to thousands of contested roads in the state that cross federal lands. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, despite challenges from wilderness advocates, officials behind the complaints brought key witnesses to the State Capitol Tuesday to help reinforce their case.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert has a new energy advisor and at least one environmental group is already calling foul. Herbert announced today that Cody Stewart, who’s currently serving as Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell’s Chief of Staff, will help the governor increase energy development in the state. But as KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, HEAL Utah says his interests are with big oil and gas.
Vince Rampton officially filed paperwork this morning to run for office alongside Democratic gubernatorial candidate Peter Cooke. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the Democrats outlined Rampton’s vision for the Lieutenant Governor’s office at the State Capitol.
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