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Utah lawmakers diverted $15 million to pay for an additional parking garage at the State Capitol on Wednesday, but refused to even consider reshuffling $2 million to provide critical dental care to thousands of Medicaid patients.
Despite a looming election, Republican senators in a straight party-line vote declined to debate Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s Medicaid bill at a special session of the Legislature. The bill would have authorized the state Health Department to use $2 million of unspent funds on emergency dental care for 40,000 elderly, blind and disabled Utahns.
A Senate Democrat and a lone House Republican fought to revive it, but the bill was soundly - albeit silently - rejected, even as disabled and poor advocates loudly chanted their support for the funding in the halls outside the chamber.
In contrast, lawmakers spent hours debating a bill that allowed the Capitol Preservation Board to spend $15 million of its Capitol renovation money to build a 500-stall underground parking structure.
Lawmakers pushed through much of the nine-item agenda laid out by Huntsman, approving mostly technical budget fixes and legislation aimed at avoiding miscalculations by the Tax Commission, such as the ones that scuttled the governor's tax reform plan. They debated delaying the Jan. 1 start date for a substantial cut in the state food tax, but ultimately decided only to make relatively minor changes in the law to help small businesses implement it.
Meanwhile, legislators agonized over the parking structure. The House first killed it and then brought it back for a lengthy debate. Representatives passed it by a slim margin.
Draper Republican Rep. Greg Hughes cited the defeat of the Medicaid dental funding in his denouncement of the parking structure bill, saying: "In contrast with the weightiness of the issues we have not passed, it nears hypocrisy to me."
Huntsman's spokesman Mike Mower was disappointed, but said the governor remains committed to restoring dental services to "Utah's most vulnerable citizens."
Huntsman decided to place the emergency dental benefits on the call over the objection of legislative leaders. His staff believes lawmakers killed a proposal to increase the pay of the governor and other executive officers Wednesday in retaliation. Unlike most lawmakers, Huntsman is not up for re-election this year.
Asked whether Huntsman regrets spending precious political capital only to come away with nothing, Mower said, ''As the governor often says, 'what's the use of having political capital if you don't spend it?' ''
He stressed, ''We didn't view this as a political issue. We thought the program spoke for itself.''
But House Republicans complained of being in an untenable position: reject dental care and risk appearing mean-spirited, or approve it against their better judgement.
The legislative budget process is a careful weighing of competing needs, said House budget Chairman Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley City.
In isolation, funding Medicaid dental services appears worthy, said Bigelow, "but could [that money] be used for programs that are more critical? Maybe. But we don't have the option to compare it. . . . That's the power of the governor putting something on the call, you can only vote yes or no."
Said Santa Clara Rep. David Clark, "I can't get my hands around how we have been placed in this box. It's very unsettling."
Senate Republicans denied politics were at play.
Syracuse Republican Sen. Sheldon Killpack said it simply would be ''irresponsible'' to restore so-called ''optional'' Medicaid services when basic coverage is underfunded.
Medicaid is operating under a $10 million to $12 million shortfall, because the Legislature didn't fully fund projected growth in new enrollees, said Killpack, co-chairman of the Health and Human Services budget committee.
Killpack's committee chose to cover other needs over dental, investing just under $100 million on the foster care system, services for the disabled, meals for the elderly and other programs.
"People seem to forget that," said Senate Majority Leader Pete Knudson. The Brigham City orthodontist originally agreed to sponsor the dental restoration bill, but changed his mind, deferring, he said, to Killpack's judgment.
Democrats didn't buy the Senate's ''spin.''
''I'm just dumbfounded by the insensitivity of these people. It's frustrating to know that in a time of plenty, we can't take care of our neediest citizens,'' said Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley City.
Medicaid recipients and low-income advocates made their presence known, but kept a relatively low profile. Some sobbed outside the Senate chambers.
''They wanted us to be nice and sweet. We were nice and sweet. They need to remember this is an election year,'' said Ricki Landers. ''This [decision by lawmakers] is about politics, not about people. Shame on them.''
Two years ago, when legislators first pulled dental coverage, Landers said she suffered a life-threatening infection stemming from poor oral health.
''I really suffered. I was so sick I needed 22 prescriptions of antibiotics,'' said Landers. ''I'm not sure I can survive that again.''
Lawmakers say Landers and others can get by - at least until they reopen the budget starting in January. Then they will go through the priority process once again. But legislators felt they couldn't wait that long before starting work on the parking structure.
The construction is slated to start this summer so the structure will be in place when the Capitol renovation wraps up in time for the 2008 legislative session.
Lawmakers said the parking is to help the average Utahns keep better tabs on their government.
As Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, told his colleagues: "We do not have an adequate place for the public to come up and park and see what we are doing."