2010 County Census Data Released

U.S. Census Bureau Delivers Utah's 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting    US Census Bureau article with several sites

Hispanics in Utah had a 78 percent increase over the count in 2000 by the U.S. Census Bureau according to the new statistics released February 24, 2010, by the US Census Bureau Redistricting Data released.

US Census 2010 Redistricting Data 

Utah has a population of 516,564, and Salt Lake County has a population of 1,029,655.  Click on each county and the population comes up with the statistics to the right.

These are the official numbers needed to draw new boundaries in the redistricting process and now it is possible to start drawing new boundaries with accuracy as to the total population in each area.   

West Jordan is now the 4th largest city.  Deseret News

Redistricting:  Census Bolsters Utah GOP   Salt Lake Tribune

Utah's Voter Turnout 35% in 2010?

Adam Brown, an assistant professor of political science at Brigham Young University and a research fellow with the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, says that Utah's 2010 midterm voter turnout wasn't the best for a midterm since 1994.      Adam Brown's blog

In 2006, Utah came in last among the 50 states and the District of Columbia in voter turnout according to a study released by the US Census Department.   

KSL 2006 Lowest voter turnout in the nation

Deseret News 2006 Voter Turnout

Utah had the second lowest voter turnout in the nation in the 2008 Presidential election according to the U.S. census bureau.  Deseret News Utah 2nd lowest voter turnout in nation in 2008

Salt Lake Tribune 2010 reasons for low voter turnout

House defeats Direct School Board Elections HB 264

The House voted Feb. 16  against HB 264 allowing voters to have direct elections for state school board members.   House vote  

The 28 House members voting in favor of state school board members names on the election ballot, rather than the Governor selecting two names to appear on the ballot were:

     Arent             Edwards           Litvack           Poulson          

      Bird              Fisher, Janice    McIff             Powell           

      Biskupski         Gibson            Menlove           Sanpei           

      Briscoe           Handy             Moss              Seelig           

      Chavez-Houck      Hemingway         Nielson           Watkins          

      Cosgrove          Hendrickson       Perry             Wheatley         

      Duckworth, S      Hutchings         Peterson, J       Wiley    

Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, sponsor of the bill feels that it is the right of the people to elect their school board representatives.  The debate on the bill was over whether state school board elections should be partisan. 

In the end it failed in the House. 

Salt Lake Tribune       

House Legislators Pass School Curriculum Bill HB220

  Utah House voted  57-17 to pass a bill that modifies requirements for instruction in American history and government.
             Rep. Mike Morley, R, Spanish Fork’s HB220  “requires instruction in forms of government, including the United States' form of  government, a republic; and requires school curricula to include a thorough study of American historical documents.”   HB220 Text

Now the question is what grades will this be taught?  Will this be taught in every classroom K-12 or just in secondary schools grades 7-12?  Exactly which classes must cover this curriculum, i.e. all history classes, or just specifically American History classes?  Is the legislature also going to select textbooks that must be used as part of this curriculum?

Will the legislature prepare a video to be shown in every school at the same time (Like Barack Obama’s) that parents can opt out of if they don’t want their child to be taught this material?

SEQUENCE #163                    STATE OF UTAH                        HB 220  

                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                   BY Morley

                  2011 General Session of the 59th Legislature                 

                                 VOTE TABULATION                        

                           Civics Education Amendments  

FEBRUARY 14, 2011                                          Lockhart           

 11:52:31 AM                                                SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

      YEAS - 57

      Anderson          Eliason           Last              Richardson       

      Barrus            Fisher, Julie     Mathis            Sagers           

      Bird              Froerer           McIff             Sandstrom        

      Brown, D          Galvez            Menlove           Sanpei           

      Brown, M          Gibson            Morley            Sumsion          

      Butterfield       Greenwood         Newbold           Vickers           

      Christensen       Grover            Nielson           Webb             

      Clark             Handy             Noel              Wilcox           

      Cox               Harper            Oda               Wilson           

      Daw               Herrod            Painter           Wimmer           

      Dee               Hughes            Perry             Wright           

      Dougall           Hutchings         Peterson, V       Lockhart         

      Draxler           Ipson             Pitcher          

      Dunnigan          Ivory             Powell           

      Edwards           Kiser             Ray              

NAYS - 17

      Arent             Duckworth, S      Moss              Wheatley         

      Biskupski         Fisher, Janice    Peterson, J       Wiley            

      Briscoe           Hendrickson       Poulson          

      Chavez-Houck      King              Seelig           

      Cosgrove          Litvack           Watkins          

ABSENT OR NOT VOTING – 1

      Hemingway        

HB220 House vote

Salt Lake Tribune

Robert Pack Browning Opposes HB219 making 1911 Browning Pistol Utah State Firearm

A letter read to the House prior to their vote to approve the bill proposing  "state symbols and designations to designate the Browning model   M1911 automatic pistol as the state firearm", said that John M. Browning's brother’s great-grandson opposed the bill and the men who designed guns would be shocked.

