Legislative Action Alert - January 25, 2010


Good afternoon friend of the DLC,

Welcome to the first official day of the 2010 legislative session. Why official? Because the appropriations committees have already met twice to reduce the current year's budget. The good news is that, thanks to Rep. Powell, DSPD programs were protected, at least for now.

However, as you know, all the appropriations committees have been asked to make recommendations for a possible 5% cut beginning in July. Consequently, legislative staff have prepared lists of suggestions for each committee to consider. Particularly concerning to us are proposals for:

  • reductions in the treatment budgets of community mental health centers;
  • the loss of beds at the Utah State Hospital;
  • decreasing support for individuals in the Medicaid aging and/or home and community-based services waivers;
  • serving fewer kids in custody in community or residential placements;
  • staff and program changes at the Utah State School for the Deaf and Blind; and
  • less money for assistive technology.

If these or other programs or services are important to you, a family member, a friend, or a colleague, please let your senator and representative know. Legislators have so much on their plate that they often adopt staff recommendations with few changes, unless they hear from voters in their district.

For the next few weeks, appropriations committees will meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons. To see an up-to-date schedule with agenda items, please visit
http://www.le.state.ut.us/asp/interim/cal.asp

If you would like to learn more about how to talk and work with your elected leaders, please consider joining the Grassroots Advocacy Partnership at:
http://utahddc.org/legislation/index.html

Or attending the Legislative Coalition for People with Disabilities' reception on February 3 at the Capitol.
Click here to see a flyer on the event

For more information and tools, please visit the DLC's legislative page at:
http://www.disabilitylawcenter.org/legislative-advocacy.htm

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. As always, thank you for your interest and support,

Andrew Riggle
Public Policy Advocate
1-800-662-9080 (Voice) or 1-800-550-4182 (TTY)
801-557-9182 (Mobile)
ariggle@disabilitylawcenter.org