Ten Things You Need to Know Today - Wednesday, October 21, 2015

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Wednesday, October 21, 2015 - 9:00am

Utah Policy

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 71 days left in 2015.

Jason Chaffetz drops out of the race for Speaker. Utah has another budget surplus. About 1/4 of voters say they'll vote for Jackie Biskupski because of Chris Burbank's ouster.

The clock:

13 days to the 2015 election - (11/3/2015)
89 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) - (1/18/2016)
96 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature - (1/25/2016)
97 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary - (1/26/2016)
1421days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature - (3/10/2016)
252 days to the 2016 Utah primary election - (6/28/2016)
384 days until the 2016 presidential election - (11/8/2016)

Wednesday's top-10 headlines:

Rep. Jason Chaffetz drops out of the race to replace John Boehner as Speaker after Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan says he's willing to step up if Republicans will unite behind him [Washington Post, Time, Utah Policy, Fox 13, ABC 4, Deseret News, Tribune].
Utah House members (mostly) reveal how they voted on Medicaid expansion [2 News].
Utah's posts a $103 million dollar surplus [Utah Policy, Tribune].
A new poll shows about 1/4 of voters are more likely to cast their ballot for Jackie Biskupski due to Mayor Ralph Becker's ouster of former police chief Chris Burbank [Utah Policy].
More independent billboards supporting Biskupski over Becker are popping up in Salt Lake City [Fox 13].
Mayor Ben McAdams lays out his budget priorities for the next year with a focus on criminal justice [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune, KUER].
Mormon Apostle Dallin Oaks references Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis during a speech, saying public officials should not apply their personal convictions to their jobs [Deseret News, Tribune, 2 News, Fox 13].
The Salt Lake City Council votes to suspend impact fees for 12 months [Tribune].
New taxes passed by the 2015 Legislature will cost the average Utah family about $140 more per year [Deseret News].
If it passes in November, Prop. 1 will raise $108 million for transportation, including $58 million in Salt Lake County [Tribune].

On this day in history:

1805 - A British fleet commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated a French and Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson was killed in the battle.
1879 - Thomas Edison invented the first practical electric incandescent lamp.
1967 - Tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters marched in Washington, D.C.
1987 - The U.S. Senate rejected President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Judge Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court.
2003 - Invoking a hastily-passed law, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush ordered a feeding tube reinserted into Terry Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman at the center of a bitter right-to-die battle.

Today At Utah Policy

Poll: One Quarter of Voters Say Chris Burbank's Firing Makes them More Likely to Vote for Biskupski
By Bob Bernick
It’s pretty clear that Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker’s firing of former Policy Chief Chris Burbank is going to dog him right to Election Day....

Chaffetz Drops Out of Speaker's Race
By Bryan Schott
Rep. Jason Chaffetz says he's no longer running for Speaker of the House, instead throwing his support behind Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan....

Colorado Accuses ALC of Ethics Violations
By Golden Webb
The Colorado Sec. of State says Rep. Ken Ivory's American Lands Council, which advocates for Western states to take over federal public lands, may have violated Colorado lobbying and disclosure rules for failing to report political spending or to register as a lobbyist....

Governor Announces 2015 Revenue Surplus
By Bryan Schott
Utah’s economy remains the strongest in the nation and has once again posted a budget surplus....

Weekly Survey: Will Lawmakers Pass Medicaid Expansion
By Bryan Schott
The latest failure by lawmakers to pass Medicaid expansion begs the question whether they will be able to get anything done. What do you think? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Policy News

Hatch Calls for Audit of Federal Government's Vulnerability to Cyber Attacks
Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday about the Federal Computer Security Act of 2015, an amendment included in the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (“CISA”), which ensures government cybersecurity accountability. ...

Press Release: Lee Battles Big Egg In Defense of Little Mayo
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday calling for an investigation into the America Egg Board and their alleged anti-comp...

Press Release: Utah Consumer Protection Summit to Unite Federal and State Fraud Fighters
Francine A. Giani, Executive Director of the Department of Commerce, announced Tuesday that the Utah Division of Consumer Protection and Federal Trade Commission are co-hosting the Utah Consumer Protection Summit, October 22, 2015 at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City C...

Press Release: Mayor McAdams' Budget Puts Public Safety, Criminal Justice Reform First
Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams presented his 2016 budget to the Salt Lake County Council Tuesday morning, saying it’s time to work differently in order to deal with an increase in crime and a broken criminal justice system that has long frustrated police, prosecuto...

Press Release: Lee, Klobuchar Announce Hearing on Proposed SABMiller Acquisition by Anheuser-Busch Inbev
Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, today announced the committee will hold a hearing on Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s proposal to purcha...

Press Release: Groups Tell PacifiCorp to Fix Extensive Contamination at Utah Coal Plant
Decades of negligent management of millions of tons of coal ash waste at Rocky Mountain Power’s Huntington power plant have resulted in widespread water contamination problems, according to a notice filed by the Sierra Club and HEAL Utah that demands the owners fix the...