Friday evening, December 27, 2019
State
New Laws For 2020
Starting Wednesday, Utahns will not be allowed to hold a local and state office at the same time. Another new law prevents artists or venues from cancelling resold tickets — so Utahns can buy up multiple tickets when they go on sale and sell them. Finally, as of Jan. 1, drivers licenses will be valid for eight years instead of five, and renewal fees on those licenses will increase from 32 dollars to 52 dollars. — Sonja Hutson
Road Use Fee
Utah officials have announced plans to launch a fee program on Jan. 1 for owners of alternative vehicles. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that volunteer drivers would pay a 1.5 cent per mile “road user charge” and could pay less than the state’s registration for electric car owners. The fee is expected to raise money for highways and could someday replace gas taxes. — Associated Press
Northern Utah
Police Shooting In South Ogden
A man was shot and killed by police officers in South Ogden early Friday morning. A spokesperson for the Weber County Attorney’s Office said the victim was a 42-year-old white male named Frederick Jeremy Atkin. The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave. The Weber County Critical Incident Task Force has launched an investigation. The attorney’s office would not comment further. This is the 11th officer-involved fatality in Utah this year. That’s according to the ACLU of Utah. The number is down from 19 last year. — Nate Hegyi
Region
Poverty In The Mountain West
Over the last five years, the population in the Mountain West has increased rapidly. At the same time every state in our region saw a decrease in the number of people living in poverty. That’s according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Census. Utah saw the biggest drop in our region since 2014, and the six largest nationwide. — Noah Glick, Mountain West News Bureau