Utah State Law Library

The 2010 General Legislative Session began on Monday, January 25. The legislature is in session for 45 days - the last day falls on Thursday, March 11. There are a number of ways you can stay up to date with what's happening during the legislative session.

First, you can listen or watch live to the daily House and Senate floor debates. For live recordings, visit the legislature's home page. Archived recordings are available online for both the House (1990-present) and Senate (1998-present).

Second, you can listen to committee meetings and review committee agendas and related material. Use the main committee page to find the meeting you're interested in following. You can also track upcoming agendas.

Third, use the 2010 General Session page to follow bills, reading calendars and weekly schedules. From the General Session page, you can also read proposed bills from both the House and Senate, read House and Senate Journals, and set up bill tracking.

Photo Credit: Utah State Senate

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Two important Utah "State of..." addresses have already been delivered during this first week of the legislative session. Tonight, President Obama delivers the State of the Union address to the nation.

If you missed either Utah "State of..." speeches, you can read them in their entirety online. On Tuesday night, Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert delivered the State of the State address to the Utah legislature. Read the text of his speech here. Governor Herbert is required by the Utah Constitution to make an annual report to the legislature about the condition of the state.

On Monday, during the opening day of the legislature, Chief Justice Durham presented the State of the Judiciary address, which is also now available online. The State of the Judiciary address has been presented to the legislature since 1976, the first speech given by Chief Justice Swan. Court rule gives the duty of presenting the State of the Judicary address to the presiding officer of the Judicial Council, who is the Chief Justice, unless she is unable to perform her duties.

Tonight, you can live stream President Obama's State of the Union address or read the full-text version online after the speech. The President is required by the U.S. Constitution to give a report to Congress about the State of the Union - the fact that it happens every year is tradition and not mandated by law. Check out this New York Time's article for a brief history of the State of the Union.

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Today at 2:15 pm, Chief Justice Christine Durham will present the State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the Utah House and Senate on this opening day of the State legislature.

Listen or watch live; after the speech, you can also read a transcript of the address.

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On Saturday, January 4, 1896, U.S. President Grover Cleveland officially signed a Joint Resolution, at 29 Stat. 461 (pictured), announcing Utah as the 45th state. The official inauguration of state officials occurred two days later.

There are several educational websites about Utah's earliest days. One is Utah's Road to Statehood, created by the Utah State Archives. Here you'll read about the earliest political parties formed, learn about the 1895 Constitutional Convention, and see scanned historical documents from the Statehood celebration, including pictures of letters sent to the new Utah Governor Heber Wells.

Another great resource is Utah History to Go, created by the Utah State Historical Society. This encyclopedia of all things Utah has articles on Utah's struggle for statehood and early statehood life.

Historic newspapers provide a unique view of events from the time they occurred. The University of Utah's Digital Newspapers database lets you search a variety of Utah newspapers and date ranges. You can also narrow your search to a specific newspaper. The Library of Congress' free Chronicling America database lets you search and view articles from several newspapers in Utah and other states.

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Several Utah laws go into effect the first day of 2010, including:

SB0040
This bill amends the Uniform Driver License Act. It repeals the Drivers' License Division's Renewal-by-Mail program and requires any driver obtaining or renewing a driver's license to do so in person at a DMV office. The repeal of this rule was also recently announced in the Utah State Bulletin.

HB0067
This bill modifies the Property Tax Act by changing the procedures taxing entities must follow when advertising public hearings in newspapers and with county auditors.

HB0143
This bill amends the Motor Vehicle Act by modifying the definition of a custom vehicle and declaring it exempt from vehicle emissions inspections. This bill also defines a street rod as a vintage vehicle.

Want to learn more about these new laws? From each bill's home page, you can link to floor debate audio recordings or read committee minutes and reports.

Want to see what other laws become effective on January 1st? Go to the Utah State Legislature's passed bills page, select 2009 General Session (or either of the special sessions, if you're interested in those) from the drop down box, and click on the Effective Date heading to sort the list by that criteria.

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Interested in how stimulus funds are being spent in Utah? Check out Recovery.Utah.Gov.

You can track how state agencies are spending recovery money, link to information on how to apply for grants and search for a job--some of which were created because of the stimulus package. You'll also find a link to the Office of the State Auditor, where you can report fraud and waste.

Check out the map to see a statewide overview of how stimulus funds are being spent, or put in a specific address to see if any projects are happening near that place.

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The first Tuesday in November is Election Day. You can learn a lot about the state's election process online!

If you've ever wondered about Utah's election laws, you can find them in Utah Code Title 20A.

The state's Elections Office has voter, candidate, and lobbyist registration information. You can find local polling stations, read candidate financial disclosures, or learn what it takes to be a candidate.

Odd numbered years are generally reserved for municipal and local officer elections. The Elections Office has a directory of county clerks, who you can contact for information on candidates running in local elections.

For historical voting results, check out the Elections Office's Election Results page, where you can find county voting results for elections back to 1960.

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Interested in Utah agency publications that might not be available in print? Many government publications are "born digital"; that is, published online without a print version. The Utah State Library has developed a searchable online digital library of state and local agency publications, as well as federal publications about Utah.

Browse the digital library by topic or by agency. There are also specialized collections to search, including the Utah Public Health Library and government publications in Spanish. You can even view archived agency websites.

If you want to stay updated on the latest government publications, the State Library also has a blog that describes the lists the newest publications added to the digital library. You can subscribe to updates via email or RSS feed.

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You may have wondered it if pays to get involved in state government: how much does the governor make? Does he get a free car and housekeeping?

According to the Utah Code, the Utah Legislature determines the salaries for "constitutional offices," which include the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state auditor and state treasurer. As of 2008, the last time the Code section was updated, the governor earned $109,900 and received a number of other benefits. The other "constitutional offices" all earned 95% of the governor's salary. In addition, each "constitutional office" gets a car for official and personal use.

Other state officers' compensation is also discussed in the Utah Code.

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Utah has a new governor: Gary R. Herbert was sworn in yesterday (8/11), replacing Gov. Jon Huntsman, who resigned office to become U.S. Ambassador to China.

If you are looking for information about the new governor or other new offices, check out these new websites:
* The Governor's website at http://www.utah.gov/governor/index.html
* The Lt. Governor's website at http://www.utah.gov/ltgovernor/
* The First Lady's website at at http://firstlady.utah.gov/.

If you're interested in Ambassador Huntsman's work in China, check out the U.S. Department of State's website on China.

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A report this week from Government Computer News has declared the official State of Utah website one of ten exemplary online government websites for its aesthetic design, use of Web 2.0 tools like Twitter and blogging, and easy-to-navigate content.

If you haven't had a chance to see the redesigned State of Utah website, be sure to check out some of the unique features such as the online services directory, the business information center, and postings aggregated from Utah government and city blogs, including our own State Law Library blog. The 2008 U.S. States E-Governance Report consistently ranks Utah in the top ten state websites for usability, content, and privacy.

Read the entire Government Computer News report to learn more about Utah.gov's achievements and other great government websites.

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