H.B. 190 Child Care Business Tax Credit: transcript

Well, hey, I, if you're looking at me and it's just good so far, I'm, I'm off to a good start. So, um, thanks Randall. So I'm, I'm gonna just keep this as brief as I, as brief as I can. Number number one, uh, thank you Mr. Chair Committee. Um, this business, uh, uh, childcare tax credit is a childcare tax credit that we currently already have on the books. Um, the, the current tax credit that we have mirrors federal, uh, code. And, um, unfortunately it's very tilted towards large, large businesses that can afford to build out the infrastructure to provide childcare. But the conversation day starts with families. Um, a lot of people are unaware that infant care, uh, in the state of Utah now averages more than $11,000 a year. If you have two children, families can easily face costs of $24,000 annually. Now, for, um, a two family household, that's a, a pretty big burden for a single family household that can be absolutely devastating by federal standards. Childcare is considered unaffordable in all 29 counties. At the same time, housing costs remain extraordinarily high. Inflation has outpaced wages and financial stability still sees, seems farther out of reach for many young couples. And when families cannot afford housing, childcare, or to build savings, they don't simply absorb the costs. They delay having children, which we have seen a steadily dec a steady decline in our fertility rate over the past three decades. They leave the workforce or increasingly they leave the state. Um, businesses, uh, childcare is a huge challenge for, for businesses. Um, when childcare falls through employees, miss shifts, productivity drops, turnover increases, hiring becomes more difficult, and training costs rise. Small, small businesses feel this, especially. So Utah employers want some want solutions. They don't want mandates, they don't wanna be told what to do, but they do want solutions as part of the one big beautiful bill. The Trump administration made some major changes to the, um, employer, um, uh, child, uh, business, uh, childcare tax credit. One thing they did is they made it very small business friendly. So, um, they've expand the eligible eligible use from building out infrastructure to including, um, providing, uh, childcare through licensed childcare providers with a 50% credit for small businesses. They've indexed it to inflation, expanded the dependent care assistance limits, and strengthened middle class access to childcare credits. So HB one 90 is really simple in the fact that it is simply to align our state childcare tax credit with these federal improvements from the Trump administration's. One big, beautiful bill. This is completely voluntary. Businesses only benefit if they choose to invest their own resources and supporting working families. The credit is non-refundable, it's tied to federal standards and it's structured to reward real investment. Um, the response has been strong. So under the updated, uh, federal framework, over 60% of St. St. George Employers and over 70% of Salt Lake City employers say that they would participate in childcare solutions under the new incentives. The economy, this childcare has a major impact on Utah's economy. Utah loses an estimated $1.36 billion every year in economic productivity because of childcare related issues. The state also loses $258 million in income tax revenue every year. So this is a me a measurable economic drag. Um, today, roughly 74% of our households that have two fa two parents in the household, both parents have to work. So if we want a strong workforce, um, a a competitive business climate and sustainable economic growth, we must address barriers that are quietly reshaping family decisions and, and labor force participation. This issue is not just about dollars and cents, it's about whether Utah remains a state where families can afford to stay, businesses can thrive and the economy can grow. Utah has an opportunity to lead not by building bigger government, but by building smarter per smarter partnerships between families, employers, providers, and our communities. Strong families, strong businesses, a strong economy in that order. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Of word I'd, I'd love to add a little something actually,

I'm Emily Bell McCormick with the policy project. Just wanted to say, we've been looking at kind of comprehensive solutions to these issues of how the economy, businesses, and families interact. And this is by far the best idea around having businesses participate in childcare. There are a lot of different ways that have been framed in other places. Like, you know, I am a business, I open up my own childcare this way. This, this approach really honors the business doing the work that they're meant to do, which is employing people and sticking to their core business operations, while also allowing, um, an incentive for workers up to 80%, especially for small businesses, they get up to an 80% stackable credit. So if I'm giving my employees a thousand dollars in a benefit in a month, I can get up to an $800 back as a tax credit. So when you're looking at this issue and trying to involve businesses, it's extremely difficult, but they do need to be involved in this conversation and this is absolutely the right approach to involving them.

You okay. Perfect. Thank you.

Thank you. Uh, Mr. Chair members of the committee, I am Senator Heidi Baldry, and I'm proud to stand as a floor sponsor for House Bill one 90. Even if only 5% of employers participate in this program, we estimate that 110,000 working parents could receive childcare support. That's a huge impact without creating a new entitlement or bureaucracy. Because this is about unlocking private sector solutions with smart public policy, Utah has long been the gold standard for family values, but today we face a demographic and economic crossroads for the first time in our economic, excuse me, in the first time in our history, Utah's fertility rate has fallen to 1.8 well below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman. We're no longer just talking about a trend, we're witnessing a fundamental shift that threatens our future workforce and the very fabric of our communities. As one Utah mother recently told the policy project, I always wanted to be a mom. I simply can't afford to have kids. We didn't choose to be child-free. We were priced out of parenthood. This bill is a conservative market-based solution to that heartbreak. HB one 90 empowers our businesses to be part of the solution by expanding tax credits for employer provided childcare, increasing that credit to 30% per small businesses. Right now, Utah loses 1.36 billion annually due to workforce disruptions caused by a lack of childcare. We have parents, specifically mothers who want to work and want to grow their families, but the math simply doesn't add up when infant care costs are 78% higher than college tuition. By incentivizing the private sector to bridge this gap, we aren't just filling jobs today, we are telling Utah families that they don't have to choose between a paycheck and a family and a nursery. We are making it possible for young couples to say yes to that first or third baby because they know their community and their employers are invested in their success. Let's protect the beehive state by ensuring that we actually have a next generation to fill the hive. I urge you to favor for your favorable recommendation.

Um, that's a great question. Um, Mr. Chair, the, the, um, I will always support giving more money back to, to our families. I will always support that. Um, one thing I can say with confidence, and I've, I've talked to a, a lot of parents, if, if we give a child credit back, um, to, to families, there's a lot of our families that are going to be using that money. Um, not because they're misusing it, but they're gonna use it to put food on the table. They're going to use it to pay for electricity, they're gonna use it for gas or for just survival. The, the difference with, with this bill is this bill, every single dollar in a credit that's given is tied directly to childcare provided. And, and that's what I think I love about this bill. And, and quite frankly, I love both approaches. I love giving families more money back, but I love incentivizing our bi um, businesses to, to, to stand up.

Um, thank you. Um, so I think I can speak to this because I support both. I'm a co-sponsor on that bill with Representative Miller and I actually was behind part of the policy. I Uintah a tax policy seminar at Vanderbilt University where we came up with the idea for the bill that is now, uh, in Tracy Miller's bill. She already had a bill file open, but I helped create that policy and we, by increasing the threshold, we increase the amount of people. This one will help more. They're both good.

