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Senate passes House Bill 3 after floor amendments and transfers
Summary
The Utah Senate adopted multiple floor amendments to House Bill 3 (Appropriations Adjustments), approving transfers and program funding changes including allocations for the Leonardo museum and special-needs children, and passed the bill for final enrollment.
Senators debated and amended House Bill 3, the session’s main appropriations adjustments act, before approving it on final passage. Senator Lyle Hilliard, who moved the amendments and shepherded the bill on the floor, described transfers that do not create new spending but shift money between existing accounts. “House Bill 3 is the Bill of Bills,” Hilliard said as he summarized a series of agreed changes.
Key on-floor amendments increased a Leonardo arts allocation by $10,000 and added $60,000 for children with special health-care needs; an adjustment left $110,000 in a specified line item after the floor corrections. Senators also discussed Sports Commission funding and directed staff to reconcile language with the House. After several motions to circle and un-circle items to allow negotiation, the Senate read House Bill 3 a second and third time and passed it (25–1, 3 absent). The bill will return to the House for signature and enrollment.
Why it matters: HB3 carries final line-item adjustments to the budget for programs across state government and distributes transfers that leadership said were prioritized after stakeholder and caucus discussions. The changes affect arts, special-needs healthcare, economic development, and other small but targeted programs.
Next steps: The enrolled bill will be returned to the House for the speaker’s signature and to staff for enrolling; departments assigned to affected line items will implement changes per appropriations staff guidance.
