Appropriations committee advances amended House Bill 1015 after debate over state hospital funding

The Appropriations Committee advanced House Bill 1015 as amended on a 13-3 vote Monday after debating how much to fund work on the state hospital and a related transfer to the social services fund.

Chairman Beckettall, chair of the Appropriations Committee, opened the session by noting the committee had reached a quorum and moved into consideration of bill amendments. Early in the meeting Senator Wozniak moved “to change the funding amount from $2.32 to $2.35,” a technical adjustment tied to a Section 8 transfer into the social services fund (the transcript records a separate reference to a $242,000,000 transfer and a $250,000,000 appropriations bucket). Senator Dever seconded the motion. The amendment passed on a voice roll call recorded as 15-0-1.

The committee then considered an amendment offered by Senator Eberly (amendment 02015) to combine two funding actions: $25,000,000 to remodel deferred maintenance on the Lehi Building and $100,000,000 to build a new facility on the same campus. In his motion, Senator Eberly said the $100,000,000 facility "must be designed to accommodate up to 96 beds" and described the intent to serve adult patients including civilly committed forensic assessment detainees and involuntary patients with serious mental illness. Senator Grama seconded the motion and the committee opened debate.

Opponents said the $100,000,000 figure was unlikely to be sufficient for the project described and expressed concern about restarting planning at this late stage. Senator Connolly told the committee, “I just don't see how we go. Yeah. Dollars 300,000,000 is a lot of money. But I don't think $100,000,000 comes anywhere close to getting the job done.” Senator Mather argued the state still needs a state hospital but urged prudence on size and cost and expressed support for combining deferred maintenance with a more targeted new facility. Senator Lontzick and others said significant prior investment in planning and design made abandoning or sharply reducing the project premature.

After debate the committee took a roll-call vote on amendment 02015; the motion failed 4-12.

Following that defeat, Senator Wojcick moved that House Bill 1015 be given a due-pass recommendation as amended; Senator Devers seconded. The committee approved the due-pass recommendation 13-3.

The chair closed committee work for the morning and noted the treasurer's budget (House Bill 1005) remained to be handled later and that another bill (1168) had been referred to the committee.

Votes at a glance - Amendment (Senator Wozniak): change funding amount “from $2.32 to $2.35” (motion by Senator Wozniak; second by Senator Dever). Tally: passed 15-0-1. - Amendment 02015 (Senator Eberly): combine $25,000,000 for Lehi Building deferred maintenance and $100,000,000 for a new facility designed for up to 96 beds; create steering committee and specify agency representation (motion by Senator Eberly; second by Senator Grama). Tally: failed 4-12. - Final motion: due pass on House Bill 1015 as amended (motion by Senator Wojcick; second by Senator Devers). Tally: passed 13-3.

Why it matters: The committee's action preserves the bill's amended funding structure and rejects an amendment that would have re-scoped the state hospital project to a smaller, $100 million new facility plus $25 million in deferred maintenance. Lawmakers debated cost, project size and prior planning investments; the outcome moves the larger bill forward to the next stages of the legislative process.

What remained open: The treasurer's budget (House Bill 1005) and a referral of House Bill 1168 to the committee were noted for future action.