Um, vest Pearson, uh, founder of AP Environmental and former, uh, CEO. Uh, over the, over the last 15 years I've employed or we've employed, uh, tens of thousands of people. And the number of times that I've been approached about childcare, uh, is, is overwhelming. So not withstanding all of the, you know, amazing points that were already made, I lived it. Um, it's something that, that is a concern for families. And then one other side benefit, uh, Utah is one of the best kept secrets, um, in, in America. However, when trying to recruit people to come to Utah, it's often misunderstood and it's challenging. If I can get them to come here and take them around, we can, we can get them to, to, to move here. Having this type of a benefit is part of a business' offering. In order to recruit the best and brightest people to come to our state, uh, would be very beneficial. Thank you.

Good morning. Um, my name is Sherry Terry. I live in Orem and I'm representing Mormon Women for Ethical Government. And we believe the family is central to society and all families have the right to receive support and protection under the law. So thanks to the sponsors for this bill that does help families. Some of the members of our organization are working mothers with small children who struggle to find and afford childcare from a licensed professional. And HBU one 90 strengthens incentives for employers to provide or support childcare by increasing the tax credits and making them easier to claim least employer involvement in childcare not only helps parents provide for their families, but also improves employee retention and it does so without mandating employer participation. So we support HB one 90 and ask you to support it as well.

I'm gonna be very quick. I, Corey Holdaway representing the Utah Private Childcare Association. Uh, we stand in support of this and, uh, and see it as a benefit for industry to, uh, to promote childcare. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Melanie, call Mother of three, Sandy, Utah. Thank you Chair for having this session. So I just wanna talk about lived experience. I would, I would be a measure of success if you passed this bill just because it would give me easier opportunity to reenter the workforce knowing that a business can take advantage of this incentive for them to invest in their employees and Utah family. So I am in favor of this bill, HB one 90.

Hi, my name's Jennifer. I am a policy analyst with Voices for Utah Children. I also spent, um, the past year as a graduate research student at the University of Utah examining the e economic impact of early childhood education and c childcare access. The research showed that, um, childhood programs return for $1 seven to $12 in long-term economic benefits. My research also showed that there is correlation between early childhood education spending GDP and life satisfaction. Countries that invested more dollars in early childhood education were more likely to have higher GDP and a higher rate of life satisfaction. As a single mom myself who struggles with childcare, I understand how important this bill can be. Currently, my son's childcare costs more than my rent. I feel like that shouldn't even be allowed. If we want Utah's economy to remain competitive, we must treat childcare as a smart investment, not an expense. The return is measurable and the cost of in action is already evident. Please support this bill.

You Mr. Chairman. Make a motion that we favorably recommend second sub HP one 90. It's an excellent bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yes. I'll be speaking to the second substitute. Okay, perfect. Thank you. Uh, Mr. Chair, could, would it be okay if my, uh, if my interim passes out some flag?

What's being passed out is an overall information sheet. There's also, um, two op-eds, one that was written quite a while back to, um, articulate the, um, childcare issues in the state. The second one kind of brings the multi bill solution together that we're working on this session. So just for context and for information, Thank you. We, we do have a slide presentation, I think he's trying to put up And Mr. Vice chair, I think we, we do have a slide presentation that I think that they we're gonna try and put up. Yeah, he's, He's working. He's, uh, he's very close. That's either good news for the passage of a bill or bad news for the passage. One of the two. That's Right. Asking it. Okay. Go ahead. Okay. Uh, Mr. Vice chair, um, colleagues on the committee, um, I'm, uh, I'm really honored to be here today, uh, to prevent, to present to you house Bill one 90, the chi, uh, the childcare business tax credit, and to talk about how this bill, uh, fits into a broader effort. This session, to address one of the most significant workforce and family challenges facing Utah today, and that's access to childcare, uh, across Utah. Childcare is not just strained, it is structurally broken. Families feel it, employers feel it, our communities feel it. Today, about 74% of Utah families have all available parents in the workforce, uh, for these families, childcare is not optional. It is foundational to economic security and family stability. But licensed providers currently meet only about 36% of our needs statewide, uh, leaving roughly 77% of Utahans living in what is now called a childcare desert. So this is not just a family issue, as I've mentioned, it's a workforce issue. It's an economic competitiveness issue. Utah loses an estimated $1.36 billion a year because of parents not that cannot find or afford, uh, reliable childcare. The state loses roughly $258 million in annually in income tax revenue tied to workforce disruption. At the same time, affordability continues to worsen. Infant care alone averages $11,000 per year, and care for two young children can exceed $24,000 a year by federal standards. Childcare is considered unaffordable. And every one of our 29 counties that was, um, sorry, in, in every one of our 24 counties last year, the legislature took some important first steps, um, through several bills, one of which I was the sponsor, um, that got lumped in with HB 1 0 6, where it created an employer, a child tax credit, a 20% credit for construction and expansion, and a 10% credit for operating expenses. That was meaningful progress. But over the last year, we heard clearly from employers, especially small businesses, that construction is simply not realistic for most of them. They want to help their employees, they just need flexible tools to be able to do so. House Bill one 90 is about making that possible. This Bill modernizes and expands Utah's employer childcare tax credit to better align with the enhanced federal credit and to dramatically expand employer participation. The first major change is that Bill extends eligibility for offsite to include offsite childcare. Employers will now be able to receive the credit, not only for building and operating an onsite center, but for also CRA contracting with offsite licensed childcare providers. Um, this reflects how most employers actually support employees today and removes one of the largest barriers to participation. The second major change is that the bill provides stronger incentives for small businesses. The operating credit increases to 30% for eligible small businesses and remains at 10% for larger employers. This recognizes that small businesses often face the greatest barriers to offering benefits, but still want to support the workforce. The third major change is that this bill removes the requirement that an employer must first build or expand a facility before claiming operating credits. This means an employer can immediately begin helping employees through contracted childcare slots without needing to invest in construction first. When combined with federal incentives, this creates a powerful partnership. Utah employers could see total credits of up to 80% for qualified childcare expenses for small businesses, and up to 50% for larger employers. That dramatically lowers the cost barrier to participation and makes Utah nationally competitive in workforce support, the potential impact is significant. And Juab, if just 5% of Utah employers participate, more than 110,000 working parents could receive childcare support. And an employer surveys show strong interest. In some markets, more than 60% of employers say that they would contribute to childcare if government, if a government match exists, it's important to emphasize that HB one 90 is not intended to solve Charit childcare on its own. It is part of a coordinated, coordinated package of bills designed to expand supply, improve affordability, support providers, and engage employers as partners. Utah has always led by building partnerships rather than mandates. And this bill reflects that approach. This bill is also fiscally and structurally responsible. It does not directly appropriate funding. It keeps the credits non-refundable. It maintains recapture rules for construction credits tied to onsite F facilities, and it keeps the federal EL eligibility tie tie in ensuring credits go to employers already investing in real childcare solutions. Ultimately, childcare access affects workforce participation, business recruitment and retention, family stability, and long-term demographic strength. If Utah wants strong families and a strong economy, we must treat childcare like the essential infrastructure. It is. House Bill one 90 gives employers, especially small businesses, flexible practical tools to support working families. It builds on prior legislative work. It aligns with federal policy, and it helps Utah move from reacting to the childcare crisis to leading on solutions. Now, in addition to HB one 90, Utah will be leading with HB two 90, um, which was heard today, child tax credit amendments that this committee just, uh, passed out favorably. Also, HB 3 29, which is state employee maternity leave amendments, which proposes extending paid maternity leave for state employees from six weeks to 12 weeks. SB two 14 Utah's, um, uh, home-based childcare solutions aims to expand access to child care by establishing the home-based childcare capacity expansion grant program. This initiative seeks to support and increase the availability of licensed home-based childcare providers across the state colleagues. Together we can bring long awaited relief to families in Utah through our communities and the private sector. Thank you. And I'd not like to now introduce Emily Bellor McCormick from the Policy Project for a few remarks.

