Posts for January 21, 2010

LAWMAKERS ROLL OUT ETHICS PACKAGE

Utah lawmakers have introduced a five-bill package of ethics reform in answer to the initiative being circulated throughout the state to put on the November 2010 ballot. It appears to be widely supported in both houses of the Utah Legislature.



The bill package includes:



· A constitutional amendment that would set up a five-member independent ethics commission made up of three retired judges, a retired House member and a retired state senator. The commission would hear complaints against lawmakers in private. If the complaint becomes public, it is dismissed. Two residents may file a complaint, but one must have "firsthand knowledge" of the offense — in other words must have been present when the offense takes place. It takes at least four of the five commission members to vote in favor of sanction, so one of the former legislator/commissioners must vote to recommend sanctions.



· Greater disclosure of financial and other possible conflicts of interests by legislators. They must detail any source of income greater than $5,000, ownership of stock above $5,000 and list any boards or advisory positions to which they belong. Candidates for legislative and statewide offices, too, must report conflicts.



· Further tightening of the gifts legislators can take from lobbyists. It bans all gifts over $10. Meals are not gifts, but any meal costing more than $10 will come with a legislator's name attached. But there are exceptions. Meals under $10 are reported, but not with a legislator's name. If the whole Legislature or a group of legislators is invited, only totals are reported by the giving lobbyists, no lawmaker names. If the legislator is asked to speak or given an award at an event, the value of the gift is reported but without the legislator's name. If the event is part of an official legislative activity, like a dinner at the National Conference of State Legislatures, the giving lobbyist reports the amount given but no attending legislators' names.



· Any invitations to charitable or political events paid by a lobbyist are not reported, like a ticket to the Governor's Ball fundraiser.



· The speaker of the House and president of the Senate can approve lobbyist-paid travel or other expenses for a legislator, and the legislator's name would not be reported.



· Adopting campaign contribution limits as proposed by the Governor's Commission on Strengthening Utah's Democracy — a $10,000 limit for statewide races, like governor, over a two-year election cycle; $5,000 for senators and representatives. Candidates and officeholders will report contributions and expenditures monthly, instead of four times a year as is now required.

NEW JOBLESS CLAIMS RISE UNEXPECTEDLY

January 21, 2010 – Associated Press

Official: Much of increase due to administrative backlog over holidays

WASHINGTON - A surprising jump in first-time claims for unemployment aid sent a painful reminder Thursday that jobs remain scarce six months into the economic recovery.

The surge in last week's claims deflated hopes among some analysts that the economy would produce a net gain in jobs in January and help fuel the recovery.

A Labor Department analyst said much of the increase was due to holiday-season-related administrative backlogs at the state agencies that process the claims. Still, economists noted that that would mean claims in previous weeks had been artificially low. Those earlier declines had sparked optimism that layoffs were tapering and that employers would add a modest number of jobs in January.

The January employment report will be issued Feb. 5. But the surveys used to compile that report were done last week, so economists are paying close attention to the jobless claims figures from that week.

"The trend in the data is still discouraging," Diane Swonk, chief economist for Mesirow Financial, wrote in a note to clients. "Hopes for a positive employment number in January ... are rapidly dimming."

The disappointing jobless claims report contributed to a gloom on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 182 points by late morning, or 1.7 percent, and broader indexes also fell.

A separate report Thursday that seeks to forecast future economic activity offered a more positive outlook. The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators jumped 1.1 percent in December, suggesting that economic growth could pick up this spring.

In its report on jobless claims, the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment aid rose by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 482,000. Wall Street economists had expected a small drop, according to Thomson Reuters.

The four-week average, which smooths fluctuations, rose for the first time since August, to 448,250.

Initial claims had dropped steadily since last fall as companies cut fewer jobs. First-time claims have dropped by 50,000, or nearly 10 percent, since late October.

