Welcome to The Senate Site

The Governor and other state officials were sworn into office today during a chilly outdoor ceremony. We enjoyed the view from the cheap seats (indoors).



AG Shurtleff blogged about it.

The change from the 57th to the 58th Legislature officially occurred in the early seconds of January 1st, 2009. The actual physical transition, however, requires a little more work. Here is former-Senate President John Valentine packing up.



Chris Vanocur was there to capture a few memories on film.

From Nephi to Scipio.

You're welcome.

What should we call it?

The Utah Senate needs a Government 2.0 intern for the upcoming legislative session. I'm looking for someone who swims New Media like a wild salmon and writes like Robert Frost. Give or take.

Know anyone like that?

It's an eight week gig, January to March. The pay is marginal but the experience is solid.

Email me for more info.

Thanks!

Ric



P.S. If you're new to the neighborhood, here's a primer:

1. Garrison Keillor's advice on redistricting.
2. Rosemary Winters reports on proposal to let unwed mothers adopt
3. KCPW: Senate Democrats may cut less in their version of the budget
4. DNews: State Courts are being proactive about the budget situation.
5. Today's UPD
   
6. The Deseret News recounts the Christmas Story
7. The Salt Lake Tribune talks about Santa and the magic of Christmas

By Lyle Hillyard
Senator, District 25

The other evening, as I was helping my wife go through our storage to find a special Christmas decoration, I saw our old ice cream maker packed away. As a boy, our family would make homemade ice cream using a hand-turned maker. Everyone would take a turn spinning the handle until they became tired. It seemed like hours, but slowly the churner got more and more difficult to turn until dad would call the process to a halt and the great joy of opening the canister and devouring the treat would begin.

This process was repeated by my wife’s family so, years ago, she insisted we get an ice cream maker. I was far more supportive when I saw that they now made electric ones. We have had a great time over the years with our children in deciding what type of ice cream to make and then working on the process together. We would listen as the churn became more and more labored until it almost came to a stop and we could rush in to pull out the beater (everyone always had spoons to make sure it was cleaned properly and nothing was wasted). Then we would pack-in the canister with more salt and ice so the ice cream would harden. My favorite was always pineapple but the chocolate chip was a close second. Now that the children have gone, it seems easier to drive the few blocks to USU Dairy and buy that great Aggie Ice cream. But the old way was so much fun as everyone worked together to make a great treat.

Growing up, I also enjoyed helping my mother make fudge, divinity and other goodies every Christmas season. My favorite was pulling taffy. While it was still warm, I had to scrub my hands and cover them in butter so the taffy would not stick. I would stretch and pull the taffy before it cooled and make long, snake-like strands with the knife mark every few inches so the pieces would be easier to break off.

Baking has always been a great Christmas tradition in my life. May you all enjoy great treats this holiday season!

1. Utah Policy Daily
2. SLTrib: Judge's unfilled seats will remain vacant - indefinitely
3. Utah surpasses Nevada as the fastest growing state
4. Lee & Roche: State's tourism ad budget may be cut

1. DNews: Legislator to sponsor bill allowing rainwater collection by residents
2. Bernick and Raymond report on SB81
   
3. SLTrib: Focus of budget cuts begins to sharpen
4. Canham: Salt Lake County politics becoming a melting pot
5. DNews: Students may be required to have health plans
6. Standard Examiner: A healthy blueprint
7. DNews: Utah Delegation's Bills Falter
8. Richard Eyre: Letter to President-elect Obama
9. Mark Pugsley: Perils of investing with friends and ward members
10. AP: Senator Killpack realizes the importance of advertising
    
11. Pig & Webb: Utah Politicos Christmas Wishes
    

Quotes of the Day in Utah Policy Daily:

Dueling Views on Special Session:

-- "This is a matter of doing good fiscal management …. The longer we wait to make those cuts, the longer we burn money that we don't have at $2 million dollars a day, the deeper the respective cuts need to be at the other end, because we are constitutionally bound to manage and to balance our budget. That is the sense of urgency."

-- House Speaker-elect David Clark (KCPW)

....

