Senate approves joint resolution authorizing settlement in Disability Law Center case

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate approved House Joint Resolution 28, the joint-resolution mechanism to accept and legitimize a negotiated settlement with the Disability Law Center concerning state services for people with disabilities.

Sen. Luz Escamilla, sponsor, told the Senate the settlement had been the product of months of negotiation among the executive branch, the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services and legislative staff. "This is what makes us legitimize that settlement," Escamilla said, adding that legal staff had briefed caucuses and social‑services appropriations chairs.

Sen. Escamilla said the resolution places the legislature into the settlement process and, according to staff, aligns funding and program changes with the negotiated agreement. After a motion to waive summation and call the question, the Senate passed HJR28 under suspension of the rules by a recorded vote of 22 yea, 0 nay, 7 absent. The resolution will be signed by the president pro tempore in open session and returned to the House for the speaker’s signature.

Why it matters: HJR28 authorizes the legislature’s approval of a settlement that will guide changes in how state agencies provide services and may have multi‑year funding implications. Sponsors said appropriations and committee staff worked on the funding framework prior to the floor vote.

Next steps: The resolution will be returned to the House for the speaker’s signature; implementing agencies were identified during floor comments as the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services.