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House approves bill to reestablish Center for Multicultural Health; bill to return to Senate
Summary
The House passed Senate Bill 135 to reestablish a Center for Multicultural Health that backers said would coordinate public-health responses and draw federal funding to address higher rates of certain diseases in racial and ethnic minority communities.
The Utah House voted to pass Senate Bill 135, which would reestablish the Center for Multicultural Health to coordinate outreach and public-health responses for the state’s growing racial and ethnic minority populations.
Representative Tim, presenting the bill, said the center would help "coordinate and organize the community to address the needs of our growing racial ethnic minority community when it comes to health," citing higher incidence rates of diseases such as diabetes and tuberculosis in some groups. "This is an important bill," he told colleagues, and added that it "will draw down federal money."
Supporters said the proposal responds to a recent summit and prior budget cuts that eliminated the office. The measure was placed on the calendar, presented, and — after no extended debate — passed the House by a roll call vote of 46 yes, 22 no. The bill will be returned to the Senate for further action.
If enacted, backers said, the center would work with the public-health system to target prevention and treatment efforts for communities with higher disease burdens. The bill sponsor invited questions before the vote but no substantive amendments were recorded in the House debate.
The next step is transmittal back to the Senate; proponents said the center is prioritized for funding and expects to leverage federal grants to support its work.
