House approves 2004 supplemental budget after hours of amendments over autism, nursing and other items

The Utah House of Representatives on March 3 passed House Bill 3, the 2004 supplemental appropriations act, after extended floor debate and a series of contested amendments covering autism services, nursing program funding, a proposed indemnity payment to rabbit farmers and technical corrections.

Sponsor Representative Bigelow, who led the appropriations presentation, said the bill included several technical corrections and two late adjustments: a correction to a water task force appropriation (increasing one line from $50,000 to $97,000) and $81,000 in ongoing funds to add one full-time equivalent (FTE) to staff a federal funds review required by House Bill 231. “If you remember, I passed out a spreadsheet. That information is all in the bill,” Bigelow said, thanking staff who revised the measure.

The most contested floor amendment was offered by Representative King, who moved to shift $300,000 from an autism scholarship line into a broader autism services line within community mental health to expand services beyond scholarship recipients. King said the change would “give a portion of that money to a number of parents [and] children with autism for services that are more widespread than just the scholarship program.” Opponents, including Representative Bigelow and others, warned the reallocation risked creating a shortfall in the scholarship line because the scholarship has a two-year sunset and earlier fiscal adjustments had already reduced its level. After extended questioning about past fiscal notes and program administration, the motion to amend failed, receiving 30 yes votes and 39 no votes.

Another major floor fight focused on how to distribute $525,000 for a nursing initiative. Representative Buxton proposed a substitute allocation shifting more funds to the University of Utah to fund faculty training — a strategy he argued would produce more instructors quickly. Supporters said the U’s program trains the faculty who, in turn, expand capacity across the state; critics worried that centralizing the money would shortchange regional programs. The substitute allocation passed and the bill was amended accordingly.

Representative Dougal proposed an amendment to include a $28,600 indemnity payment — half the damages recommended by the Board of Examiners — to reimburse rabbit farmers whose animals were euthanized after identification of viral hemorrhagic disease. Dougal said the Board of Examiners had found a claim against the state and recommended the award; opponents raised precedent concerns about compensating livestock owners for disease-based losses. The floor ultimately rejected the amendment.

Throughout the afternoon and evening the House considered numerous other line-item adjustments (including reallocations to the budget reserve/rainy-day fund) and procedural motions. After previous-question motions and a series of recorded and voice votes on amendments, the House clerk reported final passage of House Bill 3 by a vote of 54 yes and 17 no. Representative Bigelow said the bill, as amended on the House floor, would be sent to the Senate for further consideration.

What happens next: HB3 will be forwarded to the Senate for concurrence/consideration. Several contested items (including allocations and intent language) may be subject to conference committee discussion if the Senate makes changes.

Vote counts and procedural outcomes reported on the floor are drawn directly from House proceedings.