S.B. 224 Vital Records Access Amendments

What this bill does

Senate Bill 224 would let school liaisons for homeless students obtain students' vital records, such as birth certificates, so the students can qualify for McKinney-Vento services and funding. It names those liaisons directly and limits their access to that purpose.

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Every vote

• 4 yes, 0 no, 2 absentSenate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee: vote to approve it · Feb 5, 2026Who voted how
• 25 yes, 0 no, 4 absentFirst of two Senate votes · Feb 20, 2026
• 16 yes, 11 no, 2 absentFinal Senate vote · Feb 23, 2026
• 9 yes, 0 no, 2 absentHouse Judiciary Committee: vote to approve it · Mar 3, 2026Who voted how

Hearings and debates

• Feb 5, 2026 Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (20 turns)

  1. Acting chair (presiding)2:03:42speaker not certain

     Okay. The final item on our agenda, Senate bill 2 24 vital records, access Amendments by Senator Plumb.

  2. Unknown speaker2:03:48speaker not certain

     Senator, I'm gonna turn the gavel back over to the real chairman. Quick to relinquish that gavel. I know, I tried to get him to keep it. Thank you though for doing that. Your rural superintendents are much happier 'cause of that. Okay.

  3. Sen. Ann Millner (presiding)2:04:08

     Hi. Hi. Welcome back. Do you need to catch a breath for a sec? This should be a real, I hope smooth, easy one for us to finish up on after a couple complicated ones. Alright. Are you ready to present? I am. All right. We're gonna turn the time over to you.

  4. Sen. Jen Plumb2:04:20

     Excellent. So, Senate Bill 2 24 is a very basic bill that came out of some work that I was doing at an NCSL policy fellowship on youth homelessness and talking with different folks there and different programs, uh, around the country and finding places where they had found benefits. Even small ones. We love the big ones, but the small ones too. Um, we talked about barriers that, that the McKinney-Vento teachers and, and folks within the public schools came across. And one of them, so the McKinney-Vento funding is, it's essentially it's federal funding that sets up kind of rules, guardrails, pieces, ways for our, our public education system to help our students who are, are having housing insecurity or experiencing homelessness. But as with a lot of government programs, there's check boxes you gotta check in order to be able to qualify and prove that you qualify. And one of those is documentation. Well, there's a lot of chaos for folks who've lost shelters. You might imagine folks don't know where anything may be. They may have lost it, it may be in storage, who knows. And so as students that potentially qualify for these benefits, which also then means it brings resources into the schools to be able to provide those benefits. Look, to get access to those documents, like vital records, like a birth certificate, for example, more often than one would expect, they have challenges getting it can't just call mom or dad and say, Hey, go grab that. Can't just say to the kid, just go dig through the document drawer. Every family's got one. And one of the ways that, uh, folks had identified from across the nation was to give the ability for those, uh, kind of McKinney veto liaisons within the schools, the ability to access that. And so our law had a little bit of vagueness about whether or not they would qualify to be those. And so we just wanted to directly put it in by name, call them out, who they are. Also make it clear that we weren't trying to make it a huge, broad, everyone in the school can go get it. It is for this specific purpose and this specific liaison, uh, and the bill is that simple? That's what it does. Okay.

  5. Sen. Ann Millner (presiding)2:06:23

     And that concludes your presentation.

  6. Sen. Jen Plumb2:06:25

     It does. Thank you. Okay.

  7. Sen. Ann Millner (presiding)2:06:26

     Do I have questions from the committee? Oh, seeing no questions from the committee, is there anyone from the public that would like to speak to this bill? Jennifer. Okay, Jen. Okay. We have someone online that wants to speak to the bill. Jennifer Garner. Jennifer The famous one, If you will. Uh, yes. Thank you, Jennifer.

