Senate advances behavioral-health commission and a limited health benefits pilot, and moves dozens of bills forward

Salt Lake City — The Utah State Senate on day 28 approved a bill to reorganize behavioral-health governance and advanced a separate health-benefits pilot for children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, while moving a broad package of bills through third reading or committee referral.

Senators passed second substitute Senate Bill 27, a behavioral-health system overhaul that creates a nine-member commission to coordinate services now handled by multiple, overlapping bodies. Sponsor Senator Vickers said the aim is to reduce number of “silos” and improve efficiency by consolidating oversight. “The idea is to create a commission that oversees all of this with and be a 9 member commission,” Vickers said during floor remarks. He added, “We specifically did not put legislators on that,” and described a separate five-member legislative policy committee to review commission recommendations before they reach the Health and Human Services interim committee.

The Senate recorded a roll-call vote in which second substitute SB27 received 24 "yay" votes, 0 "nay," with 5 senators absent; the President announced the bill will be sent to the House for…