State Policy
The 2018 Utah Legislative Session will take place from January 22 to March 8, with 45 days chock full of long committee meetings, urgent Action Alerts, conversations between community members and legislators, demonstrations on the steps of the State Capitol Building and much more!
We'll be following a lot of different bills during the 2018 session, not all of which will be made public before the session officially begins. Some bills are introduced with language that we support, and then that language changes over the course of the legislative process. Occasionally, the changes are subtantial enough to warrant a change in our position. We will do our best to keep this list of bills - as well as our positions - updated for your information, but it can be tricky when things are so busy for our staff during this crazy time of year.
We are working on several bills that will be priorities for us in 2018. You can learn more about these priority legislative proposals by clicking on the topic links below.
Tax and Budget Issues
Creating a State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Restoring Investment in Children
Health Issues
12-Month Continuous Eligibility for Utah Kids with Medicaid
Early Childhood Care & Education
High Quality Child Care
Governance and Coordination of Early Childcare Services
Juvenile Justice Issues
Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform
Bills
| Bill & Sponsor | Description | Voices for Utah Children Position |
| HB 12 "Family Planning Services Amendments," Rep. Ray Ward |
Enables access to family planning services for certain low-income individuals not currently covered by Medicaid. | Support |
| HB 24 "Autism Insurance Coverage Sunset Amendments," Rep. Paul Ray |
Allows for continuation of guaranteed insurance coverage for health needs of children with autism spectrum disorder. | Support |
| HB 41 "Mental Health Crisis Line Amendment," Rep. Steve Eliason |
Creates a statewide mental health crisis line through the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. | Support |
| HB 57 "Intergenerational Poverty Work and Self-Sufficiency Tax Credit," Rep. John Westwood |
Enacts a refundable state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for Utahns living in Intergenerational Poverty (IGP). | Support |
| HB 64 "Distracted Driver Amendments," Rep. Carol Spackman-Moss |
Prohibits the use of a handheld mobile device while operating a moving motor vehicle unless the person uses hands-free technology. | Support |
| HB 123 "Child Care Licensing Amendments," Rep. Karen Kwan |
Makes technical changes regarding fingerprinting requirements for child care professionals, to conform with new federal requirements. | Following |
| HB 132S01 "Juvenile Justice Modifications," Rep. Lowry Snow |
Rolls back certain key reforms from HB239 (juvenile justice reform legislation from 2017) related to how status offenses such as truancy can be handled by schools (with a sunset provision for this rollbacks). Allows schools flexiblity in use of funding for dealing with truancy issues. Clarifies roles/responsibilities of School Resource Officers, prosecutors. | Following |
| HB148 "Tax Revisions," Rep. Quinn | Eliminates Utah's 1.75% state sales tax on grocery food items. | Support |
| HB 156 "Family Leave Amendments," Rep. Elizabeth Weight |
Directs state agencies and higher education employers to provide eligible employees with paid parental leave upon birth/adoption of child. | Support |
| HB 164 "Early Learning Task Force," Rep. Bruce Culter |
Establishes a task force to review newly-released Early Childhood Services study and make appropriate legislative recommendations for 2019 session. | Following |
| HB 170 "Licensing Fee Waivers Amendments," Rep. Susan Pulsipher |
Allows certain people (including those who receive certain types of aid from Department of Workforce Services) to applying for a license from the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing. | Support |
| HB 177 "Trauma-Informed Justice Provisions," Rep. Ken Ivory |
Creates a multi-disciplinary trauma-informed committee, as part of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, focused on training victim advocates and meeting the needs of victims and their families. | Following |
| HB 190 "Juvenile Offense and Jurisdiction Modifications," Rep. Mike Winder |
Drops from 16 to 15 the age at which a child is tried as an adult for homicide against a law enforcement officer. | Oppose |
| HB 207 "Fatherhood and Healthy Relationships Initiatives," Rep. Mike Winder |
Establishes a commission to promote and support healthy father-child relationships, particularly among populations experiencing hardships such as homelessness and substance use disorder. | Following |
| HB232 "Health Education Amendments," Rep. Ray Ward |
Removes restrictive prohibitions on the open discussion by health educators in Utah schools of contraceptives for health protection and family planning. | Support |
| HB264 "Elementary School Counselor Program," Rep. Steve Eliason |
Creates grants for elementary schools to provided school-based mental health supports in elementary schools. | Support |
| HB278 "Paid Family and Medical Leave Tax Credit," Rep. Becky Edwards |
Establishes a state tax credit equal to 25% of the amount claimed under the federal employer tax credit for paid family and medical leave. | Support |
| HB319 "Early Care and Learning Coordination Amendments," Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck |
