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Votes at a glance: Utah House passes transport, health and workforce bills; severance tax measure fails
Summary
On Feb. 1, 2013, the Utah House advanced multiple bills — including HOV lane management (HB 23), behavioral and mental health measures (HB 56, HB 57), and a tax credit for hiring people experiencing homelessness (HB 274) — while a severance tax phase-in statute (HB 63) failed.
The Utah House of Representatives on Feb. 1, 2013 completed a busy floor session, approving several bills and sending them to the Senate while rejecting at least one high-profile fiscal proposal.
Key floor actions included passage of HB 23, a transportation bill that grants the Utah Department of Transportation additional rule-making authority over high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane management and caps a “C decal” clean-vehicle program; HB 56 and HB 57, measures to authorize behavioral-health services via electronic means and to promote medical–behavioral health integration; and HB 274, which creates time-limited state tax credits for employers who hire people classified as homeless. Several technical and administrative bills also passed, including payroll and water-rights cleanup measures.
A notable defeat came on HB 63, a statute intended to phase in the voter-approved Amendment A severance-tax investment formula. Representative Grant Nielsen, sponsor, said the bill would put a statutory phase-in into place and estimated a $8,250,000 deposit into the permanent state trust fund for fiscal 2014 under the proposed schedule. After extended debate about budget impacts, the House voted 35–38 and the bill failed.
Votes at a glance (selected): • HB 56 (behavioral health care workforce amendments): passed 68–0; transmitted to Senate. • HB 57 (mental and behavioral health amendments): passed 70–0; transmitted to Senate. • HB 23 (HOV lane amendments): passed 51–23; transmitted to Senate. • HB 34 (specialty license plate): passed 64–9; transmitted to Senate. • HB 261 (payroll amendments for public safety): passed 73–0; transmitted to Senate (uncircled then passed). • HB 272 (traffic signal/diverging diamond): passed 72–1; transmitted to Senate. • HB 29 (water-rights adjudication updates): passed 73–0; transmitted to Senate. • HB 249 (refugee services fund amendments): passed 71–0; transmitted to Senate. • HB 53 (first substitute, election law amendments): passed 59–13; transmitted to Senate. • HB 274 (tax credits for employers hiring a homeless person): passed 41–23; transmitted to Senate. • HB 63 (severance tax amendments, phase-in): failed 35–38.
Where debate was light, sponsors waived summation and the bills proceeded quickly; where fiscal or policy stakes were larger — as with HB 63 and HB 274 — the floor recorded lengthy exchanges and multiple questions before final votes. Several committee reports were adopted and the House adjourned to reconvene Feb. 5, 2013.
Methodology: Vote tallies and sponsor statements are drawn from the House floor transcript for the Feb. 1, 2013 sitting.
