House adopts amendments to child-care licensing bill after hour-long debate

The Utah House on March 4 adopted a pink-sheet amendment revising the first substitute of Senate Bill 26, a measure that adjusts licensing and training requirements for child-care providers.

Supporters, including sponsor Representative Stevens, said reinstating committee language and parts of Representative Short’s amendments would make the bill less restrictive in practice because agency rules already impose tighter standards. The package restored a provision that set basic training for new providers at five hours and maintained requirements for department-approved CPR and first-aid courses. The amendment also changed a statutory age reference from five to four in one provision.

Opponents warned the House that the bill could reduce regulation that protects children. Representative Allen urged killing the measure, arguing the state should let the health department complete a study before making statutory changes. Representative Tim Bradshaw called the process “sausage” and urged defeat, citing uncertainty caused by multiple pink sheets and amendments that were not uniformly accessible to members.

After debate and summation, the House adopted the pink-sheet amendment dated 03/04/1998 at 6:15 p.m. and later voted to pass the bill (38 yes, 33 no). The bill was returned to the Senate for further action.

The House record shows lawmakers intended to study agency rules during the interim; sponsors said they would revisit the rule set and the statutory language in future work. The bill, as amended, keeps CPR and first-aid training and small basic training hours for new providers while restoring committee and sponsor changes to the substitute bill.

The next procedural step is Senate consideration of the House-amended substitute.