Legislative Action Alert - March 8, 2010


Good afternoon friend of the DLC,

We are finally entering the home stretch ladies and gentlemen! After a few hours of political intrigue yesterday afternoon, the Executive Appropriations Committee approved a draft of the FY 2011 budget last evening. However, it does not include public education because the governor and legislative leaders are still negotiating. That said, the appropriations committees' priority lists appear to be largely intact. A few items of note include:

  • no change in the income or asset limits for pregnant women, medically needy, or the aged, blind, or disabled;
  • partial funding for the additional needs of individuals and families already receiving DSPD services;
  • $150,000 in new money for supported employment;
  • approximately half of the reduction to Juvenile Justice Services' community beds and provider rates was restored and the youth receiving centers will remain open;
  • about half of the reduction to adult protective services has been restored;
  • around half of the vocational rehabilitation money that helps fund independent living centers is on the list;
  • unfortunately, the cuts to community mental health centers, the Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and Sanderson Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing remain in place; and
  • interestingly, the Committee reinstated the legislative fiscal analyst's original recommendation to take $2 million, instead of $1 million, from the Utah State Developmental Center.

For a detailed summary of the budget, please see http://www.le.state.ut.us/. Even now, change is still possible. If you support what has been done so far, please let your senator or representative know. If you are concerned about a particular issue, ask them if they would consider making an amendment to the Bill of Bills on the last night of the session.

From our perspective, it was a somewhat frustrating week in terms of legislation. On a tie vote, the House Government Operations Committee defeated Sen. Christensen's bill to restore the DSPD board. For now, the Division plans to continue their quarterly public meetings around the state. We are also exploring the possibility of approaching the governor about allowing them to restore the board on their own.

The House Transportation Committee was also scheduled to consider SB 160 earlier this week but ran out of time. The bill will now likely be heard on the House floor sometime early next week. We have met with the Democratic caucus in both the Senate and the House and are in the process of asking each Republican member of the House if they would be willing to raise questions about it during debate or consider making it an interim study item over the summer. Please check our website for an updated version of the factsheet, including responses to some of the statements made in support of the bill on the Senate floor last week. To learn about other bills, check out our bill tracker at http://www.disabilitylawcenter.org/legislative-advocacy-10/billtracker10.pdf.

Finally, keep up the great work. I am convinced that your efforts have had a real impact and made a positive difference. Your continued calls and e-mails can only make what has turned out to be a surprisingly successful session even more successful

Andrew Riggle
Public Policy Advocate
1-800-662-9080 (Voice) or 1-800-550-4182 (TTY)
801-557-9182 (Mobile)
ariggle@disabilitylawcenter.org