Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House amends and passes $hundreds-of-millions public-education budget package
Summary
Senate Bill 2, a comprehensive public-education budget amendment, was amended on the House floor to adjust specific line items (including a $300,000 transfer to gang-prevention from at-risk funding) and passed the House with 69 yes votes; the bill will return to the Senate for further consideration.
Representative R. McKay presented Senate Bill 2, the public-education budget amendments, detailing substantial appropriations and program increases on March 6. He said the bill provides $33.5 million ongoing for consensus enrollment growth, funds a 4 percent WPU increase, increases at-risk student funding by about $99 million, and funds multiple programs including Beverly Taylor Sorensen arts and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
Representative Hutchings moved a last-minute, verbal amendment to adjust a line-item appropriation on line 129 so an additional $300,000 could be allocated to a gang‑prevention effort. Hutchings explained the Senate had approved a related appropriation that could not be disbursed without adjusting the statutory line. The sponsor, Representative McKay, supported the technical change and noted the bill overall includes $9 million in an at‑risk program from which $300,000 would be directed to gang prevention.
Representative Christiansen and others spoke in favor of the broader package, noting investments in trauma supports, nurses and counselors at the elementary level and other education resources.
After floor amendment and debate the House amended the bill as described on the record. Voting opened on the amended SB 2; the transcript records that Senate Bill 2 "having received 69 yes votes, 0 no votes, passes this body as amended," and it will be returned to the Senate for further consideration and signature.
What happens next: The amended education budget is returned to the Senate for concurrence; because the amendment involved statutory changes to the education code, the sponsor reminded members to watch for required code changes in late amendments.
Sources: Floor remarks by Representatives McKay, Hutchings, Christiansen (House floor, March 6, 2018).