-- "It is sort of the longitudinal haircut of 7 or 8 percent, without any thought given to programs and how they would be affected, that I don't think represents good public policy for the people of this state. …What you're forced to do during the legislative session is to convene the various subcommittees that would then evaluate very carefully what these cuts would mean to real people in human services, higher education, public education, and so we all understand through these open hearings what a cut of 3, 5, 7, or 15 percent would mean."

-- Gov. Jon Huntsman (KCPW)

From the Patriot Post:

"Since private and publick Vices, are in Reality, though not always
apparently, so nearly connected, of how much Importance, how necessary
is it, that the utmost Pains be taken by the Publick, to have the
Principles of Virtue early inculcated on the Minds even of children,
and the moral Sense kept alive, and that the wise institutions of our
Ancestors for these great Purposes be encouraged by the Government.
For no people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be
easily subdued, when knowledge is diffusd and Virtue is preservd. On
the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauchd in
their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid
of foreign Invaders."

--Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, 4 November 1775

1. Trib report on yesterday's Executive Appropriations Meeting
2. DNews on yesterday's Executive Appropriations Meeting
3. And KCPW...on yesterday's Executive Appropriations Meeting
4. New tax cut circuit breaker proposal
5. DNews: David C. Case is over: "John F. O'Toole, director of the National Center for Youth Law, said Utah had 'one of the most troubled foster-care systems in the country' in 1993...'Now, it has one of the best'"
6. KUER: The Guv to create an ethics group
   
7. Public school funding may be equalized throughout the state
8. Trib: Lawmakers roll out health care reform plan
9. KCPW: Task Force Unveils Three Health Reform Bills at Final Meeting

1. Executive Appropriations Meeting Today at 1:00 p.m. Listen Live.
2. Daily Herald: House Republicans double Guv's budget cut.
3. DNews on the House R's budget proposal.
   
4. KCPW reports on the Senate Budget proposal.
5. Trib: Special Session? Guv says no.
6. Utah electors vote for McCain.
7. Chaffetz twitters, just like us.
8. Howard Stephenson's bill could mandate health insurance for autism therapy
   

1. We started making decisions for 2009 on Saturday.
   
2. Deseret News: GOP Caucus focuses on money
3. SLTrib's report
   
4. Lisa Roche previews the caucus
   
5. Senator Bramble criticizes a state bailout package

By Sheldon Killpack
Senate Majority Leader-elect

Saturday the Senate Republican Caucus spent six hours talking about priorities for the upcoming Legislative Session. It should come as no surprise that the primary area of focus was the state budget. Tax revenues are coming in lower than anticipated and it is critical we re-size expenditures to match income.

We are painfully aware of the affect cuts in State agencies will have. We also recognize the example of States around us who refuse to live within their means and the circumstances they now find themselves in.

Here are the basic building block principles to which the Senate Majority agreed:

1. The budget must be structurally balanced. That means we use ongoing income for ongoing expenses and one-time money for one-time expenses. Much like you have to run your household budget, you can only rely on money in your regular income to pay for your ongoing expenses. It is never wise to plan on one-time bonuses to make future mortgage payments.

2. We will adopt an 85 percent base budget at the beginning of the Session. Why? There's a chance the economic slide hasn't hit bottom yet, and we won't have updated numbers until February. Chances are we won't have to cut a full 15 percent, but it makes sense to plan responsibly now and add money back if the numbers hit anticipated targets

3. Transportation funding should take a proportionate hit, but not bear the full weight of a budget scale back. Road infrastructure is key to our economy. It seems as if many have adopted a philosophy of utilizing transportation funding as an additional rainy day fund. This may have sufficed in a time when the Federal Government was able to keep its transportation funding commitments – how times have changed. Many of our neighboring states who relied heavily on the Federal Government by pledging bonds to future Federal funds now find themselves in a unpleasant and uncertain position.

4. Economic Development must be a primary focus. We discussed economic development at length and asked our committee chairs to analyze their areas and be cognizant of how their actions will effect Utah’s economy. We are also interested in finding opportunities to work with GOED in utilizing one-time funds to assist in capital for companies who could create new jobs in the immediate future thus generating new ongoing state tax revenue. If you know of significant opportunities we would love to hear from you.

