House approves $30 million reallocation to support flood response, gives agencies access to $40 million

The Utah House on May 17 approved HB1001, a budget-neutral reallocation that moves $30 million among state accounts to fund flood response and related operations and provides access to approximately $40 million in funds for flood mitigation. The bill passed the House by voice/recorded vote of 70-0 and was transmitted to the Senate.

Sponsor Representative Val Peterson said HB1001 moves $20 million from the Utah Department of Transportation’s construction fund into its operations account to pay for expanded snow removal and other road-related work. “They've done about $24,000,000 worth of snow removal this year,” Peterson said, explaining the shift is income neutral and intended to allow UDOT to address potholes, line repainting and other repairs.

The bill also reallocates $10 million from the fire suppression fund to emergency services, split as $5 million for FY2023 and $5 million for FY2024, and moves $3 million from the disaster relief fund into a restricted emergency services account. Peterson said the Executive Appropriations Committee has authorized access to the first tranche and that agencies will have to report expenditures and seek approval to spend FY2024 funds.

Members asked whether reducing the fire suppression balance would leave the state vulnerable in a bad wildfire season. Representative Frisco raised the concern, and Peterson responded that recent legislative deposits (about $100 million in recent sessions, including one-time and ongoing amounts) and typical wildfire-year spending (around $25 million) leave flexibility to shift funds for flood response when needed.

Voting opened and HB1001 passed the House 70-0. The bill is on its way to the Senate for further consideration.