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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.

Children dont make the lawsTax 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

Maternal Health

Oral Health

Health Coverage

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

 

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