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House approves Senate appropriations adjustment after failed amendment to fund women’s-education initiative
Summary
The Utah House passed Senate Bill 3, the session’s appropriations-adjustment measure, after floor debate and several amendments. A proposed amendment to add ongoing funding for a Utah women’s college-education initiative failed; other technical amendments passed and SB3 cleared the House 60–8.
The Utah House on March 14 passed Senate Bill 3, the appropriations-adjustment bill that supplements and reduces previous appropriations for fiscal year 2012–13 and provides funding and intent language for the coming year.
Representative Mel Brown, the bill sponsor, told colleagues SB3 “concludes our budgetary process this year” and that the measure provides targeted increases and decreases across state agencies and institutions of higher education. Lawmakers debated several floor amendments before final passage.
Representative Arendt offered Amendment 1 to redirect available funds to the Utah Women in Education initiative, proposing $50,000 ongoing for that program and describing the need to raise completion rates for women returning to postsecondary education. Arendt said the initiative had requested ongoing support and sought a modest transfer to expand outreach and scholarships for nontraditional students.
Representative Brown disputed the amendment’s characterization of prior funding for the initiative, saying the program had received larger authorizations in the budget process. “That 147 … was funded for 903,000,” Brown said on the floor, arguing the amendment sought to repurpose money after established prioritization. After debate the motion to adopt Amendment 1 failed on a recorded voice vote.
Representative Hutchings moved Amendment 3, a technical clarification that separates certain monies within the attorney general’s office into three distinct parts so they function correctly; the House approved that change. Other committee and technical changes were also adopted on the floor.
Members questioned capital-budget line items and “land-banking” funds included in SB3; Representative Brown said the items were prioritized to allow planning or land purchase where needed for campus projects.
Voting for final passage recorded 60 yes votes and 8 no votes. SB3 will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.