  8. Jennifer Garner, resident (Davis County)2:06:56

     I hope you're safe. Oh, we can't hear you. I was just pulling over. Sorry. Um, that was really quick. Thank you for letting me speak to this. Um, my name is Jennifer Garner. I'm, uh, from Davis County. I agree with the premise of the bill that there's people at school that we have, we love our teachers, we love our, our people in the front office that absolutely care for kids. My concern is that the McKinney-Vento Act feels a little bit discriminatory because it, it counts students that live in mobile home parks as homeless, it counts people. Like if I were to get divorced and I moved in with my, my parents in a big house in Bountiful, my kids are counted as homeless. Um, I think there's a few issues with the McKinney-Vento Act that naming it right here is a problem. If it's, if it's better defined as something else, like if the student needs it, um, then I think that that's better. And I know that it's in other places in our code, and I don't like it there either, because I feel like it discriminates against a culture that if grandma lives with me, then my, or if I live with my, my parents, then my kids are considered, um, homeless. So I used to help people get out of intergenerational poverty, and Weber County specifically said 18% of their youth, this was five years ago, 18% of their youth under the age of 18 were third, fourth or fifth generation poverty. However, the data has now changed to be 36, 30 7% at risk. Well, that doesn't tell me what the problem is that says that, that doesn't tell me how to, how to solve it. It makes it more vague. And that is what, what the McKinney-Vento Act also does. So I appreciate the time. I think, um, that this is, this is mating a need. And I, um, thank the good Senator for addressing this. Uh, however, it's the, the McKinney-Vento Act that is, um, an issue. Thank you so much. So I oppose this bill. Thanks.

  9. Sen. Ann Millner (presiding)2:09:03

     Thank you. Thank you. Um, anyone else? Okay. Um, I'm gonna return back to the committee then. Uh, would you like to address that, uh, concern?

  10. Sen. Jen Plumb2:09:17

      You know, it's interesting as, as I think many of us feel about bigger, broader policies and, and big federal policies, they are imperfect. Uh, but they are what we have. And I want two things to happen. One, I want our students to have access to resources. And two, I want our schools to have reimbursement and funding so that when they're providing resources, it's not just coming out of the other pots and pools. So, um, I actually here, and a lot of what she was saying was resonates. And, um, thankfully I'm not a federal, uh, elected, but it's something perhaps to, that's worth bringing up to our federal electeds about some problems that are there. But I think for the purposes of this bill, leaving it narrow so that there's also not a huge broad swath of people who can access protected private records, that's probably the more important piece to me.

  11. Sen. Ann Millner (presiding)2:10:08

      Okay. Thank you. Uh, Senator Owens, did you have a question?

  12. Sen. Derrin R. Owens2:10:12

      I do. Thank you, Madam Chair. That's, that's my question, Senator. Is, um, if the, the example that the witness just shared, if they are considered homeless, doesn't that open their records to a whole swath of other people?

  13. Sen. Jen Plumb2:10:27

      Uh, not to my knowledge because as it is right now, um, depending on the clerk that where you go to get it, uh, I mean, I'm talking about a birth certificate, essentially. Um, there are some who go ahead and give it to a school administrator. There are some who do not. Um, and so there is, there is some reference in there that I think the word was, let's see. Uh, let's see. And we do also allow this for their DCFS workers, I should say, like if someone's in our, in our foster system. But there's, there's a mention of here, oh, shoot. And I should have highlighted it, that that gives a kind of a hint that you would allow a school, uh, official to grab it, but it doesn't name it out specifically. So, um, my, I it's not my understanding that just 'cause someone's homeless, you know, you or I could run down and get their birth certificates 'cause we were curious, um, that we would have to have a designated kind of reason and also authority to do so.

  14. Sen. Ann Millner (presiding)2:11:26

      Thank you. Okay. Uh, Senator Kwan?

  15. Sen. Kwan2:11:32

      Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, if we're ready for a motion?

  16. Sen. Ann Millner (presiding)2:11:36

      Uh, yes. Okay.

  17. Sen. Kwan2:11:38

      I move that we favorably pass out SB 2 24 to the full body of the Senate. Okay.

  18. Sen. Ann Millner (presiding)2:11:45

      We have a motion to favorably recommend SB 2 24 vital records access amendments to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation. Discussion to that motion from the committee. Would you like to sum Senator Plumb?

