Utah House approves $18.6 million supplemental appropriations bill

The Utah House on March 2, 1998, passed House Bill 1, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, approving $18,600,000 in additional spending for fiscal year 1998. Representative James Stevens, sponsor of the measure, asked members for support as the bill was placed at the top of the third‑reading calendar.

Stevens told members the bill "just appropriates additional amounts of money for the current fiscal year" and pointed lawmakers to the bill’s endnotes showing the revenue sources and the locations where the appropriations will be assigned. He said the package is one of three major budget bills this session and urged members to notify him if an expected project did not appear in any of the three documents.

Under a motion to suspend the rules, the House considered the bill for second reading and advanced it for final passage. Voting closed with 69 yes votes and 0 no votes. The bill will be forwarded to the Senate for further action.

Funding detail: Representative Stevens said the bill directs $18,600,000 in additional appropriations for fiscal 1998 and that the bill’s back pages identify the sources of revenue. He told members that if a project could not be located in this bill they should check the Senate Finance Act or the Appropriations Act and contact him before the Wednesday catch‑all bill.

Next steps: The House returned the passed bill to the Senate for concurrence and any further action the upper chamber may take.