The more that you read, 
the more things you will know.  
The more that you learn,
The more places you’ll go. 

-Dr. Seuss

Good Morning! It’s Read Across America Day, and also Day 39 of the Utah legislative session. Here’s what’s happening in the Senate today:

* Floor Time
-Morning: 8-11:45 a.m.
-Afternoon: 2:10-5 p.m.
* Executive Appropriations meets today at 4 p.m. Stream live on le.utah.gov
* The Third Reading Calendar has gotten rather long, so we’ll dispense from typing it out and let you peruse it from the legislature’s web page.
* Join the live press access time streaming on our Facebook today after morning floor time. Don’t be left out! We’ll announce starting times on Twitter and Facebook.

Media Hightlights

The state budget is starting to slowly come together as the 2012 legislative season moves into final week. “This gets to be a little bit tough right now, because every program out there is a good program,” said Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City. “You wonder how government grows? This is how government grows, because these are good programs.  Read more at The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News.

By passing SCR11, the Senate would officially stand against the indefinite detention provisions of the bill and urge that Congress alter or abolish them. “Winning the war against terror,” SCR11 correctly and courageously states, “cannot come at the great expense of mitigating basic, fundamental, constitutional rights.”  Read More at The Salt Lake Tribune.

HB129 received preliminary approval in the Utah Senate. “If you’re being victimized, you can defend yourself without being sued by the person trying to take advantage of you or your property,” Senator Bramble said.  Read more in the Deseret News and KSL.com.

As a package of House bills moved to the Senate on Thursday, Senate leadership appears willing to challenge the federal control of public lands in Utah.”It’s our job to pass bills that our constituents want, and the courts can decide whether it’s unconstitutional,” Waddoups said. Read more in the The Spectrum.com.

HB108  passed the Senate unanimously“It preserves what Utah has been, which is a state that does not recognize gambling,” said Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem. Read more in The Salt Lake Tribune and KCPW.