Browning feels that as violence destroys so many lives and families it is inappropriate to glorify firearms by designating an “official state firearm.”

A KSL Dan Jones poll of 496 Utah residents found that only 37% approve the bill.  House voted 48-20 with seven absent, to approve the bill.

The Senate voted  20-7 with two absent to approve the bill.

What does this vote show about the Legislature representing their constituents in their voting?

HB219 Utah State Legislature

Deseret News

Deseret News Senate Vote

144

 SEQUENCE #144                    STATE OF UTAH                        HB 219  

                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                   BY Wimmer

                  2011 General Session of the 59th Legislature                 

                                 VOTE TABULATION                               

                            State Firearm Designation                          

                                                                               

 FEBRUARY 11, 2011                                          Lockhart           

 10:26:25 AM                                                SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

                                                                               

                                  Final Passage                                

 YEAS - 48

      Anderson          Galvez            Kiser             Powell           

      Barrus            Gibson            Last              Ray              

      Bird              Greenwood         Mathis            Sagers           

      Brown, M          Grover            Menlove           Sandstrom        

      Christensen       Handy             Morley            Sanpei           

      Clark             Harper            Newbold           Sumsion          

      Daw               Hendrickson       Noel              Vickers          

      Dee               Herrod            Oda               Webb             

      Draxler           Hughes            Perry             Wilcox            

      Duckworth, S      Hutchings         Peterson, J       Wiley            

      Dunnigan          Ipson             Peterson, V       Wilson           

      Froerer           Ivory             Pitcher           Wimmer           

 NAYS - 20

      Arent             Cosgrove          Hemingway         Poulson          

      Biskupski         Cox               King              Richardson       

      Briscoe           Edwards           Litvack           Seelig           

      Brown, D          Eliason           Moss              Watkins          

      Chavez-Houck      Fisher, Janice    Nielson           Wheatley         

 ABSENT OR NOT VOTING - 7

      Butterfield       Fisher, Julie     Painter           Lockhart         

      Dougall           McIff             Wright           

184

                                UTAH STATE SENATE                         

                                59th LEGISLATURE                          

                              2011 GENERAL SESSION                        

       HB 219                                                     RCS# 184

       PASSAGE ON THIRD                              2/10/2011 10:59:30 AM

       3rd Reading                                                        

                            State Firearm Designation                     

                                     Wimmer                               

                           20 YEAS   7 NAYS   2 ABSENT              PASSED

       YEAS 20

              Adams           Jenkins         Okerlund        Thatcher       

       Bramble         Knudson         Reid            Urquhart        

       Buttars         Liljenquist     Stephenson, H.  Valentine       

       Christensen     Madsen          Stevenson, J.   Van Tassell     

       Dayton          Niederhauser    Stowell         Waddoups        

      NAYS 7

       Davis           Mayne           Morgan          Romero          

       Jones           McAdams         Robles          

       ABSENT 2

       Hillyard        Hinkins         

No Constitutional Amendment Convention for Daw's Bill HJR014

The House Government Operations Committee voted 5-5 against Brad Daw's proposed  HJR014 - Joint Resolution Applying for an Article V Amendments Convention, consequently the motion to recommend failed.  The five votes in favor were Galvez, B., Perry L., Powell, K., Richardson, H. and Vickers, E.  The votes against were Chavez-Houck, R., Fisher, Janice, Greenwood, R., Oda, C., and Sagers, D.

HJR014 text

HJR014

Deseret News

KSL

      

Senate Bill 138 targets Bramble's 2005 Undocumented Driver Card's Law

SB138 passed out of the The Senate Transportation, Public Utilities and Technology Committee by a vote of 4-1 and now goes to the Senate floor for debate.

The 2005 Legislature passed a bill creating undocumented driver cards thinking that people without a driving card could NOT get car insurance.  The large number of uninsured drivers in Utah, together with the fact that in order to get a driving car they had to pass the written and driving test convinced the legislature to create the cards.

