A Great Day at the Utah Capitol
On Tuesday, February 13th, the AHA Utah team hosted our Heart on the Hill Lobby Day in the Capitol Board Room of the Utah State Capitol Building. We welcomed our Board of Directors, State Advocacy Committee, staff, and volunteers, for a total of more than 30 people, about half of whom were joining in their first lobbying experience.
Advocates lobbied hard on three key issues for the day, including two urgent bills and one issue we’re hoping to revive next year.
- Our Healthy School Meals for All bill evolved, shrunk, and eventually turned into a funding request that went unfunded in week four of the Session. Not wanting to lose momentum, we lobbied Appropriations Committee members and encouraged them to fund the issue next year.
- HB463 Medicaid Funding Amendments is a terrible anti-Medicaid bill that aimed to define a “Medicaid shortfall” and trigger drastic and harmful cuts across the Medicaid Program.
- SB61 Electronic Cigarette Amendments is a narrow flavors ban bill. Our 30+ lobbyists engaged with dozens of legislators over the course of the morning encouraging “no” votes, amendments, and educating on these important issues.
Look for a full legislative recap in March after the conclusion of the 2024 Legislative Session.