The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 13-3 to give a due-pass recommendation to House Bill 10 15 after rejecting an amendment that would have replaced the bill's hospital funding with a $25 million renovation of the Lehi Building and a $100 million new facility.

The vote leaves the bill, as amended in committee, headed to later floor and conference work. The committee also approved a separate funding-figure amendment earlier in the session that adjusts numbers tied to a transfer into the social services fund.

Senator Wojcick moved the committee's final due-pass motion on House Bill 10 15; Senator Devers seconded. The committee chair called the roll and the motion passed 13-3. The committee record shows a formal roll-call on the due-pass motion after the amendment votes were concluded.

The most contested change was amendment 02015, offered by Senator Eberly. Senator Eberly (Senator, Appropriations Committee) described the amendment as a combined approach: $25,000,000 to renovate the Lehi Building for deferred maintenance and a separate $100,000,000 new facility on the same campus, with the new facility “must be designed to accommodate up to 96 beds,” and a steering committee to oversee planning. "I would move the amendment 0.02015," Eberly said when offering the proposal. Senator Grama seconded the motion for amendment 02015.

Debate on 02015 focused on cost, planning, and the hospital's role in a changing behavioral-health system. Senator Dever (Senator) urged caution about the figures and the project's history, saying the prior $40 million estimate years earlier lacked independent assessment and that large cost differences merit careful review: "The proposal being considered now is to update the existing facility with the same rationale that we had before...the hundred million dollars has as much reasoning behind it as the $40,000,000 did 6 years ago." Senator Dever said he would resist the motion and, if it passed, move to remove it at a later stage.

Senator Connolly (Senator) and Senator Lontzick (Senator) also spoke against the amendment, arguing $100,000,000 would not be sufficient to complete the new facility and noting the committee and others had already invested in planning and studies. Senator Lontzick said, "I can't believe that they would come up with 300,000,000 if there isn't some justification for it," urging more information before abandoning the larger plan.

Senator Mather (Senator) supported the combined approach and highlighted that, while services are expanding in communities, there remains a population that requires a central state hospital. "We do, in fact, need a state hospital," Mather said, adding that a modest addition for special populations plus deferred maintenance of an existing building "makes a lot of sense." Senator Mather supported the amendment; ultimately four senators voted yes and twelve voted no, and the motion failed 4-12.

Earlier in the session the committee handled a technical funding amendment moved by Senator Wozniak (Senator) and seconded by Senator Dever. That amendment adjusted a numeric funding figure tied to a transfer into the social services fund; the chair and committee explained the session's oil-revenue-related "bucket" contains $250,000,000 and the proposed change reconciles the numbers for the next biennium. The committee adopted that amendment (recorded as "Motion passed 15 0 1").

With the failed amendment 02015 behind them, Senator Wojcick moved a due-pass recommendation for House Bill 10 15 as the committee had amended it; Senator Devers seconded. The committee voted to advance the bill by a 13-3 margin. Committee members noted the House had proposed a larger figure and that final numbers will be determined during conference committee and floor consideration.

The chair closed the committee's morning session and signaled remaining related work (including a treasurer's budget item, referred as House Bill 1005) will continue at future meetings. The committee also noted it received a referral (1168) for future consideration.

Votes at a glance:
- Amendment (funding figure change) — motion by Senator Wozniak; second by Senator Dever; outcome: passed (recorded "Motion passed 15 0 1").
- Amendment 02015 (Eberly) — motion by Senator Eberly; second by Senator Grama; outcome: failed, 4 yes, 12 no (yes: Senator Erboli, Senator Magrim, Senator Mather, Senator Sickler; no: remaining voting members recorded in roll call).
- Due-pass motion on House Bill 10 15 — motion by Senator Wojcick; second by Senator Devers; outcome: passed, 13 yes, 3 no.

Why it matters: House Bill 10 15 contains appropriations that would fund state hospital work and related behavioral-health infrastructure. The committee's decisions keep the bill moving with its larger funding framework intact while rejecting a proposal to substitute a smaller renovation-plus-addition plan; the measure will face further negotiation on the floor and in conference committees.

The committee record shows continued debate ahead: members asked for more detailed cost and planning information and noted existing investments in studies and design. Committee staff and the Office of Management and Budget are expected to participate in forthcoming discussions.