Interim Update

Last week was an unusually busy one. I spent a total of four days working on legislative issues. Here is a summary of this very busy week.

Interim Days

Last week, legislative budget and standing committees met to review and study items. Here are a few highlights of what my committees studied.

Social Services Budget Review

Legislative Auditors performed an in-depth budget review of the Department of Health and made 7 recommendations for improved practices. They also presented a performance audit of the Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations along with recommendations.
The committee reviewed several areas of spending that could be considered for budget reduction next year.
We had a tour of the Medical Examiner’s facilities.
We had a report and discussion on policy options to address inter-generational poverty.
The Road Home reported back on actions they have been taking to address problems identified with the homeless shelter by auditors at our last meeting.
We had a tour of the Utah Center for Assistive Technology.

Economic Development

This committee considered some fairly weighty policy questions, including:

Should the government be involved in giving targeted tax credits to selected companies? When the government provides incentives, is is possible to minimize the unintended consequences and provide a true level playing field for all businesses?
Inter-generational poverty (IGP) – What will stop the cycle? We had a presentation on the concept of a state add-on to the federal earned income tax credit (EITC) for families in IGP. The price tag is $6 million to help 26,000. My primary concern is whether this approach will produce any real improvements in their long-term success or whether there are better ways to give these families a hand up to long-term prosperity.

Government Operations

Most of the meeting focused on state employee compensation structure. A recent study showed that the state provides a competitive total compensation, but that the state tends to have lower cash wages and spend more on benefits. The committee was asked to consider whether the state should make adjustments to be more like the private sector.

Political Subdivisions

I was pleased to report back to the Political Subdivisions Committee on progress we had made in finding ways to improve the safety of trampoline parks, especially any new ones that might be considering opening in Utah. My goal has been to find a way to motivate all parks to comply with industry safety standards with the least amount of government burden possible. I was joined by Kim Santiago, former member of the Provo Municipal Council and representatives of the trampoline park industry. The committee provided valuable feedback and we are proceeding to create draft language.

NASHP Annual Meeting

I am a member of the National Academy for State Health Policy and serve on the executive committee. Our annual meeting was held from Wednesday through Friday of last week in Jacksonville, Florida.

On Thursday, I moderated a panel discussion about what states are doing to reduce the burden of government on health care workers. There is general consensus that states are experiencing a shortage of workers in many health care professions and states may be able to take steps to make it easier for people to work in those jobs.

On Friday, I participated in a state-only summit on prescription drug cost. We heard reports from several states that are taking steps to reduce the impact on state budgets of rapidly rising prices of some prescription drug costs. I am sure that we will hear more in Utah on this topic. In addition to the anticipated report on importation from Canada, I am particularly interested in exploring whether more transparency could have an impact and whether we can negotiate a better deal for taxpayers by banding together all of the state programs to purchase drugs.