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LDS leader compares scam artists to child molesters. Hatch acknowledges flubs on abortion stat. Romney's Michigan roots not helping much.
Happy Thursday. We have tentative proof that the two parties in Congress can strike a deal without pushing it right up to the deadline. Negotiators announced a compromise late last night on the payroll tax cut package that would also extend unemployment benefits and keep doctors from taking a steep cut in Medicare payments. [WaPost] [USAToday]
Topping the news: A Utah Senate leader opposes tax breaks for deployed military personnel, arguing men and women in uniform already receive enough perks. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Sen. Orrin Hatch "misspoke" when he said that 95 percent of what Planned Parenthood does is abortions, but he still wants to strip them of federal funding. [Trib]
-> The LDS Church participates in an anti-fraud forum and their representative compares people who rip off their friends to child molesters. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> Rick Santorum releases his tax returns at long last, which show he's earned $3.6 million in the past four years, and he paid a higher tax rate than Mitt Romney. [CNN] [WaPost] [NYTimes]
Tweet of the day: From @billyhesterman: "Girl Scouts handing out cookies in @utahsenate this morning. Sen. Hillyard joking the scouts need to register as lobbyists"
Happy Birthday: To Sean Reyes, a candidate for Attorney General.
In other news: In a back-and-forth with Hatch, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she never consulted the Catholic bishops on the latest version of the controversial contraceptive rule. [Politico]
-> Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin throws her support behind Dan Liljenquist in Utah's 2012 Senate race. [Malkin]
-> At the governor's energy summit, a group of energy companies say they are close to getting commercial quantities of oil out of Utah's tar sands and oil shale, but they need investors. [Trib]
-> SLC Mayor Ralph Becker delays Sunnyside's "road diet" -- exchanging a car lane for a bike lane a lane -- after locals' outcry. [Trib]
-> Peg McEntee says the state should let Utah voters -- not lawmakers -- decide what kind of sex education their kids need. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley gives his take on the way state lawmakers view Salt Lake City. [Trib]
-> Bluffdale city council shoots down a hunting ban, which would have outlawed discharging firearms anywhere in the Salt Lake County city.[Trib]
2012 watch: Romney doesn't appear to have any home field advantage in Michigan, despite being born there and winning easily in 2008. He's fighting to take advantage of his roots and expects to receive the endorsement of Michigan's governor today. [LATimes]
-> A Pro-Romney super PACs spending on new TV campaign ads dwarfs his GOP rivals. [WaPost]
-> Newt Gingrich's run could be in trouble after a string of losses, but he insists Americans will soon see a campaign resurrection. [NBC] [HuffPost]
-> The Santorum campaign formally requests secret service protection without the candidate knowing about it. [ABCNews]
-> In his battle for Michigan, Romney blasts the Detroit auto bailouts. [AP]
-> Despite his three decades on Capitol Hill, Gingrich doesn't enjoy much funding from his former D.C. colleagues, earning more than $2 million less than Romney in the nation's capital. [Politico]
-> Ron Paul hits three Washington state cities this week as competition stirs up for the state's caucuses March 3. [APviaSeattleTimes]
-> Gingrich heads to Los Angeles to connect with Latino voters in a state where Republicans are known for an anti-immigration proposition. [LATimes]
-> The majority of Americans -- 63 percent -- find Gingrich to be "unfavorable," making him less liked than fellow Republicans George W. Bush and Sarah Palin. [WaPost]
Heard on the Hill: “Enviro Bds bill (SB21) greased to go through. Industry can rejoice,
everybody else, I hear there’s a sale on air filtration masks.”
— Tweet from Jean Hill, government liason for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City
The Session: A proponent of Utah's first nuclear reactors pushes to make his plan a reality, stresses the need for clean, cheap energy. [Trib]
-> A House resolution calls for an end to "invasive" TSA searches, with shouts of an invasion of personal liberties. [DNews]
-> Salt Lake County's "urban farmers," residents who grow food on small plots of at least 2 acres, could receive a property tax break under a bill unanimously cleared by the Senate. [Trib]
-> A bill meant to reaffirm Utah's sovereignty was passed by a House committee after snipping out provocative words toward the federal government. [DNews]
-> A state senator says Utahns pay for their water usage to encourage conservation. [Trib]
-> Companies that hire homeless people could get a tax credit for up to $1,000 per person hired under legislation the House passed. [Trib]
-> A bill would require high schoolers to take a one-semester class on the free enterprise system, which the bill's sponsor says would help kids learn valuable lessons in the wake of the recession. [Trib]
-> Motorists caught driving with expired licenses could get impounded on the spot by police under a bill passed by the Senate. [Trib]
-> Both houses of the Legislature unanimously passed a bill to honor the Girl Scouts' 100th birthday, receiving boxes of its cookies in thanks. [Trib]
-> One lawmaker wants to require all students to recite the pledge of allegiance in school each day. [DNews]
-> A bill to reduce voter mailings cleared both houses in favor of an online version, but those that still want a hard-copy will be able to request a packet. [Trib]
-> A bill that would put school funding directly into students' hands -- instead of schools' -- was held in a committee to make a few changes, such as possibly turning the idea into a test program first. [Trib] [DNews]
-> A new GRAMA bill would amend Utah's open records law creating a state records ombudsman to help the public make records requests. [DNews]
-> Minor traffic blunders could be petitioned off criminal records under a bill unanimously cleared through a Senate committee. [Trib]
-> Lawmakers continue to challenge the feds on authority of Utah's public lands. [APviaABC4]
-> Utah leaders debate how to spend the mortgage settlement money coming its way. [UtahPolicy]
-> A bill would allow voters to weigh in on whether they want their taxes increased to fund the arts. [UtahPolicy]
-> The House OKs a revamp of environmental boards, stripping their power to hear appeals of department decisions. [Trib]
-> The House passed legislation to crack down on black market sales of spice, a synthetic form of marijuana outlawed by the Legislature last year. [Trib]
-> TV cable consumers could get a small tax break -- about $1 per month -- to keep cable and satellite subscribers on a more equal footing. [Trib] [DNews]
-> The clock ran out on a House committee's debate over a move to create a state database to determine whether payday loans trap customers into a spiral of debt. [Trib]
-> A bill targets animals rights "terrorists" who take photos and pictures on farmers' property to create propaganda aimed at destroying the agriculture industry. [DNews]
Where are they?
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-- Matt Canham and Laura Schmitz
Twitter.com/mattcanham