Hello everyone. Okay. As a representative just mentioned, we've been working with a handful of legislators on a series of bills this session that will really support affordability for Utah's families. And one neat thing about HB one 90 is that this is the way we get the business community involved in childcare and in families. It has long been a struggle trying to figure out like, where does business actually fit in in this discussion? And as he mentioned in the past, it's really been like, yeah, you know, you might run a car dealership, but if you wanna do something for childcare for your employees, you're gonna have to start your own childcare on site. That just doesn't work. It doesn't work for business owners. And we are a very pro-business state as we should be. And so we really love this bill because it, it reconsiders that and it directs funding toward small businesses so that they're able to provide this care. So in reality, if I'm a small business and I want to give my employee a thousand dollars toward childcare a month, what this does is it, it means that I could be reimbursed up to $800. So all of a sudden, as a small business, I have this big advantage, um, that I can give to hire maybe moms or dads that have small children. And we know that workforce issues are huge for the state of Utah. Um, when we were in Richfield just a couple weeks ago, there was this, we were talking about this issue and it was this awesome group of people. You had a lot of people who were working in the salt mine, and you had people who were in the schools, you know, all, all kinds of different, uh, people. But we had several people come up after and say, I, I own a small business. Rich Richfield native, been here for a long time, could I qualify for this? Um, just realizing that they're having big workforce issues, get hiring employees, and this was a huge benefit. I'm just thinking when I was a young mom, if somebody said, I've got a thousand dollars a month tax credit, I would've been like, or, um, sorry, a thousand dollars a month, um, childcare credit for you. It would be incredible. So, um, just a very, very cool way to go about involving business in this conversation. We also have talked with Jefferson Moss at Goo about kind of including this in a package of things that help small businesses retain employees and succeed in Utah. Thank you.

Yes. Thank you. So I want to question one of your points on your page here says that licensed, uh, providers meet only 36% of childcare demand leaving 70%, 77% of Utahans in childcare deserts. Well, I'm assuming that that 77%, now, I'm not saying there's not a need for more childcare, but that 77% would be what I would maybe refer to as better childcare because it would typically be mom or grandma, well not mom, I guess grandma or uncle or aunt or friend, or, Hey, we're gonna, you know, I'm gonna help you, you're gonna help me, but it's not necessarily licensed. Um, which I don't see as a negative. And so, and we call that 74 7% as a, as a desert. And yet there's no way that the desert is 77%. Uh, again, I'm, I'm not saying there's not a need for more childcare, but, um, I, I feel like this is a little bit a skewed number maybe That, that that's a, um, and That's a question. That's A, that's a great, yeah, that's a great question. And, and, and it is a difficult number because I'm, I'm with you when, uh, grandma or, um, someone else is watching the kids, that's a huge plus. Um, I can tell you by national standards, Utah, we're known for having the most children per, per household. Not Anymore. Not anymore. We're second. Yeah, we're second. I think we Uintah 10, but unfortunately right now, we're also known as being one of the worst for childcare. Okay. So I don't know exactly if we were to pinpoint it down to say, Hey, it's exactly 52%. What I can say is that we have major supply shortages in this state. We have four out of our 29 counties that have zero licensed childcare providers. Uh, I can say that when I, um, go to my district, one of the top concerns that I hear about from my constituency, number one is wages and affordability, housing, childcare. I hear it over and over again. And, um, so, uh, to, to nail down on that 77%, I don't know that we can get to a 52% or, or whatever, but what I maybe 10%, uh, highly doubt it's 10%. Um, what I would argue is that we have a significant shortage in supply, which is, um, which is leading to astronomical problems in our state. And, um, you know, I wish I had a statistic or a number that I can give you that would would nail it in. Exactly. But, um, hey, listen, if, if it is 10%, which I guarantee you it's not, if it is 10%, guess what? That's a lot less in credits we're giving out. Can I Yeah, Just one comment on that. We have, we do know that 76% of Utah households have to have both parents in the workforce. So there is a childcare desert. Um, obviously Utah has a huge geography, and just with the way that it's spread out, it wouldn't make sense for childcare facilities to operate in maybe somewhere like Daggett County, but many of those households still need two people working to afford a mortgage. So, so it is about 76% that of households. Thanks. Mm-hmm.

Thank you. Um, I appreciate what you're trying to do with this policy and trying to solve a problem, which is probably very real for our young families. How does this increase supply of childcare?

That, that's a great question. So again, we're, we're attacking this with multiple bills. Um, right now there's another bill there, there's another bill that we're running this session that's going to greatly address supply. Um, what we're doing is we're making sure that the funding is there. We're finding a lot of our childcare providers are simply, they, they simply have to shut the doors because people don't have the money to pay for childcare. So people just can't keep their doors open. So I think once there's, once there's funding there, once people can afford to pay for childcare, there's a bunch of people who want to watch children. They just need it to be affordable. And, um, and, and I think that's what this help to close the gap with.

So if I may, a couple other questions. Sure. Yeah. So federally, what kind of uptake does this program have nationwide? Are people or are businesses lining up to, to participate in programs like this on the federal level? And are other states doing something like this?

Yeah, that's a great question. Um, so the, the, the, the impetus for, for this major policy change here in the state of Utah is, um, major federal policy changes in the one big beautiful bill, the one big beautiful bill took, um, childcare coverage from being, uh, for a business tax credit from being limited to large businesses who build out infrastructure to now including it for all small businesses across the country. So this is, this is new terrain, but, um, what they did in the one big beautiful bill is they put small businesses first. Um, and what I mean by that is they, they're giving a, the federal government's offering a 50% credit for small businesses. So if you have one employee, two employees, anything, uh, I believe it's $31 million or less in revenue in the last five years, then you're gonna qualify for a 50% federal credit. This is a stackable credit with the federal credit. Okay. So what we're offering is stackable. The other thing that we're requiring is that somebody claims the federal, federal credit in order to be able to qualify for the state credit. So to be able to have the data to say, Hey, people are lining up to do this. Um, my guess is that if they're not, they definitely should be, because this is in, in my opinion, this is gonna be one of the biggest things that we can do to help, uh, address this crisis.