Establishes an Early Childhood Commission, advised by the Early Childhood Utah Advisory Council, to coordinate services for Utah's young children (under 6). | Support |
| HB325 "Primary Care Network Amendments," Rep. Steve Eliason |
Provides enhanced health coverage benefits for certain people who quality for coverage by Utah's Primary Care Network. | Support |
| HB326 "Intergenerational Poverty Initiative," Rep. Ed Redd |
Establishes a county-focused grant (pilot) program to support local solutions to intergenerational poverty. | Support |
| HB380 "Utah School Readiness Initiative Amendments," Rep. Brad Last |
Extends the state's Pay-for-Success contracting program to provide high-quality Pre-Kindergarten slots around the state. | Support |
| HB472 "Medicaid Expansion Amendments," Rep. Richard Spendlove |
Directs the Department of Health to seek expansion of Medicaid with various wavier-dependent restrictions, such as a work requirement and sub-optimal financial eligibility requirements. | Oppose |
| HR 1 "House Resolution Urging Restorative Justice in Utah’s Education System," Rep. Sandra Hollins |
Encourages the State Board of Education and school districts to implement restorative justice programs in primary and secondary schools, to help Utah students deal with issues and conflict in a healthier and more constructive way. | Support |
| HJR 6 "Joint Resolution Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act," Rep. Gage Froer |
Commemorates the 50th anniversary of Fair Housing Act (which includes protections against discrimination for families with children). | Support |
| SB 31 "Utah Mobile Crisis Outreach Team," Sen. Daniel Thatcher |
Empowers the Mental Health Crisis Line Commission to be the Mental Health Crisis Outreach (MCOT) advisory committee for the state. Would require licensing by the state for individuals to participate on MCOTs (with penalties for unlicensed MCOT activities). | Following |
| SB 48 "Medicaid Waiting Period Amendments," Sen. Allen Christensen |
Re-establishes a five-year waiting period for legal immigrant children to be covered by Medicaid or CHIP, resulting in about 475 children losing health coverage (the Legislature removed this waiting period during the 2016 Legislative Session). | Oppose |
| SB 65 "Child Neglect Amendments," Sen. Lincoln Fillmore |
Changes legal definition of neglect to exclude instances when parents allow their children to engage independently in activities like walking to varoius community locations. | Following |
| SB 81 "Children's Justice Center Program," Sen. Ralph Okerlund |
Establishes a Children’s Justice Center, satellite office or multidisciplinary team to serve child abuse victims in Juab County. | Support |
| SB161 "Nurse Home Visiting Pay-for-Success Program," Sen. Luz Escamilla |
Establishes a Pay-for-Success program to support evidence-based home visiting in Utah. | Support |
| SB162 "Intergenerational Poverty Matching - Education Savings Plan," Sen. Evan Vickers |
Creates the Education Savings Piilot Program to provide matching contributions to 529 savings accounts on behalf of children experiencing intergenerational poverty. | Support |
| SB172 "Medicaid Waiver Amendments," Sen. Daniel Hemmert |
Directs the Department of Health to implement work and community service requirements for parents currently receiving Medicaid; also requires Dept. of Health to shorten periods of retroactivfe eligibility and incorporate direct primary care models. | Oppose |
| SB194 "Early Literacy Amendment," Sen. Ann Milner |
Enhances existing early literacy programs with digital reporting, funding flexibility, and support for schools that are struggling to meet early literacy goals. | Support |
| SB198 "Public School Disciplinary Action Amendments," Sen. Jacob Anderegg | Requires the Utah State Board of Education to compile and annually present information about disciplinary actions taken by School Resource Officers in public schools. | Support |
| SJR 6 "Joint Resolution Encouraging the Reduction of Pediatric Deaths from Injury and Illness," Sen. Jani Iwamoto |
Emphasizes the importance of reducing pediatric deaths and injuries, and encourages the Department of Health to establish a multi-stakeholder Pediatric Trauma and Quality Assurance Network. | Support |
News Contact Lawmakers Sign Up for E-AlertsFollow @utchildren
Wednesday, 14 March 2018 11:47
2018 Utah Legislative Update
Thursday, 04 January 2018 10:14
ACT NOW: Community-based Home Visiting Programs in Utah Need Your Voice!
Friday, 20 October 2017 13:43
What do Utahns Think About the Proposed Changes to Medicaid and PCN? Results of a Statewide Survey
Wednesday, 04 October 2017 12:52
Congress Missed the Deadline on CHIP: What Does That Mean for Utah Kids? (And what we can do about it)
Friday, 22 September 2017 12:21
Tell Congress to Protect Healthcare for Kids: Graham-Cassidy ACA Repeal Bill Threatens the Children’s Health Insurance Program
Thursday, 06 July 2017 14:39
Utah’s Double Medicaid Threat
Tuesday, 27 June 2017 11:36
2017 Measures of Child Well-Being in Utah and the National Annie E. Casey Data Book Released
Tuesday, 06 June 2017 10:36
Restructuring the Medicaid program would hurt Utah Children and Families
Tuesday, 06 June 2017 10:12
How is Utah Investing in Kids? Utah Children's Budget Report 2017 Released
Thursday, 30 March 2017 11:12
The Utah Legislative Session came to an end and a Medicaid crisis was averted... for now.
