House passes Appropriations Act No. 2 after technical fixes and correction to HOME program reference

The Utah House passed Appropriations Act No. 2 (House Bill 337) on March 3 after floor amendments and a brief series of technical clarifications.

Sponsor Representative Valentine presented intent language under her name and explained proposed contingent premium changes for state employees tied to another bill; she later withdrew the contingent premium motion when members noted related legislation had not advanced in the Senate. Representative Jones moved a technical amendment to replace a mistaken reference to a "homeless committee" with the federal HOME program (capitalized HOME) that receives federal matching funds; the House adopted the amendment.

After additional routine floor consideration, House Bill 337 passed on final passage with a recorded vote of 56 yes and 8 no. The bill will be returned to the Senate for its consideration.

Supporters described the act as the vehicle to finalize remaining appropriations and balance corners of the budget; one member urged careful review of scattered homeless trust funds to avoid duplication. The floor record shows the sponsor and members took care to correct program references and remove a contingent premium change tied to a bill that had not progressed in the Senate.

Next steps: the bill proceeds to the Senate for concurrence and is subject to any technical corrections the upper chamber may request.