Yeah. Um, just to add to that, there was, uh, uh, legislative working group women in the economy, and this was one of the main policy recommendations ca that came out of there was to have businesses involved in this way. And so when they did look at, this was one of the slides, but when they looked at St. George and I think, um, Salt Lake, it was like 60 to 70% of small businesses say they'd be interested. We don't know the federal numbers, but we can also look those up and I can follow up with you.

Thank you Mr. Chair. I just wanted to ask, last year we combined a bill that was very similar to this into our tax cut bill and therefore we had to vote for it. 'cause he can't vote against a tax cut. Right. I am curious, is this on top of what we did last year? Can you explain the differences between what happened last year and what you're trying to do this year? Please?

So, yes, that's a great question. Thank you. Um, so what, what this does is this, um, essentially expands what we did last year. It builds on what we did last year. So what was in place last year? This is ki um, uh, we've taken, expanded the language to still mirror the federal language last year. It mirrored the federal language this year, mirrors the federal language. We're just changing it on the state level because of the fact that they updated it in the one big beautiful bill.

Okay. Thank you. Yeah. And, and, and this committee did, I don't remember what the, um, what the vote was, but overwhelmingly supported, um, the bill last year before it Uintah the floor. I think we turned it down first and then he came back and we supported it. That's how I remember This bill. I think when the bo when the bill was voted out of this committee and was sent to the floor, it was with an overwhelming majority. It was with majority for sure. I remember that too. So I'm curious 'cause I'm not aware on this one because I don't have little children anymore. I do have grandchildren and I have daughters, some that need to work and some that stay at home. And so I have the same concern as I did last year is that their tax dollars are now paying and subsidizing companies who are going to get tax credits for providing childcare. So I'm just still trying to wrestle with that one. There. I am just kind of looking like, and, and I, I'm not sure if this is the right role of the government to use for the taxpayer dollars. So my other question, what I was trying to say is, are there parental deductions right now for childcare that we have for the state? Do we provide that deduction for them?

Um, there, there currently are, uh, parental deductions and this year there were also increases to parental deductions also on the federal level as well. Um, we've seen an ex, uh, an expansion with child tax credits as well as as deductible expenses for childcare. Both.

Okay. Thank you. Mm-hmm.

Thank you. My name is Corey Holdaway. I am representing the Utah Private Childcare Association, and I just want to thank the representative for bringing this forward. Uh, this incentivizing businesses to increase childcare services with a tax, uh, incentive. Like this is a win. It increases childcare services, uh, it, uh, and to work with private child, uh, care, uh, licensed childcare providers. Uh, and it, uh, it's a benefit for their employees. Uh, we see this as a, uh, an add-on to what the big beautiful bill did, uh, this past summer that was passed. Uh, as a matter of information for the committee, many of the chambers of commerce across the state and across the country are, are educating their businesses with regard to that, that opportunity. Uh, I know that Chamber West, which I'm a part of, uh, is, is making the programs like this, uh, more public, uh, educating their businesses so that opportunities for, uh, programs in this incentive, uh, are real for them and their employees. So, um, again, uh, uh, the Utah Private Childcare, uh, association appreciates the efforts on this and, and would encourage your support.

My name is Grace Re. I'm with Early Learning Policy Group. Um, I work across states on strategies related to childcare and economic growth. I think this bill is great, really good policy. Um, it will help expand access to childcare for working parents. Frankly, 27 states currently have a similar tax credit for employers. Like was said before, I'll get right to the point. It's a piggyback credit on the one big beautiful Bill. Why? Because, um, employers are having difficulty recruiting and retaining employees and this is an incentive to really help acc um, parents access care. A year ago I worked with the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity on a statewide review of the supply of care, the potential demand for childcare and barriers to accessing childcare by Utah parents. The study was legislatively directed. The result was a report, the Childcare Solutions and Workplace Productivity Plan with over 30 recommendations. One of the recommendations was in support of this type of tax credit. 'cause it makes a difference, like in those other 27 states. Um, during the project, I did work with local chambers of commerce. I'll tell you, in St. George, for example, 45% of employers said in the past year they had employees quit or reduced hours due to childcare challenges in Salt Lake City. 50% said the same. This is a real issue, um, childcare's on the radar of employers. The report shows it. I'm glad to provide a copy to the, um, committee. I can give you a couple quotes, but I think I might be running out of time because I hear like A buzzing. If you can just kinda sum up bit, please Coming up, there's no one single solution, but this bill could really help. Um, I urge you to support it and I'm glad to answer any questions.

Hello? I was, um, I was there earlier. Um, but my 3-year-old cannot sit, say very well. So now I'm coming to you from the car. Um, but my name's Caly Stanley. I'm from North Ogden and I'm, again, we're here representing Mormon Women for Ethical Government. Um, the members of our organization are Women of Faith, and some of them, including myself, are working mothers with small children. And like many families at this stage of life, many of us struggle to find and afford childcare from a licensed professional. Um, we support HB one 90 because this bill strengthens incentives for employers to provide or support childcare by increasing tax credit amounts and making a credit. The credit easier to claim, especially for small businesses. Um, increasing employer involvement in childcare may help parents provide for their families and improve employee retention without mandating employer participation. And so we ask that you support HB one 90. Thank you so much.

Hi, thank you very much for the time. My name is Kristen Schultz and I'm with the Park City Community Foundation's Early Childhood Alliance. I'm also urging you to support HB one 90 and I really wanna personally thank Representative Thompson and the policy project for all of this hard work on this critical issue. The evidence is really clear, high quality early care and education is not only an essential support for working parents, it's also one of the smartest and most impactful economic and social investments our state can make. The early care and learning ecosystem is a known example of a classic market failure. The hard truth is low and moderate income. Families simply can't afford to pay the true cost of high quality care, and our providers cannot survive on what these parents alone can contribute. As a result, our state faces expensive childcare tuition, low wages for early childhood educators and instability for our working parents. But we also know that we see this can play out in parents being forced to cut back hours or leave the workforce businesses struggling with absenteeism and turnover and children missing out on the kind of nurturing care and education that sets the foundation for lifelong success. We also know the upside of investing early, if in strengthens school readiness, reduces the need for more costly and less effective interventions later, later on, and improves the health and educational outcomes that echo well into adulthood. HB one 90 incentivize employers to invest in working families, strengthens our economy and helps Utah's children. I also wanted to note this also can support stay at home parents, many of whom use partial day programs. Thank you for your time and please support HB one 90.

