Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing Morning Must Reads for Friday, December 9, 2016

Nike Air Force White MID, Nike Air Force MID White Nike Air Barrage MID Navy, Nike Air Barrage MID Men's, Nike Air Barrage MID - Men's White/navy/black | 44-15203-2-04

Friday, December 9, 2016 - 9:00am

Utah Policy

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning Must Reads for Friday, December 9, 2016

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 344th day of the year. There are 22 days remaining in 2016.

The federal government could shut down due to a fight over health benefits for retired coal miners. Donald Trump taps a critic of hiking the minimum wage as labor secretary. Mia Love lays the groundwork for a possible leadership role in Congress.

The clock:

Ten days until the Electoral College meets to cast their votes for president and vice president (12/19/2016)
42 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President (1/20/2017)
45 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (1/23/2017)
90 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
333 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
697 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)

Ten talking points for Friday:

What happened this week in Utah politics? We've got you covered with our video week-in-review [Utah Policy].
The opponents of a proposed tax hike for public schools are painting themselves into a corner politically [Utah Policy].
The federal government is on the verge of a shutdown because a stopgap spending measure is in trouble after Senate Democrats want to extend health benefits for retired coal miners. The measure must be passed by midnight on Friday to avoid the shutdown [New York Times].
Mitt Romney was spotted near Trump Tower during his visit to New York on Thursday. A witness says Romney was hustling away from the building "like he didn't want to be seen." Romney is still reportedly in the running to be Donald Trump's secretary of state [New York Post].
Donald Trump taps Andrew Puzder, CEO of the Carl's Jr. fast-food franchise, to be secretary of labor. Puzder is an outspoken critic of calls to raise the minimum wage [Wall Street Journal].
Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is rumored to be at the top of Donald Trump's list for interior secretary. McMorris Rodgers is currently the chair of the House GOP Conference. If she gets the job, Utah Rep. Mia Love is among those who may make a bid for the #4 position in House leadership [Politico].
Republican members of Congress are set to launch an intensive probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and potential cyber threats to the U.S. military [Washington Post]. Donald Trump is reportedly only getting only one intelligence briefing per week [Huffington Post].
Conflict of interest anyone? President-Elect Donald Trump will remain as an executive producer for the latest season of the television show "The Apprentice." The title is not ceremonial, either as Trump will pull a reported five-figure salary from the show [NBC News].
Overstock.com chairman of the board and former gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Johnson smells a rat in the deal struck between Utah and Amazon.com to collect sales tax for online purchases [Tribune]. Amazon will get to keep 18% of the sales tax they collect from Utah residents under terms of the agreement [Deseret News].
Gov. Gary Herbert says Utah education leaders need to get on the same page to come up with a long-term plan for improving education in the state [Deseret News].

On this day in history:

1958 - Retired Boston candy manufacturer Robert H. W. Welch, Jr., established the John Birch Society, a right-wing organization dedicated to fighting what it perceived to be the extensive infiltration of communism into U.S. society.
1974 - White House aide John Ehrlichman testified at the Watergate trial that U.S. President Richard Nixon was responsible for a cover up.
1990 - Solidarity founder Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland.
2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a temporary halt in the Florida presidential vote count.

Today At Utah Policy

Extra Money, but None to Spend! - Bernick and Schott on Politics #309
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
Gov. Gary Herbert releases his $16.1 billion budget proposal. There's some extra money to spend, but most of it has already been spoken for. Will lawmakers even pay attention to the document when the 2017 session gets underway?...

Bob Bernick's Notebook: A Unified Opposition to Tax Hikes
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
A week ago I asked the rhetorical question: Who will oppose a state income tax hike to support our clearly underfunded public schools?...

Your Help is Needed to Change State School Board Clections So They Are Non-Partisan
By Kim Burningham
Although the elections for State School Board were non-partisan in the most recent election, state law has been devised so that all future elections of the State School Board will be partisan!...

Weekly Survey: Should Trump Dump Twitter?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
President-Elect Donald Trump has been using Twitter to make some very controversial statements. Do you think he should quit the social media platform once he takes office in Janaury? Vote now in our weekly survey....

What Were the Top Utah Political Stories from 2016
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Donald Trump? Evan McMullin? What do you think were the top Utah political news stories from 2016? Give us your nominations now....

Podcast: Bernick and Schott on Politics #309
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott explain (poorly) the week in Utah politics....

Policy News

Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report
Outdoor Notes-- Tribune:Hardware Ranch to host Elk Festival Saturday -- Tribune: Park City earns TripAdvisor honor Weekend EventsNew Films-- 2016 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour: Tribune review -- Manchester by the Sea: Tribune review -- Miss Sloane: Tribune review --...

Lee Praises Pruitt Pick for EPA
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Thursday in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as his nominee for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator:...

Hatch Statement on Meeting with Treasury Secretary Nominee Steven Mnuchin
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) met with Treasury Secretary Nominee Steven Mnuchin in his office in the U.S. Capitol. Following the meeting, which lasted approximately 40 minutes, Hatch issued the following statement:...

Hatch Statement on Meeting with HHS Secretary Nominee Rep. Tom Price
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) met with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Nominee U.S. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) in his office in the U.S. Capitol and issued the following statement:...