  19. Sen. Jen Plumb2:12:02

      No, I, I think that, you know, like many of these bills that seem simple, that you leave with more questions in your head turning. And so I will be continuing to ask questions of the folks that work in the realm to see if there's any additional tightening or clarifying, and always will be open to those. But I, I appreciate the consideration.

  20. Sen. Ann Millner (presiding)2:12:19

      Okay. Um, would you like to sum, okay. Um, all in favor indicate, uh, uh, excuse me, let me start back. Um, all in favor of passing out Senate bill 2 24 vital records access amendments, uh, to the Senate with favorable recommendation. Please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Thank you very much, Senator Plumb, and we're trying to help our kids. All in favor? Aye. We are adjourned.

• Feb 20, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (9 turns)

  1. Sen. Jen Plumb3:16:36

     but hopefully impactful little bill that came out of an NCSL, um, homeless Youth Fellowship that I did. And in talking with some of our McKinney-Vento coordinators in the schools, they noted that a problem they had was that they couldn't access their vital records for the students, uh, like the birth certificate. And they need access to that to be able to ensure that they can get the, the students that need help into the programs. And so this bill very simply on, uh, line 47 ads that the whole, uh, liaison from the schools can access that vital record to be able to get them, uh, the services and the resources that they need. And that's all this bill does.

  2. President Adams (presiding)3:17:16

     Thank you Senator Plumb for your presentation, uh, discussions to the bill. See none back to you For summation or a motion,

  3. Sen. Jen Plumb3:17:26

     I would waive summation. Thank you. And call a question.

  4. President Adams (presiding)3:17:29

     There we go. Thank you Senator Plumb. The question is, shall Senate Bill 2 24 be read a third time Roll call vote.

  5. Senate clerk (roll call)3:17:36

     Senator Vickers Baldy Aye. Lewin Aye. Bramer Aye. Bus Comore Escamia Aye. Fillmore Grover Harper Kins Ipson Johnson k Juab McKay Aye. Mikel Aye. Milner Musselman Musselman. Senator Musselman Owens Aye. Aye. Pitcher thumb Rebe Aye. Sandal Aye. Stevenson Aye. Stratton Vickers Aye. Weiler Aye. Wilson Aye. Winterton Aye. President Adams

  6. President Adams (presiding)3:18:38

     Senate Bill 2 24 Vital records, access amendments Having received 25 a vote, I votes zero nay votes four being absent will be ready. Third time, first substitute Senate bill 2 25. First substitute Senate bill 2 25 Public Corporation Amendments. Senator Stevenson. Senator Stevenson first substitute Senate Bill 2 25 Public Corporation Amendments.

  7. Sen. Jerry W Stevenson3:19:07

     Motion to circle. I've got the wrong bill in my hand. I'll be back.

  8. President Adams (presiding)3:19:10

     Okay. Sounds good. We have a motion to circle first substitute Senate Bill 2 25. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? I rule that. Motion passes. The bill is circled

  9. President Adams (presiding)3:19:22

     Senate Bill 1 69 High School Graduation Amendments, Senate Bill 1 69 High School Graduation Amendments. Senator Plumb.

• Feb 23, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (9 turns)

  1. Sen. Jen Plumb1:23:36

     This bill allows for a McKinney veto student sport in our high schools to access birth certificates, certificates and help students access them as well so that we can help get them the resources both to the schools and the students that they need.

  2. Presiding officer1:23:52

     Thank you. Does that conclude your presentation? It does. Thank you. Okay. Is there discussion with this bill? There's an un plum back to you for summation or a motion. Uh,

  3. Sen. Jen Plumb1:24:00speaker not certain

     Thank you Mr. President

  4. Presiding officer1:24:01

     Pro temp. I would call the question And the question is, shall Senate bill two twenty four pass? Roll call

  5. Senate clerk1:24:06

     Vote. Senator Spry? No. Lewin Aye. Brammer. Bus. Bus. Fillmore Aye. Escamilla Aye. Fillmore Roper. Aye. Harper, no. Kins. Aye. Ipson Aye. Johnson? Aye. Juab Aye. McKay, Mikel Milner. Musselman Owens We're good? Picture a plum. Aye. Rebe Aye. Sandal Stevenson. Aye. Stratton Bickers, er Wilson Winterton McKay, president Adams

