H.B. 38

1

REFUGEE SERVICES FUND AMENDMENTS
2 2009 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Christopher N. Herrod
5 Senate Sponsor: Gregory S. Bell
6 Cosponsors:
7 James A. DunniganJanice M. FisherSteven R. Mascaro 8
9 LONG TITLE
10 Committee Note:
11 The Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Interim
12 Committee recommended this bill.
13 General Description:
14 This bill amends the investment provision of the Refugee Services Fund.
15 Highlighted Provisions:
16 This bill:
17 . provides that all interest or earnings from the Refugee Services Fund shall be
18 deposited into the fund rather than in the General Fund.
19 Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
20 None
21 Other Special Clauses:
22 None
23 Utah Code Sections Affected:
24 AMENDS:
25 35A-3-116, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 200
26
27 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:

28 Section 1. Section 35A-3-116 is amended to read:
29 35A-3-116. Restricted special revenue fund -- Use of monies -- Committee and
30 director duties -- Restrictions.
31 (1) There is created a restricted special revenue fund, known as the "Refugee Services
32 Fund," hereafter referred to in this section as "the fund."
33 (2) The director or the director's designee, hereafter referred to in this section as the
34 director, shall administer the fund with input from the Department of Community and Culture,
35 including any advisory committees within the Department of Community and Culture that deal
36 with refugee services issues.
37 (3) (a) Money shall be deposited into the fund from numerous sources, including
38 federal grants, private foundations, and individual donors.
39 (b) The director shall encourage a refugee who receives services from activities funded
40 under Subsection (8) to become a donor to the fund once the refugee's financial situation
41 improves to the point where the refugee is capable of making a donation.
42 (4) The director may not expend monies in the fund that are not restricted to a specific
43 use under federal law or by donors without input from the Department of Community and
44 Culture, either directly or through an advisory committee identified in Subsection (2).
45 (5) The state treasurer shall invest the monies in the fund under Title 51, Chapter 7,
46 State Money Management Act, [except that] and all interest or other earnings derived from the
47 fund monies shall be deposited in the [General Fund] fund.
48 (6) The monies in the fund may not be used by the director for administrative expenses.
49 (7) If the Department of Community and Culture establishes a refugee services
50 advisory committee referred to in Subsection (2), that committee may:
51 (a) advise the director on refugee services needs in the state and on relevant operational
52 aspects of any grant or revenue collection program established under this part;
53 (b) recommend specific refugee projects to the director;
54 (c) recommend policies and procedures for administering the fund;
55 (d) make recommendations on grants made from the fund for any of the refugee
56 services activities authorized under this section;
57 (e) advise the director on the criteria by which grants shall be made from the fund;
58 (f) recommend the order in which approved projects would be funded;

59 (g) make recommendations regarding the distribution of money from the fund in
60 accordance with the procedures, conditions, and restrictions placed upon monies in the fund by
61 donors; and
62 (h) have joint responsibility to solicit public and private funding for the fund.
63 (8) The director may use fund monies to:
64 (a) train an existing refugee organization to develop its capacity to operate
65 professionally and effectively and to become an independent, viable organization; or
66 (b) provide grants to an existing refugee organization and other entities identified in
67 Subsection (9) to assist them:
68 (i) with case management;
69 (ii) in meeting emergency housing needs for refugees;
70 (iii) in providing English language services;
71 (iv) in providing interpretive services;
72 (v) in finding and maintaining employment for refugees;
73 (vi) in collaborating with the state's public education system to improve the
74 involvement of refugee parents in assimilating their children into public schools;
75 (vii) in meeting the health and mental health needs of refugees;
76 (viii) in providing or arranging for child care services; or
77 (ix) in administering refugee services.
78 (9) In addition to Subsection (8), the director with advice from the Department of
79 Community and Culture or its refugee services advisory committee, if one is created, may grant
80 fund money for refugee services outlined in Subsection (8) through a request for proposal
81 process to:
82 (a) local governments;
83 (b) nonprofit community, charitable, or neighborhood-based organizations or private
84 for profit organizations that deal solely or in part with providing or arranging for the provision
85 of refugee services; or
86 (c) regional or statewide nonprofit organizations.
87 (10) The director shall enter into a written agreement with each successful grant
88 applicant that has specific terms for each grant consistent with the provisions of this section
89 that includes the structure, amount, and nature of the grant.

90 (11) The director shall monitor the activities of the recipients of grants issued from the
91 fund on an annual basis to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions imposed on the
92 recipient by the fund.
93 (12) An entity receiving a grant shall provide the director with periodic accounting of
94 how the monies it received from the fund were spent.
95 (13) By November 1 of each year the director shall make an annual report to the
96 Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Interim Committee regarding
97 the status of the fund and the programs and services funded by the fund.




Legislative Review Note
as of 11-19-08 11:28 AM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel