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Read. Follow. Verify.Utah appropriates $3.74 million to retrofit state property into child care facilities and establishes employer-sponsored capacity program
Last action · March 6, 2026: Senate/ filedSponsors: Luz Escamilla and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Utah enacts the Child Care Expansion Act, appropriating $3,740,000 for 2027 to retrofit state-owned space into child care facilities, and establishes a program where private employers lease state child care spaces and contract with licensed providers.
The measure shifts state capital assets into commercial child care use, creating new operational requirements for participating employers who must reserve half of facility capacity for local community members while funding the state's facilities maintenance through lease payments.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Employer sponsors
Private employers or cooperatives that lease state-owned child care facilities must contract with licensed providers, maintain required insurance, and reserve 50% of facility capacity for community members.
Licensed child care providers
Providers contracting with employer sponsors must achieve certified quality ratings within one year, maintain infant and younger toddler rooms, and collect tuition.
Community members
Individuals residing within 30 miles or working within 15 miles of a facility gain access to 50% of the child care capacity, including options to use state child care subsidies.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to enroll their children in an expanded child care facility created by this program?
What funding is appropriated by this bill?
What are the quality requirements for child care providers operating in these state-leased facilities?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the Senate · on the House floor.
Procedural history
35 actions- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ filed
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ strike enacting clause
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse/ failed
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse/ 3rd reading
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse/ 2nd reading
Show 29 earlier actions
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse/ Rules to 3rd Reading Calendar
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse/ return to Rules due to fiscal impact
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse/ committee report favorable
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 27, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
- Feb 27, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 27, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Feb 25, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ motion to reconsider
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ filed
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ failed
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ 3rd reading
- Feb 24, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 2nd reading
- Feb 24, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd reading
- Feb 17, 2026SenateSenate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
- Feb 17, 2026SenateSenate/ comm rpt/ amended
- Feb 13, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 13, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Amendment Recommendation
- Feb 10, 2026SenateSenate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Feb 10, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0248
- Feb 6, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0248
- Feb 6, 2026SenateCommitteeSenate/ to standing committee
- Feb 4, 2026SenateIntroducedSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 4, 2026SenateSenate/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Feb 4, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0248
- Feb 4, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0248
- Feb 4, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Feb 4, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselBill Numbered but not Distributed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Capital Improvement Fund Diversion
The bill shifts $3,740,000 directly from state capital improvement funds to government operations specifically for retrofitting State Tax Commission warehouse space into a child care center.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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