Hi, I am Lindsay White. I'm a Utah small business owner and I am the founder of the Little Milk Bar. I am here in hopes that you support HB one 90. Childcare is not a personal issue, it's a workforce issue. I've had multiple incredible candidates accept a job with us and then have to turn it down because they couldn't find reliable childcare. Not because they didn't wanna work, but because they couldn't make it work. And when an employee tells me she's pregnant, I want her to feel excited, not terrified that she's about to lose her career. Right now, small businesses like mine aren't able to offer, um, much childcare, which then makes it impossible for parents to get back to work. And that's not really sustainable for families or employers. HB one 90 gives small businesses a real way to step up. We, I think a lot of us want to, and the difference between wanting to support working parents and actually being able to, so I so badly want to offer childcare for my employees and it kills me that I can't. But this bill could drastically change that. It would keep parents working, keeps families stable, and help small businesses like mine keep really great employees instead of watching talented women disappear from the workforce simply because childcare isn't available. Um, so I support HB one 90. Thank you.

Hi, I'm Melanie Collin Sandy, I am done a lot of research on this. I'm actually the aftermath of not providing access to childcare, like we exit the workforce and I was making over six figures over 115,000 a year. And I could afford it, I just couldn't access it. So I would've loved a bill like this for my employer to establish a center within the facility and be able to, um, have access to childcare in that corporate office. So it encourages the business to do the right thing because I looked into HR one, it's not enough. And if we do something at the state level, it will definitely help incentivize and like have that employee retention. And, you know, if we're pro business, we need to be ProCare too. So it's not just compassion, it's economically practical to participate Supporting That.

Good afternoon chair and members of the committee. My name is Malia Rogers and I have been a childcare provider in Utah for over 25 years. At our center, we lived by the motto, the future of the world is in our center. And I see it every day. How true this is. The children in our care are Utah's next generation and supporting them means supporting our families and workforce. Right now, licensed providers meet only a small portion of Utah's childcare demand, leaving a high percentage of families in need of quality care. This gap is not just a number. It represents working parents struggling to stay employed and children who need early learning and safe care. Recently a single mother working two jobs nearly had to quit. One because she couldn't find consistent childcare. Through support from a local employer partnership, she was able, able to keep both jobs and provide stability for her family. Stories like hers show Why White, why House Bill one 90 matters. This bill encourages employer supported childcare through tax incentives. When businesses invest in childcare, families gain dependable options. Employees are more consistent and productive, and employer strength and recruitment and retention. For providers like myself, these partnerships help debilitate enrollment and retain quality staff, which is vital given ongoing workforce shortages. Quality early childhood education is more than supervision. It builds a social, emotional, and academic foundation children carry throughout their lifetime. When we invest in childcare, we are investing in Utah's future, the very children who will shape this state for decades to come. After 25 years in this field, I can confidently say collaboration solutions like House Bill one 90 are essential to sustaining accessible high quality childcare for Utah families. Malia, can you, can you sum up real quick please? Yep, yep. I respectfully encourage your support and I leave you with this last thought. Every child in care today is the future leader for Utah's tomorrow. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Chair. You want second sub moved?

Please. Thank you. I'd like to make a motion to pass, um, to adopt second sub, the second substitution of HB one 90.

Thank you Mr. Chair. I'd like to make a motion to pass out favorable second substitute one 90 HB one 90 childcare business tax credit.

Um, colleagues. Um, this bill is important for, for a lot of reasons. Um, number one, first and foremost, um, families are one of the most important things to us in the state of Utah. It's one of the things that we value the most, and I see in my district and I see around the state, families struggling, struggling to get by, struggling to make ends meet, working multiple jobs. Um, I believe the statistic was 76%, uh, of households have both parents working. Um, I've talked to numerous childcare providers in Cash County who simply had to close the doors because people couldn't afford to pay. So when we incentivize the private sector, not mandate, incentivize the private sector to step up, and if they so choose to provide that benefit, we will see an increase in supply. We will see people opening the doors again because there will be money there to help pay for it. Again, this is an investment in families. We lose $1.36 billion in economic, um, productivity every year, $258 million in income tax revenue. This is not a money loser for the state. This is a money maker for the state. And, um, I, I think this is probably one of the most important bills, um, that I will have the opportunity to run, uh, in my time in legislature. And, uh, I would appreciate all of your support today. And, um, support for this bill is definitely support for our Utah families. Thank you.

Thank you. I am just still struggling, um, just on the fact that we have many stay at home parents who are struggling to make ends meet. Who wouldn't be qualifying for this because the parents staying home and I'm, I'm just wondering if we can somehow provide more benefit to them if we're going to provide benefits to companies who could provide this benefit. I understand some can't, but larger companies could, that they could provide a benefit of childcare, but yet they, and, and it's the stay at home parents that are also having to pay for that. And so I just kind of see this little struggle that I'm having on this one because I have, like I say, I have adult daughters that are in these situations and, and I'm thinking about companies and the ability for them to provide the service as I, as I mentioned. So, uh, is there some type of a benefit that we can provide to the state home parents outside of the deduction that they get on their income tax because they're getting the same deduction on the income tax, as is the parent who's having that benefit from a small company or a large company. So I'm just kind of wrestling with that.

I don't know if you have anything you could, Mr. Chair, could I respond to that?

Was it a question was I guess, yeah, if it's a question, I guess I'm not really looking that he has to respond, but it really is a question that I have. Is there somebody that can answer that question for me?

Okay? Can we allow him to respond to that? What's, is that something we could, can we allow him to respond to that? Or is that not in the rules? We

Well, that's, that's my feel on it, so, perfect. I'm struggling. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, so let's say you've got a parent with, or two parents. One of 'em stays home to watch the kids because they can't afford healthcare or, uh, childcare. The other one is working. So already there's a disadvantage in that family because there's only one income. You got the other family, both of 'em are working, uh, and they want childcare. So the first family who's, who only has one income earner is paying taxes to pay for the healthcare of the two fa two worker family. And, uh, and their employer could pitch in or whatever if they want, but they could do the whole thing. So it's not really fair for taxpayers who really don't have, you know, who are struggling to pay for their own childcare to pay for somebody else's childcare. Um, you know, one of the biggest complaints I've had this year is taxes are way too high. And every time we have a program like this, we have to pay for it. And it's not always the best efficient way to do it. But we keep raising taxes to pay for these programs. And, uh, and I would rather just cut the taxes, keep the taxes low so that people can use the taxes like their, their savings, like they need it in their home, the best they can make good decisions. So what we're doing is we're really outsourcing, raising our kids to the government. Um, And, and this is only one of 'em. I mean, they're adding up. We can see that every time, you know, every session. We have more and more programs that takes the responsibility away from the take and gives it to the government. Um, uh, you know, sometimes you just have to say, where do you draw the line? When, when do we keep, when do we stop taking the responsibility for the parents and putting the burden on the taxpayers? Uh, I mean, we have to look at what is the role of government? Is that really our job as a government leader? So I can't support this bill. Thank you.

