Sen. Mike McKell’s bill aims to make social media moderation practices more transparent.
(Noah Berger | AP file photo) A sign hangs at Twitter headquarters on, Jan. 11, 2021, in San Francisco. A Utah lawmaker wants to crack down on social media censoring or restricting free speech.
| Feb. 26, 2021, 10:15 p.m.
Spanish Fork Sen. Mike McKell swears his bill targeting social media platforms that censor posts by Utah account holders is not a reaction to so-called “cancel culture.” He just wants some transparency in their decision-making.
“Our social media platforms have become a de facto public forum,” said McKell, an attorney. “We’ve seen some of the big social media platforms pulling folks off, and this requires clear information from a social media platform about their moderation practices.”
| Updated: 1:32 a.m.
Utah legislative leaders said the process of setting next year’s $21.7 billion budget was one of the easiest they’ve ever experienced. Having more than $1.5 billion in extra money to spend can help clear any roadblocks that pop up.
“This is probably the smoothest budgeting process I’ve seen in my nearly decade of doing budget negotiations with the Senate,” House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, told reporters Friday.
Last year, the unfolding coronavirus pandemic forced legislators to cut nearly $1 billion from the budget they had approved just a few months earlier. But, the economic damage from COVID-19 was not nearly as bad as they predicted.
Utah Senate kills then resurrects bill to eliminate signature-gathering path for candidates
Some worry the bill would lead to a referendum effort to do away with Utah’s convention system.
(Rick Bowmer | AP file photo) Republican Sen. Dan McCay s bill giving political parties the ability to prevent candidates from gathering signatures to get on the ballot was killed then resurrected in the Utah Senate on Feb. 25, 2021 | Updated: 3:50 a.m.
The Utah Senate on Thursday evening killed a proposal to give political parties the option of doing away with the alternative path to the ballot for candidates who gather signatures. But, less than an hour later, they revived the bill and advanced it.
| Updated: 7:07 p.m.
Itâs full speed ahead for the bill to limit the governorâs emergency powers during a long-term event, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
SB195 moved forward in the Utah Senate on Monday unanimously and won final Senate approval Tuesday. The bill from Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, is a response to the continuous state of emergency the state has been under for almost a year in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
As previously reported, the bill would not impact the governorâs ability to respond to an emergency as it happens, but if the emergency declaration lasts beyond 30 days, then lawmakers could get involved. State and local health departments could do the same.
When the Center for American Progress released a 2014 report evaluating how women fared across the nation, Utah took last place in terms of women being in positions of decision making and leadership. The Utah Women & Leadership Project at USU continued collecting data, tracking the progress of girls and women throughout the state. On the latest This Week in Moab, host Christy Williams Dunton speaks with director Susan Madsen about ‘The Status of Women in Utah Politics,’ one of their latest reports. Find out where women have made progress and where they have not – from Utah city councils to U.S. Congress and everything in-between.