The Senate Health and Human Services Standing Committee on Feb. 13 advanced a set of health- and safety-related bills to the full Senate, voting to pass several measures out of committee and recommending favorable consideration on others. Measures advanced included House Bill 282 (sunset extensions and CHIP provisions), HB 93 (brain and spinal cord fund research and committee membership), HB 84 (vaccine amendments addressing food-based vaccine products, amended to add the word “conventional” before “food”), SB 278 (state debt collection amendments), HB 317 (executive agency innovation incentives), HB 238 (Department of Health and Human Services account amendments), HB 173 (scheduling tianeptine and phenibut), HB 258 (Medicare supplement insurance amendments), SB 275 (placental tissue amendments) and HB 294 (infectious disease procedures amendments).

Committee action moved the most immediately consequential health items first: House Bill 282 and the change to the Utah Children’s Health Insurance Program advisory council. The bill extends the sunset for the primary care grant committee by 10 years, setting a new sunset date of July 1, 2035, and removes the sunset for the Utah CHIP advisory council so the council remains in perpetuity. The bill sponsor told the committee the primary care grant is intended to expand access to primary care, mental health and dental services for low-income individuals and cited program satisfaction data for CHIP parents. The committee voted to pass the bill out of committee; no recorded opposition was stated in the transcript.

HB 93 — Rehabilitation Services Modifications — was presented as a targeted change to the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Fund. The bill permits up to $100,000 from that fund to be used for research if funds remain at the end of a fiscal year, adds a researcher to the fund committee’s membership, and imposes a reporting requirement to the Legislature (the transcript clarifies the report is yearly). The sponsor said there is no fiscal note for the bill because the change only authorizes use of existing leftover funds. The committee approved the bill out of committee; the transcript records the passage as 4 to nothing.

HB 84, listed as “vaccine amendments,” drew substantive discussion and an amendment. Representative Lee told the committee the bill would clarify that any vaccines administered through food would be regulated and classified as drugs rather than food. During committee consideration members agreed to amend two places in the bill by inserting the word “conventional” before “food” (lines referenced in the committee discussion). Senator Plumb spoke in opposition on the grounds that the bill could signal concerns about vaccines to the public and said she would vote no; proponents argued similar legislation has been considered in other states and described the measure as a transparency step. The committee passed the substituted and amended bill; the transcript records the final committee tally as 3 to 2.

SB 278, State Debt Collection Amendments, was presented by Senator Weiler with Paul Bowers, manager of the Office of State Debt Collection, providing technical detail. The bill adds authority allowing the Office to hold title to real property or to dispose of surplus property when incidental to collection proceedings; it aligns administrative garnishment procedures with court-ordered garnishments; and it clarifies that judgments in favor of state agencies operate as liens statewide rather than only in the county where entered. Bowers told the committee OSDC primarily collects delinquent receivables referred after agencies’ billing attempts and that roughly 90% of OSDC’s active inventory by count is from the criminal justice system (court fines and victim restitution). The committee voted to advance SB 278 with a favorable recommendation; a precise roll-call tally was not clearly stated in the transcript.

Other committee actions
- HB 317 (Executive Agency Innovation Incentives) — sponsor described a framework to identify service-delivery efficiencies and to allow agencies to propose reallocations and incentives for savings; committee favorably recommended the first substitute by voice vote (record in transcript: 6 to 0).
- HB 238 (Department of Health and Human Services account amendments) — would allow four restricted DHHS accounts to retain interest: the Division of Services for People with Disabilities account; the statewide behavioral health crisis response account; the suicide prevention and education fund; and the brain and spinal cord injury fund. Sponsor argued retaining interest gives restricted accounts more resources for services; committee voted favorably (transcript: 6 to 0).
- HB 173 (Controlled Substance Act Amendments) — adds tianeptine and phenibut to Schedule I in state code; sponsor characterized tianeptine as “gas-station heroin” in informal remarks and described severe withdrawal risk from phenibut; the committee passed the bill out of committee.
- HB 258 (Medicare Supplement Insurance Amendments) — allows Medicare enrollees to move to a different plan of the same carrier that is equal or lower tier without medical underwriting; sponsor and committee supported the measure and advanced it out of committee.
- SB 275 (Placental Tissue Amendments) — a technical cleanup to require manufacturers to provide products only to providers who comply with pre-treatment notice requirements; committee advanced the bill (transcript recorded passage 6 to 0).
- HB 294 (Infectious Disease Procedures Amendments) — removes the temporary “orders of constraint” construct created during the COVID response, clarifies distinctions between long-standing “orders of restriction” and the 2021 “orders of constraint,” and adds a provision preventing denial of services to people who cannot wear a mask because of a diagnosed condition or disability; committee voted to advance the bill (transcript: passes out 6 to 0).

Votes at a glance (committee action)
- HB 282 — Favorable recommendation to Senate (no recorded opposition stated in transcript).
- HB 93 — Favorable recommendation; recorded in transcript as 4–0.
- HB 84 (for substitute, as amended) — Favorable recommendation; recorded in transcript as 3–2.
- SB 278 — Favorable recommendation to Senate (precise tally not clearly recorded).
- HB 317 (1st sub) — Favorable recommendation (recorded 6–0).
- HB 238 — Favorable recommendation (recorded 6–0).
- HB 173 — Favorable recommendation to Senate (tally not specified).
- HB 258 (1st sub) — Favorable recommendation to Senate (tally not specified).
- SB 275 — Favorable recommendation (recorded 6–0).
- HB 294 — Favorable recommendation (recorded 6–0).

Why this matters: The package includes technical fixes (SB 275, HB 294), consumer-facing changes (HB 84 and HB 258), public-health funding and oversight adjustments (HB 282, HB 93, HB 238) and statutory clarifications for state collection practices (SB 278). Several measures change how limited public funds or restricted accounts can be used or retained; others change regulatory status or scheduling of substances and therefore affect enforcement and provider obligations. Committee members repeatedly emphasized oversight and the limited scope of several bills (for example, HB 93’s authorization to use leftover funds only when present, and HB 238’s focus on retaining interest already generated by restricted accounts).

The committee adjourned after advancing the measures.

Ending: The committee forwarded the bills listed above with favorable recommendations where noted and the full Senate will consider them in subsequent floor proceedings.