I'm not sure that anything I just heard from my representative colleagues here is, is necessarily wrong, but I do feel like it was centered around the idea that there are families that always have two parents that can, uh, that can make those decisions. Um, and, and I'm, I'm not entirely opposed to a fiscal note that I feel like probably has a little return on an investment and a multiplier effect. And, uh, when I think about what this enables for other people to do, um, in terms of entering the workforce, paying taxes on their wages that they earn and, uh, and benefiting their family, when these are probably the families that, uh, could most use, uh, some benefit. Um, I could not be more strongly in support of this bill.

Uh, thank you, Mr. Chair. So, um, I read a book a while back, uh, by, uh, uh, now Senator, uh, Warren called the Two Income Trap. It's actually a, she wrote it with her daughter. It's actually a very good book. Um, back when she, before she ran for president and went, yeah. So, um, but I, her, her conclusion in that book was that actually two income parents. They, while they earn more, they come out with less discretionary income, and they, and it dries up the costs of, of everything else. So it drives up their cost of the cost of housing, the cost of education, healthcare and, and commuting. And, and so it doesn't actually end up helping their, their family. I, I don't think in, in the long run. And, and then they become reliant on that two, those two incomes. I feel like this bill is incentivizing to trying to incentivize two incomes, and it's not ex exactly the, the outcome that they, that we want, that we want to incentivize as a state. So I have some reservations on that. I understand there are situations where it may help, but I feel like overall it, it's not the right policy for, for, uh, for our state.

Did you? I'm good. Enough's been said. Okay.

Thank, thank you, Mr. Chair. So, um, I am going to take the prerogative to respond to some of the comments, um, to Senator Warren's book. Um, she did, she did write a book, but I think that the conclusions that you've stated are a little bit misconstrued. Her conclusions were that yes, there is, there is a creation of a disincentive, but her point in that was that we've created an economic system that improperly disincentivizes, um, to income earners. And I think that not passing policies like this further entrenches, that economic reality that incentivizes those decisions for the wrong decision, for the wrong reasons. Um, so I, I want to be really careful about the message that was, um, that was expressed in her book, because I think that that's, that is an important factor, um, with regard to this conversation, um, to Representative Shepherd. I, I fully agree that, um, this, I don't think you're supposed to responding. Oh, that's the, that's absolutely the committee opportunity for, to be able to sum, I think in committee you can, but I don't think you can on the floor. Uh, what is the rule on that? The brains appear so that we should direct it through the chair. Oh, okay. Thanks, Mr. Chair. You're welcome. Um, I'll just, I, I won't, I won't go to direct comments. I will just speak broadly then. It is absolutely true that this doesn't solve every problem, every cost issue with regard to childcare or the cost of living in general. And I don't think the sponsor has in any way, shape, or form indicated that this solves every financial problem with regard to childcare or cost of living. I think that he's been very clear about the fact that this attacks part of the problem in a creative way. And at like most policies, um, they, we do our best to help as many people as we can, but no policy is designed to help all people at all times. And so, I, I wanna be very clear that a vote for this policy is not a vote against other policy that might address some of those other issues. And I would look forward to working with my colleagues to address those cost of living issues for families who choose to be a one income family. Um, and so I just wanna make sure that everybody's clear about the conversations, um, about what we're actually voting on. And, um, I, I would re entrench. I would, I would just restate that I think that we as a, as a legislature have an opportunity to make a solid, meaningful difference in a, in an ongoing problem that will continue to get worse. And the longer that we wait to address problems, to make sure that we're setting up government infrastructure that helps people help themselves is good policy. And I think that that is the policy that we should be voting on, not the absence of a perfect policy. Thank you. Thank you. And I will correct myself here. I should have gone to the bill sponsor before her sum, but if it's okay, I'm going to go back to the bill sponsor

Uh, thank you. Um, I, I, I appreciate all the comments. Um, this is, this is a really difficult, um, issue. Um, uh, the, the comment of, um, government outsourcing our children at government, I, I can't disagree with that. Um, more, um, the realities of life, um, are that we have multiple parents that are in the workforce that are being forced to, um, to, to work, to be able to pay jobs, to make ends meet. We've got a wage gap that's unlike anything we've ever seen before. And what we're saying here with this legislation is private sector, Hey, we want you to step, step up, and we want you to provide a benefit to your employees, and we're gonna provide an incentive for you to do that. And communities, employers come together and do this. This is not a large business welfare bill. This is anything but that this is for these small businesses who have one employee or two employees, the small businesses that are struggling to get by themselves and struggling to keep employees working. This is a small business bill with an outsized impact. When we talk about 5% taking advantage of, of this credit and having the impact be 110,000 families, that is outsized impact. But let me, let me reiterate that. This is a small business bill, not a big business welfare bill, and it's not a mandate. This is up for employers to make the decision themselves that they want to step up and help contribute to a problem that we have in our society. And quite frankly, I'm disgusted. I'm disgusted with federal spending. I'm disgusted with federal fiscal policy that's led to, um, inflation like, um, we've never seen before. Um, I'm disgusted that our kids and grandkids aren't gonna be able to afford a house in our beautiful state of Utah, um, because of poor fiscal policy. Um, this is a pro-family bill. This will, will incentivize people to, I, I, I've, I've already talked to multiple people that are, you know, they're, they're holding off on having children because, um, because they both have to work to, to, to live. And if they had the ability to have childcare for a kid, they'd be having kids. So why in the world would Utah fall to number two in the United States on our fertility rates? This is Juab. It's, it's just crazy. This is a pro family bill, and I would just, um, ask for my colleague support on the bill and, um, know that we'll have an outsize impact with it. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Was that I, yeah. Okay.

Motion to adjourn. Un debatable. Maria Adjourn. Thank you.

That motion is an order we'd like to speak to. Uh, I just need a, a little bit more time waiting back on a couple other numbers I'd like to have for the body.

You Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to encircle, uh, HB one 90.

