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House backs $50,000 to bolster Missing Persons Clearinghouse despite process objections
Summary
HB 27 passed the House 58–14 to provide additional funds aimed at converting a part-time position to full time in the Utah Missing Persons Clearinghouse and expand outreach; some legislators objected to the floor-appropriations method and urged the appropriations committee route.
Representative Gary Cox presented House Bill 27 to provide additional funding for the Utah Missing Persons Clearinghouse, operated by the Bureau of Criminal Identification under the Department of Public Safety. Cox said the clearinghouse registers about 13 new missing-persons reports per day and argued that part-time staffing and $25,000 initial funding have been inadequate to operate the service effectively. "If we really want this to be effective...we need to allow that part-time employee to become full time," Cox said, requesting an additional $50,000 to expand operations.
Representative Hogue and others supported the bill on operational grounds, while Representative Hogue and Representative Chard objected to using a floor appropriation rather than the appropriations committee process. Representative Kiel Johnson, who sponsored the earlier enabling legislation, emphasized the public-safety value and need to staff the clearinghouse at a level commensurate with national counterparts. The House passed HB 27 as amended 58–14 and referred it to the Senate.