Still, employers are reluctant to hire. The Labor Department said earlier this month that employers cut 85,000 jobs in December, after adding 4,000 in November. November's increase was the first in nearly two years. The unemployment rate was 10 percent in December, unchanged from November.

WORKERS ARE UNEMPLOYED SO LONG, THEY'RE FORGETTING THEIR SKILLS

January 21, 2010 -- Vincent Fernando and Kamelia Angelova – “Chart of the Day”

As highlighted by The Economist, only 400,000 more Americans were employed in 2009 vs. 1999 despite the fact that the population had grown by 30 million. Yet it gets worse -- Not only has unemployment skyrocketed, but long-term unemployment has skyrocketed even higher. (Shown in the chart below.)





The Economist: Long-term unemployment is what will make this economic downturn inordinately tough for many Americans to bear. Regardless of what headline U.S. GDP data may do, many of the people represented by the spike below will experience a multi-year personal economic downturn regardless.



Of course, it's worth asking whether the skills they forget will even be valuable by the time things turn around.

UTAH TO GET $4.6M IN GRANTS FOR TRAINING

Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 – Deseret News

Utah will receive $4.6 million in State Energy Sector Partnerships and Training Grants designed to teach workers the skills required in emerging industries, including energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The U.S. Department of Labor announced the grant awards Wednesday. Utah's amount is part of nearly $190 million in the latest funding round that is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It is the third award announcement in the past three weeks, with the national total being nearly $440 million.

In Utah, the state Department of Workforce Services will use the grant to assist dislocated workers, disadvantaged youth and veterans using a series of energy-efficiency and renewable energy training and job placement programs

LAYTON WORKS TO LURE FIRM TO EAST GATE; COMPANY COULD CREATE 100 JOBS, DOMINO EFFECT FOR BUSINESS PARK

January 21, 2010 - By Bryon Saxton (Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau)

LAYTON -- If a well-established composite manufacturing company from Washington state relocates to the newly opened East Gate business park east of Hill Air Force Base, it could bring more than 100 jobs to the area.

Layton officials are hoping to close the deal by using as a carrot the trained labor force that Davis Applied Technology College in Kaysville can provide to the company through its school of manufacturing.

In the last few weeks, city leaders have been meeting with representatives from the company, which they are declining to name at this time.

Mayor Steve Curtis said the city, at the most recent meeting, presented a detailed proposal in an effort to get the company to relocate here.

The proposal made to the Washington group doesn't include any tax-dollar incentives, Curtis said, but negotiations are not complete and no contracts have been signed.

The city anticipates receiving a response before the end of March, Curtis said.

"I am really pumped. This is something we have worked very hard for. This is a step in the right direction."

While the company would initially create more than 100 jobs, Curtis said, that might be only the beginning.

"The domino effect that could happen is that it could bring in thousands of jobs," he said, referring to other manufacturing companies that could follow.

The city's proposal includes as "a driver" the DATC in Kaysville, and what the college, with a current enrollment of 1,850 students, offers the manufacturing company, said DATC president and Layton City Councilman Michael Bouwhuis.

He is actively involved in negotiations with the Washington company.

"One of the drivers for companies locating in the area is (having) a trained work force with the skill sets they require," Bouwhuis said.

DATC machine tool instructor Troy Winchester said the school's machine-tool program has more than 100 students. Most are entry level, he said, but a number of them are already machinists who are upgrading their skill level.

"We've got a little bit of everything to help these businesses coming in," Winchester said of DATC's school of manufacturing.

The school includes technical courses in architectural and engineering design, machine tool, welding and composite materials technology.

The close proximity of DATC to East Gate, as well as the classes the college offers, makes Layton's proposal more enticing, Curtis said.

The college prepares students for a career in composite manufacturing, he said. "It's an added plus."

Another manufacturing company from Washington state has shown interest in the East Gate property, Bouwhuis said.

East Gate is a 650-acre business park at 3500 N. Fairfield Road. The city is developing the first 120 acres of the project in concert with J.L. Properties, a development group from Anchorage, Alaska, and the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.

