Last week we saw movement on two problematic bills focused on lawmakers and the free press. HB 96, which raises the cost of accessing public records for those who frequently request them from government entities, passed the House last Wednesday.A lawmaker singled out the Salt Lake Tribune as a “vexatious requester,” implying their requests for
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. I’m a parent. And like many parents, I often struggle to know what is best for my kids. That comes with the territory of parenting regardless of global events, but is especially true during a pandemic. My latest challenge — knowing whether or not to send my kid to in-person school
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. The Kaysville City Council — in a revolt against Mayor Katie Witt — was considering turning on sprinklers and cutting power to a city park to stop a protest concert she backed there that openly aimed to defy state COVID-19 restrictions. Word about these possible city actions was enough Thursday to chase
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. As the state makes moves to reopen its slumbering economy, the Utah Legislature approved a bill Thursday that would make property owners and business operators immune from lawsuits brought forward by people exposed to COVID-19. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Kirk Cullimore, R-Draper, said the measure will make it easier for businesses to
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. State lawmakers convened a historic, all-virtual special session on the COVID-19 outbreak on Thursday, with an eye toward the date Utah can start emerging from quarantine — and they’re pitching May 1 as a target. House Speaker Brad Wilson said legislators will create guidelines to start reawakening the state’s slumbering economy “carefully, methodically,
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. The Utah Legislature will meet beginning Thursday in its first-ever digital special session as lawmakers confront a range of issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the core functions of this special session will remain the same as ever — lawmakers will still debate and vote on bills — there are some key
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. The Utah legislative session felt different this year. Between COVID-19, an instant repeal of the tax reform passed by the Legislature one month prior and an uncharacteristically slow release of bills, Capitol Hill veterans agreed it was a singularly unique session. And on top of all that, the cloud of the 2020 election loomed over every
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. There are gatekeepers at work in Utah’s government, working behind the scenes to make or break legislation. Some of the bills being held back by these gatekeepers are broadly supported by Utahns, but the guardians of conservative ideology on the Hill are keeping these bills from seeing the light of day
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. Newly released polling data suggests most Utahns are against tightening restrictions on abortion in the state, even as lawmakers consider measures aimed at virtually eliminating the procedure.Seventy percent of those surveyed initially said they either supported loosening the state’s abortion laws or leaving them the same, according to the statewide survey
This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. Women in Utah would have to undergo an ultrasound as a prerequisite to an abortion under a bill unveiled Wednesday in the Legislature.Moreover, the physician or technician performing the ultrasound would have to describe “the presence and location of each unborn child in the uterus,” display the images so that a
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