Yeah, I've gotten, uh, the dynamic fiscal note that I was waiting for and I'm ready to present the bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Uh, colleagues. Mr. Speaker. Uh, childcare is broken in ways that, um, that are starting to shape how families live their lives and how businesses higher and whether young couples in our state even can afford in their minds to have children. Utah's total fertility rate has steadily decreased from 2.65 in 1990 to 1.8 in 2023. That's marking a 32% reduction over three decades. Childcare issues are felt by families first. Employers feel it next and eventually the whole state feels it. Today, roughly 64% of Utah families have all available parents in the workforce. In recent years, we've seen sky high inflation and wages that have not kept up. Some families are finding ways to make things work. Some rely on grandparents, neighbors, or trusted friends. When those options exist, they can be wonderful. When they don't exist, it can be devastating. Some families, sorry. The economic impact to the state is real. It's estimated that the state of Utah loses $1.36 billion in economic productivity every year due to childcare related issues. That's also a loss of $258 million annually in income tax revenue. Let me be clear. This is a support and preserve the family effort. Affordability keeps getting worse. Infant care now averages $11,000 per year for two children. Families can spend up to $24,000 annually. Do I even mention housing costs? By federal standards, standards childcare is considered unaffordable in all of our 29 counties. In many cases, infant care alone costs more than in-state college tuition. When young families cannot afford housing, cannot afford childcare, and cannot afford financial stability, they don't simply absorb the costs. Increasingly, they leave. When that happens, we are not just losing workforce participation, we are exporting our children and grandchildren to other states. For a state built on strong families and generational roots, that should concern all of us. There's another cost that often goes unnoticed, Mr. Speaker, when families who need two incomes are forced out of the workforce because childcare is unavailable or unaffordable, reliance on public assistance programs increases that cost is ultimately shared by all taxpayers. Research has shown that childcare expenses pushed thousands of families in Utah into poverty each year. This is not just an issue for low income families. Many middle class families now spend 20% or more of their income on childcare. Childcare providers are also struggling and under enormous pressure. Childcare workers. Overwhelmingly, women often face low wages and unstable enrollment. This in instability has a huge impact on whether providers can keep their doors open. This past year in the one big beautiful Bill, the federal government and the Trump administration made major changes to childcare, uh, credit provisions. One of the biggest changes that they made is they made it a small business friendly credit. And what I mean by that is the Trump administration is putting small businesses before large businesses that have the ability to build out infrastructure, to provide childcare. So in addition, under the one big beautiful bill, uh, the child tax credits that families receive on an individual basis have also been increased. So what are we doing in Utah this year? Legislators are advancing a series of bills to address childcare support for Utah families that align state and federalists incentives. This bill today, Mr. Speaker HB one 90, the child business care tax credit is a central part of that effort and the most effective way to bring businesses in the free market into the childcare conversation. This bill updates Utah's employer childcare credit to reflect how businesses actually operate today and mirrors the changes made by the Trump administration in the one big beautiful bill. So there's been some concern about slow uptake with the previous credit. While participation in the previous, um, business child tax credit program was relatively limited, the new small business focus of the Trump administration has generated strong excitement across small businesses in our community with over 60% of St. George employers and more than 70% of Salt Lake City, small bus, small business employers having indicated they would contribute to childcare under these new incentives. Some worry this is a subsidy for businesses. In reality, this is voluntary Businesses only benefit if they choose to invest their own hard earned resources into supporting families. This, this credit is structured carefully. It's non-refundable, and it's tied to federal elig eligibility standards. And every penny that can be claimed in this credit is tied directly to a penny that Uintah childcare in our state. This conversation isn't only about economics. Childcare is not a luxury, it isn't a perk. It's infrastructure Just like roads, utilities, and schools infrastructure, our families and our businesses rely on. Utah has an opportunity now to lead not by building bigger government, but by building smarter partnerships between families, employers, providers, and communities. If we want strong families, a strong workforce and a strong economy, we have to be willing to tackle the problems that make things, those things hard to achieve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I move that we amend with house amendment one sub second sub.

Yes. So this bill has a problem in it where employers could double dip without this amendment. So they could get paid by someone to provide childcare at their establishment and get the tax credit from the government. And we wanna just make sure that they aren't enticed to do that, should they find that loophole that exists. So we're closing that up.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. Uh, this is a friendly motion, uh, motion and I, uh, appreciate the sponsor of the amendment for, uh, for preparing the amendment.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the sponsor yield to a series of questions? Representative Thompson, will you yield to a series of questions? No Answer is, no Representative Thurston. That's just fine. I'll answer my own questions. Uh, you would've been wise to answer my questions, but I'll do it for you. So I'm looking at the dynamic fiscal note colleagues. This is unusual. LFA tells us that they can't do a dynamic fiscal note, but they did. So here, let's take a look at this. For our $3 million investment in the minimal scenario, we're getting $36,000 of return on investment. If it, in the high estimate, we're only getting $180,000, you have to look at the difference between the induced and the indirect lines. So, because if you look at the bottom, it will tell you that in order to get the impact from government spending, you have to look at the difference between the second and the third line. This is not a good return on investment according to this dynamic fiscal note. Uh, according to this fiscal note, we're gonna invest $3 million of your ongoing and likely only getting a hundred thousand dollars back. My second question that I would like to ask is, where are these childcare providers coming from? Anybody will tell you right now that it is hard to find childcare providers. It's difficult to find them. So if we put $3 million into a system that is already under supplied, all we're going to do is we're going to shift from some people, from one people to another and just create more problems for people who, whose employers don't participate in this program. So, at the end of the day, um, I was just gonna ask about the dynamic fiscal note, which I think is a problem. But I also, since he's not gonna answer my question, I will point out that I also have concerns about where these childcare providers are coming from, which I think is omitted from the dynamic fiscal note. This dynamic fiscal note does not incorporate the difficulty that employers are going to have in finding additional childcare providers. So the impacts are likely to be in scenario three, minimal response at best, both due to, I think businesses will find it difficult to administer the program, and they'll find it difficult to find providers to take care of their employees, and the return on investment is not very good. So thank you Mr. Speaker for not answering my questions.

Thank You, Mr. Speaker. A, as much as I appreciate the issue that, that we're, that we're, we're challenged with here, the problems that folks in our state are having. I, I just ever since I've been thinking about this bill the last several weeks and months I've been, uh, I just, I'm convinced this is not the proper role of government. And despite the fact that my favorite president has been supporting this kind of thing, I, I, I, I, I struggle with this. I, I think I would prefer that we increase, uh, child tax credits. I think we just passed one recently, but I think we'd be better off to, to do that, to support families through that rather than, uh, rather than through this kind of a means. So, thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, tax credits create another government program and disguise their businesses aligned with their policies to state, to state priorities to get a break rather than responding to market or family needs. This erodes self-reliance. I think it would be better if we just lowered taxes overall so families and businesses can keep more of their earnings and solve childcare on their own terms. Thank you, Mr. Speaker,

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'd just like to, uh, to state that, uh, I think that we should lower taxes on all businesses for any reason whatsoever. If they wanna provide, uh, a service and we want to give 'em a tax credit, let's do it. There's, uh, other businesses that, uh, we wanna provide a service and we can offer 'em a tax credit. We should do it. I don't see why we should talk about, uh, investments when we're talking about other people's money that we're already taking from them. Um, if we take less of that money, I think that would improve, uh, the government overall. And, uh, so I support this bill. Thanks.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will, will the sponsor yield to a question? Representative Thompson will yield to a question.

