Senate returns applied-technology education bill to House, awaits SB3 funding

The Utah Senate voted to return Fifth Substitute House Bill 34, a package of changes to applied-technology education governance, to the House for reconsideration and held further action pending resolution of related funding language in Senate Bill 3.

Senate floor leadership said members from both parties met in a joint caucus with House members to clarify HB34 after “considerable confusion” in the House and that the House requested the bill back for further consideration. "If we can get this done, as Bev Evans will tell you, this will make more difference to ATC education in the state of Utah than anything we've done in the past 20 years," the presiding officer said on the floor, urging senators to remain available while the House works through the reconsideration.

Senators said they were also waiting on SB3, the appropriation vehicle that contains the funding mechanisms for applied-technology centers (ATCs). One senator cautioned an amendment in SB3 had changed funding mechanics and that the chambers needed to reconcile those changes before final enactment. Because of the linkage, floor leaders asked members to delay final votes until the House and Senate settled language in both measures.

The motion to return HB34 to the House passed on the floor. No final policy change or appropriation was adopted by the Senate on HB34 during the Feb. 28 session; senators said the measure will return to the Senate when the House completes its reconsideration and any linked appropriation language in SB3 is resolved.

Next steps: the House will reconsider HB34 and return it to the Senate when done; floor leaders asked senators to remain nearby so the chamber can act promptly when both substance and funding are clear.