5. Local decisions in cuts to Public Education. Unfortunately, Public Education will feel the effects of budget cuts this year. It is not our desire to entirely dictate where these cuts will be made. We wish to determine the right percentage cut and provide a menu of options for local school district boards to determine what works best for their circumstances.

The House Majority is holding a similar session-prep caucus meeting on Monday. We look forward to working with our colleagues in the House, and our colleagues across the aisle, over the next several months. This next Session is sure to be challenging as we bring the State budget into balance.

I’m confident there will be critics of certain aspects of the budget cuts that must be made. However, this outside pressure is no reason to abandon our responsibility to make the decisions that assure we don’t simply leave the financial clean-up work to our children and our grandchildren. Utah’s designation of best managed state didn’t happen by accident and we plan on maintaining the strong fiscal supervision that delivered that designation in the first place.

By Lyle Hillyard
Utah State Senator: Cache Valley

I recently returned from Oakland where I had attended some business meetings. I rode the BART into San Francisco and then back to catch my flight home. I caught the shuttle from the BART station to the Oakland Airport and was astounded as I watched the road that the shuttle was using. It was in a well used area of the city but the roads were absolutely atrocious. They were wavy and full of ruts and holes. I felt that these were the roads you would expect to find in a third world county.

I mentioned this to my wife who was riding by me and she shared her observations when several days before, she had riding from Sacramento to San Francisco with our daughter on that freeway. It was also in terrible shape. This really drove home to me how hard the choices are going to be in the upcoming sessions with where to put the limited funds that we will have to spend. The legislature has worked hard the past few years to identify funds that are needed to address the huge problems with have as a State with not only new construction but also the upkeep of our roads. We have put in place an on-going funding mechanism based on the sales tax collected from cars and related parts so have some funds to build and to bond for needed road construction.

Many legislators who can see on a daily basis the dire need for expanded roads are reluctant to transfer all of this funding for programs that have been taking these road funds for many years and leaving the roads left out. Sure, there will be some transfers and cuts like the other agencies but to decimate the on-going funds that give us the capacity to bond for more projects will be a hard sale. We are now being informed that the federal money which has traditionally been used for maintenance could also be cut. People need roads and access just like they need other things that government can provide. Again, we will have to balance the reductions so that no one program suffers the full brunt of the downturn of our economy.

1. Who will mourn local newspapers?
2. Ethics investigation: $90K
3. Props to Northern Utah Senators in the Standard.
4. Lincoln's Log: What ULCT is up to this session.
5. USOE holds on to funds: still no Special Session?
   
6. AP: Feds Seek Ouster of Ogden Police Chief
   

"Utah is no Chicago, and probably doesn't need to change the way an open U.S. Senate seat is filled here, state political leaders say.

"State legislative attorneys say that should a U.S. Senate vacancy occur in Utah, as it has in Illinois, the Utah governor wouldn't be able to choose the new senator all on his own, as is the case with the Illinois governor now making headlines."

Here's the Deseret News.

This just in . . .

Governor Huntsman Appoints Second District Court Judge

Salt Lake City - Utah Governor Jon Huntsman has appointed Michael D. Di Reda to fill the vacancy on the Utah Second District Court resulting from the retirement of Judge Roger Dutson.

“As a long-time prosecutor in this very community, Mike brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the bench,” Governor Huntsman said. “Mike has been a true public servant to his community and believe he will continue to serve the Second District well.”

Di Reda received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pepperdine University in 1990 and his law degree from the same in 1993. He worked as a judicial law clerk in the Second District Court before joining the Davis County Attorney’s Office as a Deputy County Attorney where he worked as a prosecutor, serving as the lead attorney over domestic violence, juvenile drug court and adult drug court, as a Section Chief over the Narcotics Division and as the Litigation Section Chief over the Criminal and Juvenile Divisions. He also works as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney School of Law at the University of Utah.

“I am honored to have been chosen from a group of such talented and accomplished lawyers,” Di Reda said. “I’m grateful for Governor Huntsman’s trust and confidence in me, and I’m looking forward to serving as a judge in the Second District Court.”

Di Reda’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Utah State Senate.

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