Lawmakers in red states like Wyoming, Virginia and Kentucky have been advancing bills to eliminate or restrict the death penalty. Some arguments have more to do with economics than ethics. “When you talk about death penalty, a lot of people immediately want to have a criminal justice angle on it or a morality angle. And mine is purely economics,” said Kentucky House Majority Whip Chad McCoy. He says the bill he is pushing would save his state millions. Meanwhile, Wyoming spends about $750,000 a year on legal bills for death row inmates, even though it has not executed anyone since 2004. [TheHill]
Happy Tuesday.
Topping the news: The Utah Senate on Monday passed a replacement Medicaid expansion plan that initially costs considerably more money to cover fewer people than the voter-approved Proposition 3. Senate leaders say the cost of the bill will eventually drop if the Trump administration signs off on the state’s changes and agrees to pay 90 percent of Utah’s Medicaid costs. If that is not granted, the bill would erase Medicaid expansion. SB96 is now headed to the House for consideration. [Trib] [Fox13] [DNews] [KUER]
-> Salt Lake City for years has quietly offered legislators the perk of free parking at its metered spaces downtown. That comes to light now because The Salt Lake Tribune obtained a copy of a letter from Mayor Jackie Biskupski outlining this year’s deal. Her office says it is designed to attract lawmakers to downtown restaurants and businesses, not to sway their votes for the city. [Trib]
-> President Donald Trump announced Monday that he will nominate David Bernhardt to serve as his next secretary of the Interior. Trump was reportedly choosing between Bernhardt and Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah. [Trib]
-> A poll shows that Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox has taken a slim lead among Republicans in the 2020 governor’s race, with former U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz on his heels. Earlier polls had shown Chaffetz in the lead. While Cox has not yet formally announced his candidacy for governor, he said called the result encouraging.[Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @RobertGehrke “I truly don’t think the voters understood.” — Sen. Anderegg. We’re trying to get the coverage voters said they wanted and still balance our budget #utpol.”
-> From @TaylorWAnderson “People realize that 138 percent of the federal poverty level is about minimum wage, $7.25/hour full-time, right? It's a single person making $16,753 a year or a family of four making $34,638. Just checking. #utpol”
-> From @BjaminWood “As other press corps folks have noted, the fiscal note for SB96 has disappeared #utpol https://le.utah.gov/lfa/fnotes/2019”/
In other news: Utah Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton caused a small twitter storm after a tweet he posted was critical of Utah’s religious leader’s take on medicaid expansion. The post, insinuating that religious organizations were unjustly turning to the government for support after their failure to care for the poor, provoked a series of responses that continued even after the tweet had been deleted. [Trib]
-> A bill advanced in the House to stop giving Utah schools a letter grade each year for their performance — a system that has been largely criticized for relying too much on test scores and accounting too little for diversity. [Trib] [DNews]
-> A bill advanced Monday to give students school credit to improve their grades if they do well on end-of-the-year standardized tests. Teachers complained that many now draw butterflies on test sheets or intentionally do as poorly as possible because they have no incentive to do well on them. It now goes to the full House. [Trib]
-> A new poll shows support for a “red flag law” in Utah that would grant judges the permission to temporarily strip firearms from individuals flagged as being at extreme risk of harming themselves or others. [Trib]
-> Gov. Gary Herbert on Monday hired Larry Echo Hawk as a special counsel for Indian Affairs. A Pawnee, he is the former Democratic Idaho attorney general, former U.S. assistant secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, and an emeritus general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Echo Hawk said he was surprised by the decision because he has been the one championing tribal rights and suing the state in the past. [Trib]
-> The Utah Legislature set aside Aug. 14 to honor Navajo Code Talkers who used their native language to send messages for U.S. troops during World War II. Navajo Nation President of Jonathan Nez said it would honor “all warriors” including those that “once fought against the U.S. government.” [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4]
-> A bill amending Utah’s Human Trafficking laws — to clarify that there is no statute of limitation on the crime of trafficking minors or vulnerable adults — is on its way to the full Senate after clearing a committee on Monday. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Utah lawmakers propose legislation that would grant immunity from arrest for sex workers who report being victims of a crime. [DNews]
-> What was slated to be Utah’s first medical Marijuana case will not go to trial. Sean Moss entered a plea deal on Friday avoiding jail time after DUI and possession of a controlled substance charges were dropped. Moss drove his vehicle into a fence after suffering from an epileptic seizure. No one was injured but police had found products containing THC in the trunk of his car. [Fox13]
-> Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke discusses how a red flag bill could potentially reduce Utah’s suicide rates. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates a Utah lawmaker edition of the food service industry. [Trib]
Nationally: Among the 13 invitations to attend the State of the Union Address on Tuesday sent out by President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, is one addressed to a sixth grader from Delaware who claims he is being bullied in school because he shares the president’s last name. [Politico]
-> President Trump’s company has fired at least 18 undocumented workers from its golf courses in New York and New Jersey in the past two months — coming as the president fights for a wall on the border of Mexico. [WaPost] [TheHill]
-> Investigations into the 2016 presidential election broaden as federal investigators issue a subpoena for documents to President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee. Subpoenas seek information about the committee’s donors. A spokesman for the committee said they intend to cooperate fully. [Politico] [WaPost] [NYTimes]
-> After eight years of GOP rule, the new Democratic-controlled House this week will hold the first hearings in years about fighting climate change. [TheHill]
-> The first reports about racist photographs from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s medical school year book and the second of sexual assault against Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax were originally published by an obscure right-wing media outlet. [NYTimes]
-> Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners have transferred American-made weapons to al Qaeda-linked fighters and other factions waging war in Yemen in violation of their agreements with the United States. [CNN]
-> Georgia Democrats urge Stacey Abrams, who was narrowly defeated in the state’s governor race, to challenge Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue in the 2020 state election. Abrams is scheduled to give the democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday. [NYTimes]
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Lee Davidson and Christina Giardinelli