Now Sen. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, thinks that the undocumented driver card is a magnet to attract illegal immigrants to the state where they can get this card.  Utah is one of a very few states with this card and Urquhart complains that the documents required for the card can be easily faked and Utah is motivating the creation of false documents.  Also the cards are used for identification.

I would like to know how many of the undocumented driver cards are listed at each address.  Does any one address have 10 or more undocumented cards using that address?

SB 138

SB 138 status

SB 138 text

Deseret News

Salt Lake Tribune

Parties can select replacement for County Office Vacancies HB 248

Carl Wimmer's House bill would allow county office vacancies to be filled by the political party where the vacancy occurred.  Currently, the party submits three names to the County Officers to select ONE of the three names.  In 2009 when Utah County clerk resigned, the Utah County Central Committee held an election and submitted the three names of the candidates who received the most votes.  Utah County Commissioners did NOT appoint the candidate with the largest number of votes to be the new clerk.

This bill would mean the Party Chair would submit only ONE name and the decision to not pick the winner would not be given to the county commissioners.

  " 49          (iii) The county legislative body shall[, within 45 days after the vacancy occurs,
             50      appoint one of those nominees] no later than five days after the day on which a party liaison
             51      submits the name of the person for the interim replacement appoint the person to serve out the
             52      unexpired term."

HB 248
Salt Lake Tribune

Margaret Dayton's "State Commission Amendments" Bill Passes Senate

Senate voted 21-5 to pass SB 44 giving more power to legislature and Governor.

141



                                UTAH STATE SENATE                        
                                59th LEGISLATURE                         
                              2011 GENERAL SESSION                       
      
       SB 44                                                      RCS# 141
       PASSAGE ON THIRD                              2/07/2011 10:51:43 AM
       3rd Reading                                                       
      
                           State Commission Amendments                   
                                                                         
                                     Dayton                              
      
      
                           21 YEAS   5 NAYS   3 ABSENT              PASSED
      
      
       YEAS 21
      
       Adams           Hinkins         Niederhauser    Urquhart       
       Bramble         Jenkins         Okerlund        Valentine      
       Buttars         Knudson         Reid            Waddoups       
       Christensen     Liljenquist     Stephenson, H. 
       Dayton          Madsen          Stowell        
       Hillyard        Morgan          Thatcher       
      
      
       NAYS 5
      
       Jones           McAdams         Romero         
       Mayne           Robles         
      
      
       ABSENT 3
      
       Davis           Stevenson, J.   Van Tassell   
 

 

S.B. 44

             1     


STATE COMMISSION AMENDMENTS
             2     


2011 GENERAL SESSION
             3     


STATE OF UTAH
             4     


Chief Sponsor: Margaret Dayton
             5     


House Sponsor: ____________
             6     
             7      LONG TITLE
             8      General Description:
             9          This bill modifies provisions relating to certain state commissions.
             10      Highlighted Provisions:
             11          This bill:
             12          .    modifies the duties of the Utah Tax Review Commission;
             13          .    transfers some duties of the Utah Tax Review Commission to the Revenue and
             14      Taxation Interim Committee;
             15          .    modifies the duties of the Utah Constitutional Revision Commission;
             16          .    modifies a provision relating to the staffing of the Utah Constitutional Revision
             17      Commission; and
             18          .    makes technical changes.
             19      Money Appropriated in this Bill:
             20          None
             21      Other Special Clauses:
             22          None
             23      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             24      AMENDS:
             25          59-1-903, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2002, Chapter 144
             26          59-1-904, as enacted by Laws of Utah 1990, Chapter 237
             27          59-1-905, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 286

---

             28


         59-5-102, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 323

             29          59-7-612, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapters 4 and 382
             30          59-7-613, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapters 4 and 382
             31          59-7-614, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 344
             32          59-7-614.2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 164
             33          59-7-614.3, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 389
             34          59-7-614.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 278
             35          59-10-1012, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapters 4 and 382
             36          59-10-1013, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapters 4 and 382
             37          59-10-1014, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 344
             38          59-10-1024, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 389
             39          59-10-1106, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 344
             40          59-10-1107, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 164
             41          59-10-1108, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 278
             42          59-12-103.1, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2006, Chapter 253
             43          59-12-104.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 203
             44          63I-3-203, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 25
             45          63I-3-204, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 382
             46          63I-3-207, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 382
             47          63J-1-205, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 138
             48          63M-1-1805, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 135
             49          63M-1-2406, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 372
             50          63M-1-2806, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 45

SB 44 Senate Vote

SB 44 Status Page

Salt Lake Tribune