  6. Presiding officer1:25:37

     Senate Bill 2 24, having received 16 yay votes, 11 nay votes, two being absent passes Senate be sent to the house for further consideration. Senate Bill 2 24, Senate bill 2 24 Vital records, access amendments, Excuse me, we switched scripts up here. Senate Bill 1 69, Senate Bill 1 69 High School Graduation Amendments. Senator Plumb, Senator Plumb. Senator Rebe.

  7. Sen. Rebe1:26:12speaker not certain

     Motion to circle sponsors off the fall.

  8. Presiding officer1:26:14

     All in favor of the motion circle, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Over that passes the bills circled. First substitute Senate Bill 2 25. First Substitute Senate Bill 2 25 Public Corporation Amendments. Senator Stevenson. Senator Stevenson.

  9. Sen. Luz Escamilla1:26:30speaker not certain

     Uh, thank you very much. Uh, Mr. Uh, Mr.

• Mar 3, 2026 House Judiciary Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (9 turns)

  1. Committee chair (presiding)58:03

     All right. We'll go to, apparently the Senator Vickers made that decision that we'll go to to, to number eight, uh, Senate bill 2, 2, 4 vital records, access amendments from Senator Plumb. Welcome, Senator Plumb.

  2. Sen. Jen Plumb58:14

     Much appreciation. Um, with thanks to my colleague as well. This is very, hopefully quick. Um, and we'll speed him right into the chair. Um, this bill is a product Senate Bill 2 24 is a product of an NCSL, um, fellowship on, uh, homelessness and homeless youth that I participated with folks from around the country and learned a whole lot from educators and, and people in all sorts of different related spaces. But one of the questions that they had asked us to ask our people when we come back is, are your educators and your administrators able to get all the documentation, et cetera, that they need to be able to get their McKinney Bento funds? Which McKinney Bento funds are what go towards helping support some of our, uh, housing insecure and homeless youth. And in talking with our LRGC and some of our educators, there wasn't enough clarity that the actual McKinney-Vento educators could assist those students in getting their documentation. A lot of times when you're housing insecure, who knows where your documents are? I think I know where mine are now 'cause I've been in the same house for 20 years. But otherwise, it, it starts to get sort of wonky. So this bill just adds clarity that a liaison for homeless youth or child may obtain those vital records on behalf of them so that they can get that funding and provide those services. Pretty simple, but I think important little Bill. Thank you. Senator Plumb.

  3. Committee chair (presiding)59:33

     Does that conclude your presentation?

  4. Sen. Jen Plumb59:35

     It does. Fantastic.

  5. Committee chair (presiding)59:36

     We'll go to the committee for clarifying questions on Bel 2, 2, 4. Seeing none, we'll go ahead and go to the public. Is there anyone in the room today who would like to speak on this bill? Not seeing anyone in person. Is there anyone online? Okay. No one online. We'll now go to the Committee for Action. It doesn't look like there's any substitutes or amendments. No. Uhuh. All right. Representative Miller?

  6. Rep. Tracy Miller59:56

     Thank you Mr. Chair. I move that we favorably recommend Senate Bill 2, 2 4 to the house floor for their consideration.

  7. Committee chair (presiding)1:00:01

     Thank you, Representative Miller. Would you like to speak to that? I'll waive. We'll now go to the sponsor of the Bill Senator Plumb.

  8. Sen. Jen Plumb1:00:07

     Much appreciation. I waive some as well.

  9. Committee chair (presiding)1:00:09

     Wave summation, um, discussion on the motion to favorably recommend seeing none. We'll go back to Representative Miller for summation. We'll go ahead and do a voice vote. Motion is to favorably recommend Senate Bill 2 2 4 vital records, access amendments from Senator Plumb. All in favor of that, please say aye. A Aye. Any opposed? I roll out pass unanimously. Thank You Senator All.