Senate moves and passes supplemental appropriations bill under suspension of rules

The Utah Senate on Feb. 27 advanced and passed Senate Bill 1, a supplemental appropriations measure, under suspension of the rules and by recorded roll-call vote.

Senator Hilliard, describing the bill as ‘‘what we approved at executive appropriations last week,’’ urged colleagues to be careful stewards of taxpayer funds and summarized priorities, including funding for health and human services programs. ‘‘This is not our money. It's the taxpayers' money,’’ he said, urging fiscal prudence as senators considered a package of appropriations and related house bills to be funded.

Under a motion by Senator Hilliard to read SB1 for second and third times and take final passage under suspension of rules, the Senate conducted a roll-call vote. The clerk recorded final passage as 25 yes, 2 nay and 2 absent; the bill will be referred to the House for its further action and enrollment. Senators were instructed to have amendments ready for fiscal-note bills appearing later on the calendar.

The bill was presented with supporting yellow and blue handouts on funding allocations; specific line-item amounts discussed on the floor were referenced in committee materials and handouts rather than read in full on the floor. Senate leaders indicated remaining fiscal bills from the House would be handled in an order intended to expedite completion of session work.

No floor amendments that changed the final outcome of SB1 were recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.