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MINUTES OF THE
HOUSE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
ROOM W125, WEST OFFICE BUILDING, STATE CAPITOL COMPLEX
February 25, 2008

MEMBERS PRESENT:    Rep. Paul Ray, Chair
                Rep. Ronda R. Menlove, Vice Chair
                Rep. John Dougall
                Rep. Wayne A. Harper
                Rep. David Litvack
                Rep. Phil Riesen
                Rep. Stephen E. Sandstrom

MEMBERS ABSENT:    Rep. Richard A. Greenwood                    
            
STAFF PRESENT:        Mark Andrews, Policy Analyst
                Sylvia Newton, House Secretary

Note:    A list of visitors and copy of handouts are filed with committee minutes.


Rep. Ray called the meeting to order at 4:18 p.m.

MOTION:    Rep. Sandstrom moved to approve the minutes of the February 22, 2008 meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Dougall, Rep. Litvack, and Rep. Menlove absent for the vote.


1st Sub. S.B. 70    Emotional Support Animals (Sen. S. McCoy)

Sen. McCoy explained 1st Substitute S.B. 70 to the committee.

MOTION:    Rep. Menlove moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 6, Lines 152 through 155 :    

            
{   152
         (b) This section does not prohibit an owner or lessor of housing accommodations from
             153      charging a person, including a person with a disability, a reasonable deposit as security for any
             154      damage or wear and tear that might be caused by an emotional support animal if the owner or
             155      lessor would charge a similar deposit to other persons for potential wear and tear.   }

The motion to amend the bill passed unanimously.



MOTION:    Rep. Harper moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 5, Lines 129 through 131 :    

             129          (1) A mental health therapist may provide a person with a disability with
             130      documentation that:
             131          (a) is signed by the mental health therapist
  as defined in Section 58-60-102       ;


The motion to amend the bill passed unanimously.

MOTION:    Rep. Riesen moved to pass the bill as amended with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed unanimously.


H.B. 428    Statewide Standards for Health Care Interpreting (Rep. R. Chavez-Houck)

MOTION:    Rep. Litvack moved to delete in title and body H.B. 428 and replace it with 1st Substitute H.B. 428. The motion passed unanimously

Rep. Chavez-Houck explained 1st Substitute H.B. 428 to the committee.

Spoke in favor of the bill:    Jan Ferre, Legislative Coalition for People with Disabilities
                        Sabrina Morales, Communidades Unidas
                        Shu Cheng, Asian Association of Utah

Spoke to the bill:    Deb Turner, Department of Health
                Mike Richardson, Department of Workforce Services

MOTION:    Rep. Harper moved to proceed to the next item on the agenda.

SUBSTITUTE
MOTION:    Rep. Litvack moved to pass the bill with a favorable recommendation. The motion failed with Rep. Litvack, Rep. Riesen, and Rep. Menlove voting in favor of the motion.

SUBSTITUTE
MOTION:    Rep. Litvack moved to refer H.B. 428 to the Rules Committee for interim study. The motion passed with Rep. Dougall and Rep. Sandstrom voting in opposition to the motion.




H.B. 322    Local Health Department Funding (Rep. S. Clark)

This bill was not considered.


1st Sub. H.B. 174    Traumatic Brain Injury Fund (Rep. J. Gowans)

Rep. Gowans explained 1st Substitute H.B. 174 to the committee and provided handouts regarding traumatic brain injuries.

Spoke in favor of the bill:    Andrew Riggle, Disability Law Center
                        Rod Roskos, Brain Injury Association of Utah
                        Nita Smith, mother of a brain injury victim

Spoke to the bill:    Deb Turner, Department of Health

Rep. Dougall, Rep. Ray, and Rep. Gowans all declared a conflict of interest in the bill.

MOTION:    Rep. Dougall moved to pass the bill with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed unanimously.

MOTION:    Rep. Dougall moved to place 1st Substitute H.B. 174 on the Consent Calendar with the approval of Rep. Gowans. The motion passed unanimously.

MOTION:    Rep. Dougall moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

Rep. Ray adjourned the meeting at 5:16 p.m.





                        __________________
                        Rep. Paul Ray
                        Committee Chair