by Elizabeth Garbe
Public Policy Director
Executive Appropriations will be meeting today at 5:00 p.m. to review and approve updated revenue projections. Many believe the projections will come in higher than expected. If so, this will be good news–ensuring important programs are restored and critical investments are made. While most of United Way’s priorities have been prioritized fairly high, one of our top priorities did not make the cut.
This year, Senator Osmond is running one of United Way’s top priority bills, SB226 High Quality Preschool Project–which will be introduced today or tomorrow. While there is a lot of support for the program and data to support its effectiveness, the item did not make the priority list because of the limited discussion on the bill. United Way will continue to work hard to pass this legislation. Regardless of the outcome, the bill is a great opportunity to begin the education process of how Utahns can effectively close the achievement gap while saving state money. Stay tuned for an Action Alert that will be coming as soon as the bill has been introduced.
Please take 5 minutes to respond to our updated Action Alert and tell the Executive Appropriations Committee to give funding to optional extended-day kindergarten. There are a number of bills United Way has a position on that will be heard in Committee this week. Check out the bill tracker to find out where those bills are in the process.
Follow the conversation on Twitter by following @uwsl and by searching #utleg or #utpol.
REMINDER: Did you RSVP for United Way Day on the Hill? Don’t forget to join us on February 23rd from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the East (Senate) Building, Spruce Room. (RSVP is now closed)
