House passes $8 billion social services base budget, prepares for departmental consolidation

The Utah House approved Substitute House Bill 7 on Jan. 26, a base budget covering health, human services and workforce services as lawmakers prepare to combine the Department of Health and Department of Human Services.

Representative Ward told the House the social services base budget totals about $8.0 billion, of which roughly $1.3 billion comes from general and education funds. The substitute includes $247 million in supplemental appropriations, consensus adjustments for Medicaid enrollment and inflation, a continued 5% rate increase for home‑ and community‑based providers, and funding for youth transitioning from state custody to services for people with disabilities.

Ward said the bill sets performance measures for line items and anticipates the department consolidation that will reduce 19 line items to 10 in a future session. The House passed the first substitute 69–0; the bill will be transmitted to the Senate.