| Members Present: Sen. Heidi Balderree, Senate Chair Rep. Raymond P. Ward, House Chair Rep. Stephanie Gricius, House Vice Chair Sen. John D. Johnson Sen. Michael S. Kennedy Sen. Todd D. Weiler Rep. Melissa G. Ballard Rep. James Cobb Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost Rep. Ken Ivory Rep. Marsha Judkins Rep. Trevor Lee | Rep. Rosemary T. Lesser Rep. Anthony E. Loubet Members Absent: President J. Stuart Adams Sen. Luz Escamilla Sen. Daniel W. Thatcher Rep. Kera Birkeland Staff Present: Sean C. Faherty, Finance Officer Russell T. Frandsen, Finance Officer Josh Pittman, Financial Analyst An Bradshaw, Committee Secretary |
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Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
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| 1.Call to Order |
| Chair Balderree called the meeting to order at 8:14 a.m. |
| 2.Unfinished Items from the Previous Agenda |
| There were no unfinished items from the previous agenda. |
| 3.Public Comment |
| Gina Cornia, Utahns Against Hunger, spoke in support of funding for the Summer EBT food program. |
| Maryann Martindale, CEO, Utah Academy of Family Division, spoke in favor of funding graduate medical residencies. |
| Ciriac Alvarez, Senior Policy Analyst, Voices for Utah Children, spoke against cuts for Medicaid funding for non-citizen children. |
| Rep. Ward asked for additional information on funding emergency medical services for non-citizens, and Russell Frandsen responded. |
| Rep. Lesser commented that emergency Medicaid is also available for labor and delivery. |
| Kirsten Stoesser, citizen, spoke in support of funding for training medical residents who will serve vulnerable populations. |
| Gabby Saunders, American College of OBGYNs, spoke in support of funding breast and cervical cancer screenings. |
| Emily Chin, citizen, spoke in support of funding residency training for primary care physicians |
| Josh Roesener, citizen, spoke in support of funding graduate medical education. |
| Jennifer Campbell, Executive Director, Utah Domestic Violence Coalition, spoke in support of funding homeless services. |
| Molly Wheeler, Deputy Director, Utah League of Cities and Towns, spoke in support of funding homeless services. |
| Dave Davis, President, Utah Food Industry Association, spoke in support of funding for the K-12 EBT summer feeding program. |
| 4.Department of Workforce Services (DWS) - All Areas Base Budget Overview |
| 4e-Fee Brief - Department of Workforce Services - Issue Brief |
| Josh Pittman introduced the base budget for Department of Workforce Services (DWS). |
| Rep. Ivory asked if there is a way to quantify the maintenance of effort to draw down federal dollars, and Russell Frandsen responded. |
| Kevin Burt, Deputy Director, DWS, and Col. Gary Harter, Executive Director, Department of Veteran and Military Affairs, discussed SAE funds for veterans. |
| Rep. Ivory asked about a new Chamber of Commerce for veterans, and Gary Harter responded. |
| Sen. Kennedy asked for additional information on funds for veterans, and Kevin Burt resonded. |
| Rep. Gricius asked if funds were being used for IT modernization, and Kevin Burt invited Nathan Harrison, Executive Finance Director, DWS, to respond. |
| MOTION:Rep. Judkins moved to remove item #24 from the cut-list.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KwUtl1BX9my60jFfHV66LG2OoCRG3rBUqv2G4ObSDOw/edit#gid=957203707The motion passed with a vote of 9-2-7. | |||
| Yeas - 9 | Nays- 2 | Abs- 7 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Cobb Rep. K. Ivory Sen. J. Johnson Rep. M. Judkins Sen. M. Kennedy Rep. A. Loubet Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. H. Balderree Rep. S. Gricius | Sen. J. Adams Rep. K. Birkeland Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. L. Escamilla Rep. T. Lee Rep. R. Lesser Sen. D. Thatcher |
| Sen. Kennedy mentioned that helping veterans become self-sufficient is desirable. |
| Rep. Gricius supports the work but opposes the motion. |
| Nathan Harrison explained why DWS is requesting the funding motions. |
| MOTION:Rep. Ward moved to approve the following motions from the sheet entitled "Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee - Motions for Consideration": All #DA, #DB, #DC, #DD, #DE, #DH, #DJ, #DK, and #CZ1.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gBexPI-uX6N0V4_q0-IOsxjjJIy3fGDqKOH6eJfkNWs/edit#gid=1643736451The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-7. | |||
| Yeas - 11 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 7 | |
