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Senate advances bill to reconstitute Center for Multicultural Health, sponsor cites federal grant access
Summary
Senate Bill 135 would reestablish a Center for Multicultural Health (formerly an Office of Minority Health) to address health disparities and restore eligibility for federal grants; sponsor Sen. James Evans said a recent summit and federal officials supported the move and the bill was advanced to third reading.
Senate Bill 135, to reconstitute a Center for Multicultural Health, was presented on the floor Feb. 3, 2004, and advanced to the third-reading calendar after a roll-call vote.
Senator James Evans told the Senate the measure responds to requests from a recent minority health summit and is intended to develop state infrastructure to address disparities among Utah subpopulations and improve equitable access to health care coverage. “The purpose for the Center of Multicultural Health is to develop Utah's infrastructure for addressing health disparities between Utah subpopulations and to ensure that all communities have equitable and appropriate access to health care coverage,” Evans said.
Evans said the federal Office of Minority Health had emphasized the advantages of reestablishing such an office and that without it Utah is missing access to federal grant opportunities. He told senators that roughly 250–260 individuals participated in the recent summit and that federal officials praised Utah organizations’ ability to leverage small amounts of resources to help underserved populations.
The Senate then held a roll-call vote; the presiding officer announced SB135 received 24 aye votes, 1 no vote and 4 absences and placed the bill on the third-reading calendar.