Currently, 130 acres of the project are "shovel-ready" for development, said Ben Hart, Layton's economic specialist.

Since the city has declared East Gate to be a business park anchored by aerospace and composite manufacturing businesses, it seems to be drawing those types of companies like a magnet, Bouwhuis said.

Many of the businesses expressing interest in the city's development are looking to locate on the north end of the Wasatch Front so they will be closer to the companies they want to serve, he said.

Although the Washington company the city has been working with has shown high interest in Layton, including having its representatives tour DATC, Bouwhuis said he has been in this game long enough to realize hopes can be dashed because of the cost of relocating a company.

"They spend a ton of hours back at the shop doing return-on-investment comparisons."

The type of companies the city is interested in attracting often talk about starting with 100 to 150 jobs, with plans to grow to 300, Bouwhuis said.

"We are so aggressive, hungry to get companies into our community," he said.

"It is just essential for us. We have got to have a broader tax base."

Layton has to have more than the sales tax revenues it receives from its strong retail base, he said.

To help with recruitment, Hart said, the city recently completed an 80-foot-wide road extension into the East Gate property that allows officials to better show the project to potential tenants.

HIGH COURT STRIKES CORPORATE SPENDING BAN

January 21, 2010 -- Matthew Murray, Roll Call Staff

The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted long-held bans on corporate and union involvement in federal elections, ruling that outside groups can spend unlimited sums on television advertising and other campaign expenditures.

“The court has recognized that the First Amendment applies to corporations ... and extended this to the context of political speech,” the justices ruled in the narrow 5-4 decision.

The high court has been deliberating for months on the case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which originally involved whether a conservative advocacy group could distribute and promote its made-for-television production “Hillary: The Movie” during the mandatory blackout periods preceding the 2008 presidential primaries.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) are planning a news conference Thursday morning to announce they are introducing legislation to stem the effects of the decision.

Before Thursday’s ruling, “Hillary: The Movie” was considered prohibited “electioneering communications” because it was considered the “functional equivalent” of prohibited “express advocacy” by outside groups. Corporations, unions and most trade associations are prohibited from bankrolling broadcast political ad campaigns — either directly or through outside groups — in the 30 days before a primary and 60 days before a general election.

The Supreme Court asked to rehear the case, originally heard last June, last fall during Sonia Sotomayor’s first appearance on the bench.

HADCO TO CONSTRUCT MOUNTAIN VIEW CORRIDOR

January 21, 2010

The Utah Department of Transportation has selected HADCO Construction of Lehi to build the Utah County segment of the Mountain View Corridor.
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CONFRONTING THE TRIFECTA OF TROUBLE - SEMINAR

January 21, 2010 – Utah Employers Council

Do you find yourself struggling to make ends meet while reducing your workforce and trying to encourage employees to take on more duties? Are you experiencing an increase in discrimination and harassment claims? If so, listen up! Today’s challenging economic climate has forced employers to confront three worrying trends, in combination creating a "Trifecta of Trouble:"

Trouble #1: The pressure of cutting jobs and the effects of letting employees go
Trouble #2: The necessity of getting more from less, even with demoralized employees
Trouble #3: The increased risk of employment litigation and unionization

Expert attorneys Jathan Janove and James M. Barrett, of the law firm Ater Wynne LLP, will explore the practical and legal risks posed by these troubles. Using real-world examples, they will lay out strategies to help companies successfully navigate through this worrisome trifecta and thrive in today’s economy.

The seminar is being held Tuesday, February 2, at the Red Lion Hotel, 161 W 600 S, Salt Lake City, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon (registration and breakfast buffet 7:15 - 8:00 am). Cost is $115 per Council member; $195 non-member. Call the Council office or reply to this email with registration information or download the registration form at http://ecutah.org/trifecta.pdf. Full refund or credit will be given if cancellation is received one week prior to meeting.

Certification: This program is approved for 3.5 recertification hours toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute (HRCI).