A town in Wales wants a statue of Martha Hughes Cannon — the first female state senator in Utah and the U.S. — to recognize where she was born. Utah lawmakers will likely pass a Medicaid expansion plan, but the federal government might not sign off on it. Republican Rep. Mike Noel dropped his Trump highway bill after personal attacks and uproar.
Happy Thursday. State lawmakers voted this year to send a a statue of Martha Hughes Cannon — the first female state senator in Utah and the country — to the U.S. Capitol. Now, her hometown in Wales is looking to memorialize her, too. "There are statues, there's even been plays and a musical about her,” said one historian. “But in the place she was born [in 1857] there's nothing to even mark that she came from the town.” [BBC]
Topping the news: The Legislature could pass a Medicaid expansion plan — but that doesn’t mean the feds will sign off on it. [Trib]
-> Here’s a rundown of the widespread election laws Utah could enact this year, including Election Day registration. [Trib]
-> State Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, dropped his bill that would name a state highway after President Donald Trump, saying personal attacks wore him down. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13] [KSL]
-> The UTA’s co-vice chairwoman fears that a proposal to change the agency’s legal representation to the Utah Attorney General’s Office could threaten its immunity deal with federal prosecutors. [Trib] Now the legislation looks to equalize transit tax rates across counties. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @StephenAtHome: “With all these headlines, I just assumed Steel Tariffs was Stormy Daniel’s co-star.”
-> From @LaurenLaCapra: “I think we can all agree that the worst part of the Trump tariff news is having to hear British people repeatedly pronounce an ‘i’ that doesn’t exist in ‘aluminum.’“
Trib Caucus Slack Chat: Tribune political reporters and columnists discuss school funding and the Trump highway proposal as the Legislature wraps up. [Trib]
In other news: Utah’s largest coal producer is asking for a tax royalty reduction, but BLM officials won’t disclose how big the cut would be is or the reason for the request. [Trib]
-> Gov. Gary Herbert ordered executive branch employees Monday to stop lobbying the Legislature after lawmakers debated a bill addressing the same issue. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> A bill that would give EnergySolutions a $1.7 million fee break was approved by the Utah Senate and now goes to the governor’s desk. [Trib]
-> Despite a veto threat from Herbert, the Utah House passed a bill Wednesday that would make it easier for the Legislature to defend state laws in court. [Trib] [DNews]
-> A bill that would create a ban on noncompete clauses for broadcast journalists needs one more House vote to move on to the governor. [Trib] [DNews]
-> The House passed a bill Wednesday to scrap a state election law that lets candidates get on the ballot in two ways — on the condition that a ballot initiative fails to cement it. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Another bill to fund the states’ homeless shelters passed through the Legislature on Wednesday and is now up for Herbert’s consideration, but it no longer requires cities that lack affordable housing to foot the bill. [DNews]
-> Utah lawmakers approved a bill to change the charter school approval process and the makeup of the State Charter School Board. [Trib]
-> A bill that would strike a compromise to increase school funding without a ballot initiative passed out of committee Wednesday. [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4] [KUTV]
-> State lawmakers passed a resolution to rename Starvation State Park to honor Utah State Parks and Recreation director Fred Hayes, who died last week. [Trib] [DNews]
-> TEDx Salt Lake City announced Monday that it would delete its video of a Salt Lake City school administrator who allegedly misused public funds. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley depicts lawmakers’ unleashing of last-minute bills. [Trib]
-> Robert Gehrke looks at what the Legislature has done right this year — as well as a couple things it did wrong. [Trib]
-> Michelle Quist takes a trip through the more embarrassing moments of this year’s legislative session. [Trib]
Nationally: Despite criticism from Republicans, President Donald Trump is set to formalize tariffs on aluminum and steel Thursday. [NYTimes]
-> Florida lawmakers passed a gun control bill Wednesday that would raise the minimum age for buying guns to 21, improve school security, train school employees to carry firearms and ban bump stocks. [WaPost]
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— Courtney Tanner and Madalyn Gunnell
Follow @sltribpolitics