| Sen. H. Balderree Rep. J. Cobb Rep. S. Gricius Rep. K. Ivory Sen. J. Johnson Rep. M. Judkins Sen. M. Kennedy Rep. T. Lee Rep. A. Loubet Rep. R. Ward Sen. T. Weiler | Sen. J. Adams Rep. M. Ballard Rep. K. Birkeland Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. L. Escamilla Rep. R. Lesser Sen. D. Thatcher |
| 5.Department of Workforce Services (DWS) - Building Block Requests |
| 5-DWS Building Block Requests |
| 5d-Homelessness in Utah |
| Kevin Burt and Casey Cameron, Executive Director, DWS, presented the funding request for #17 - Summer Meals for K-12 Students. |
| Casey Cameron made the request for funding #46 - Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, and #6 - Housing and Community Development Staff. |
| Wayne Niederhauser, State Homeless Services Coordinator, discussed the collaboration between the Department of Health and Human Servies, Department of Corrections, Department of Commerce, and the private and public sectors to address homelessness. |
| Rep. Ward asked why youth homelessness has increased far more than for other ages, and Wayne Niederhauser responded. |
| Rep. Loubet commented that evictions were paused during COVID and that could be a factor in the increase in homelessness. |
| Rep. Judkins asked about the increase in families who are homeless, and Wayne Neiderhauser responded. |
| Rep. Cobb asked how Utah's rate of increase in homelessness compared to other states, and Wayne Neiderhauser responded. |
| Rep. Ward expressed shock with the statement that we can never build enough affordable housing and asked what can be done to reduce housing costs, and Wayne Neiderhauser responded. |
| Rep. Lesser asked about the viability of public land trusts, and Wayne Neiderhauser responded. |
| Kevin Burt introduced Steve Waldrip, Senior Advisor to the Governor for Housing Strategy and Innovation, who presented funding requests for: First Time Home Buyer Program; Statewide Affordable Housing Construction; Utah First Homes; and Utah Housing Preservation Fund. |
| Rep. Gricius asked what impact UBC's program has on housing prices, and Steve Waldrip responded. |
| Rep. Ballard made an observation on the needs of first-time home buyers, and Steve Waldrip responded. |
| Rep. Cobb asked for perspective on home buyers who move up to larger homes, and Steve Waldrip responded. |
| Rep. Judkins asked if there are funds leftover from previous appropriations, and Steve Waldrip responded. |
| Rep. Ward asked for the timeline of spending housing preservation funds, and Steve Waldrip responded. |
| Nathan Harrison discussed #49 - Funding Split Exception for DWS. |
| 6.Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) |
| 6a-TANF Eligibility Review |
| Josh Pittman presented introduced information on TANF. |
| Liz Carver, Director, Division of Workforce Development, DWS, and Nathan Harrison explained what qualifies for TANF spending and requests for appropriations. |
| 7.DWS State Office of Rehabilitation (USOR) - Base Budget |
| Josh Pittman discussed the base budget for the Office of Rehabilitation. |
| Rep. Judkins asked about those using services for the hard of hearing, and Sara Brenna, State Office of Rehabilitation, responded. |
| MOTION:Rep. Ward moved to approve the following motions from the sheet entitled "Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee - Motions for Consideration": All #D1.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gBexPI-uX6N0V4_q0-IOsxjjJIy3fGDqKOH6eJfkNWs/edit#gid=1643736451The motion passed with a vote of 9-0-9. | |||
| Yeas - 9 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 9 | |
| Sen. H. Balderree Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Cobb Rep. S. Gricius Sen. J. Johnson Rep. M. Judkins Sen. M. Kennedy Rep. R. Lesser Rep. R. Ward | Sen. J. Adams Rep. K. Birkeland Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. L. Escamilla Rep. K. Ivory Rep. T. Lee Rep. A. Loubet Sen. D. Thatcher Sen. T. Weiler |
| 8.Other Business |
| There was no other business. |
| MOTION:Rep. Ward moved to adjourn.The motion passed with a vote of 9-0-9. | |||
| Yeas - 9 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 9 | |
| Sen. H. Balderree Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Cobb Rep. S. Gricius Sen. J. Johnson Rep. M. Judkins Sen. M. Kennedy Rep. R. Lesser Rep. R. Ward | Sen. J. Adams Rep. K. Birkeland Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. L. Escamilla Rep. K. Ivory Rep. T. Lee Rep. A. Loubet Sen. D. Thatcher Sen. T. Weiler |
| Chair Balderree adjourned the meeting at 10:17 a.m. |