Yes. Yes. Representative Keller,

Uh, other states, uh, have programs where they pay people to provide childcare and they've had some issues with fraud. Could you speak to how this program is designed that there would, there's not the possibility of, of, of fraud in, in the, in the program that you're suggesting here with the tax credits?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, that, that's a very important question and one that I was extraordinarily concerned with. Um, when we look at the other state in in mind, these were federal grants that were provided that were, um, separate from a business, um, tax credit that's tied directly to, um, uh, income tax returns. It's not a grant that's given for somebody to provide some kind of a program. So this is, um, this is entirely different. This is trackable on, um, uh, the federal tax return in the state of Utah as an additional protection. The only way that you can claim this credit in the state of Utah is if you qualify for and claim the federal credit as well.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the sponsored effort to improve, uh, situation for families and, uh, encourage more children.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, seems like we're using incentives in so many different ways that it really disrupts the market. And I think that, you know, if, if a business really wants an employee to be able to work with them and want to offer a discount or work with the, uh, employee, uh, to share some costs for childcare, I think that's something that they should do on their own. Uh, I don't think that's the role of government to get involved in that. Um, here's one example why I don't think this is good policy. So here you've got a mother and father that one of them besides to stay home and watch the kids. Uh, so because of these tax incentives, they may have to pay higher taxes for other services. Well, they're paying these taxes into, uh, the government that another family who both of mother and father decide to go work. Uh, they're getting the benefit of the taxes of this family that one of them decided to stay home and, and take care of their child. And I just don't think that's fair to ask that. I think what's happening is families are getting so dependent upon the government that they're not self-reliant. And if the government can't do something, then we're in trouble. If the government can't pay for their, uh, services, then it, it leaves them, uh, it, it, uh, leaves them abandoned. Also, I feel like this just incentivizes, um, outsourcing, uh, the care of our children to third parties or to someone else, uh, other than the parents. So I realize that this is trying to do some good things. I just don't believe this is the way to do it. If we really want to do it right, we cut taxes for everyone. Let them use their money the way they want. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you. Will the sponsor, yield Representative Thompson, will you yield to a question?

I will, yes. Representative Acton.

Thank you. Um, I just wondered what prevents a business from doing this right now where they could offer onsite free childcare for their employees?

Mr. Speaker, there's nothing that prevents a business right now from providing onsite childcare.

Okay. And, okay. I just, I do, I do want to applaud the sponsor for taking, um, you know, I think some, a good approach, a good, interesting, innovative look at this, but I, I've just observed over the years that when government gets involved with just about anything, um, that thing becomes much more expensive. And that's what I fear. As we get in more and more involved into the childcare space, it's probably going to have the opposite effect. Um, so, um, that's my statement on that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, I really appreciate, um, all the thoughts, Mr. Speaker. We have major affordability issues in the state of Utah. Our kids can't afford housing. Our kids can't afford childcare. People are struggling to afford food. I wholeheartedly agree that family tax credits and putting more money back in our family's pockets is imperative. That's a bill that we voted on today to do that, that's part of a broader package to address the affordability concern with making sure that we're not exporting our kids and grandkids. I want to touch on the one topic of outsourcing our childcare to someone else. I would love to have that conversation around a table with folks who feel that, that Mr. Speaker, that we're outsourcing our childcare to someone else, with the families that sit in front of you and express their heartache, that they both have to work in order to be able to afford rent and to be able to pay for school, and to be able to pay for the necessities of life. We live in a society where it is absolutely astronomically expensive to be able to afford to live and do a lot of things that several decades ago we're, we're an afterthought. This is not government childcare. This is businesses. This is us saying, Hey, businesses keep more of your hard earned money, and if you choose to provide help, provide childcare for your employees, then there's an incentive there for you choosing to do that. This dynamic fiscal note, um, colleagues, Mr. Speaker, this is available for any one of us on our bills. And, um, I do think it's important to point out on the dynamic fiscal note, um, the realities of what the fiscal note says. It is measuring multiple things, economic output, employment, labor, income, and state revenue. And if we look at our $2.9 million investment, which is just a budgetary investment, it's not money we're spending out, it's money that we won't take in because of incentives. But we look at the economic output, we look at the, and, and these employment numbers are, are, are about as conservative as they come. 143 in, in a maximum dynamic response. 143, um, employees on a direct impact 79 indirect, um, uh, 77 induced. When we look at what these numbers actually add up to, if you add all of them up, these numbers add up to substantially more. And I would make the argument that this credit, that this credit will actually make the state money. That's not the effort, but you'll see increased revenue and income taxes. You'll see, um, decreased burden on families. And, um, our overall economic productivity will continue to, to increase as well as upward mobility. We're number one in the nation for upward mobility. It's so important that we have family friendly policies in this state, which this bill is to help families be able to not only survive, but thrive. And, uh, I yield the rest of my time. Mr. Speaker.

are feeling every single day. Child car is too hard to find and it's too expensive. Uh, Utah is one of the youngest populations in the country, and yet 77% of Utahans live in what's called a childcare desert. I mean, there simply aren't enough licensed providers to meet the demand. Um, so this bill, uh, what it does is it takes, it takes, uh, it stacks a federal credit with the state credit. So last year, Utah mirrored that narrow federal credit. Um, but this year Congress made a major improvement. So under the updated federal credit, large businesses can claim 40% of qualified chair childcare expenses and small businesses can claim 50%. When we add with the state, that means large businesses would get up to 50% and small businesses would get up to 80%. Um, and small businesses are defined by revenue, not headcount. So if your five year average gross receipts are under 31 million, you qualify as a small business. Utah's long been the gold standard for family values, but today we face a demographic in economic crossroads. For the first time in our history, Utah's fertility rate has fallen to 1.8 well below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per women, we are no longer just talking about a trend. We are witnessing a fundamental shift that threatens our future workforce in the very fabric of our communities. As one mother recently told the policy project, I always wanted to be a mom. I simply can't afford to have kids. We didn't choose to be child free. We were priced out of parenthood. And this builds a conversation market with a market based solution to that heartbreak house. Bill one 90 empowers our businesses to be part of the solution by expanding the tax credits for employer provided childcare, increasing that credit. Right now, Utah loses 1.36 billion annually due to workforce disruption caused by a lack of childcare. If even only 5% of employers participate, we estimate 110,000 working parents could receive childcare support. That's a huge impact without creating a new entitlement or a bureaucracy, um, by incentivizing the private sector to bridge this gap, we aren't just filling jobs today, we are telling Utah families that they don't have to choose between a paycheck and a nursery. We are making it possible for young couples to say yes to that first or third baby because they know their community and their employers are invested in their success. Let's protect the beehive state by ensuring we actually have a next generation to fill the hive.

Thank you. I move that under the suspension of the rule. Second hou second house, second substitute house bill. One 90 shall pass.

Senator Baldy. Aye. Lewin Aye. Brammer bus? Aye. Comore Escamilla Aye. Fillmore Aye. Grover Harper. Aye. Hankins Ipson Aye. Aye. Johnson. Aye. Quan. Nice. See you. McKay. Mikel Milner. Aye. Musman Owens picture Alum re sandal Aye. Stevenson Stratton Aye. Bickers Aye. Weiler Aye. Wilson. Aye. Winterton