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AM News Brief: Driver's License On Your Phone, Uranium & Tanning

Photo of a man behind steering wheel holding out a smartphone.
iStock.com / bernardbobo
A senate committee unanimously passed a bill yesterday that would create a pilot program for electronic driver’s licenses by January 2021. This story and more in the Friday morning news brief.";

Friday morning, Feb. 14, 2020

State

Possible Ban On Tanning For Minors

Minors could soon be banned from using tanning beds, under a bill moving through the state legislature. After a debate over health dangers and parental rights, it passed the Utah House of Representatives Thursday. Opponents say it restricts the rights of parents too much, but proponents of the bill say tanning is too dangerous, like alcohol and tobacco, to allow minors access. — Sonja Hutson

Driver’s License On Your Phone?

A senate committee unanimously passed a bill yesterday that would create a pilot program for electronic driver’s licenses by January 2021. Based on the results of that, the public could download an app and use these licenses the following year. The program could be funded by drivers who pay extra for an electronic license or by businesses that scan IDs, but that is yet to be determined. — Jessica Lowell

Southern Utah

U Study Looks At Monument Management Plan

The recently released management plans for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments, already slammed by tribes and environmentalists, may also violate federal law, according to a new law review article by two University of Utah researchers. They say tribes and environmental groups are likely to sue the Trump administration over the management plans, which would result in new legal precedent clarifying how the BLM should balance protection of resources with other uses in national monuments. Read the full story. — Kate Groetzinger, Blanding

Region

Federal Support For New Uranium Reserve

As part of its budget plan, the Trump Administration proposes spending $1.5 billion for a new uranium reserve. That could help struggling uranium mining companies in our region. But many conservation groups don’t want this reserve. They say it would hurt the environment and the United States already has reliable trade partners like Australia and Canada. — Madelyn Beck, Mountain West News Bureau

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