SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers advanced a bill allowing them to have the power to call a special session, an audit found the state is falling millions of dollars short in recovering Medicaid overpayments, and bills that would increase state sales taxes moved forward. Here's a round-up of what the Legislature is working on:

Utah House passes bill creating government oversight committee

Legislation that would create a new legislative committee with power to investigate the state's executive branch of government passed in the Utah House late Tuesday. HB175 would create the Joint Committee on Governmental Oversight, made up of six House members and three senators appointed by the speaker and Senate president, respectively.

The original legislation included counties and cities in the proposed new committee's purview. Stratton removed local governments from the version of the bill that passed Tuesday 44-29. It now goes to the Senate.

Audit: State falling millions short in recovering Medicaid overpayments

An audit presented to lawmakers Tuesday found that the state is falling millions of dollars short in recovering overpayments made by Medicaid to health providers belonging to Accountable Care Organizations.

A conservative estimate finds that $22.7 million in overpayments likely could have been recovered from Accountable Care Organizations between 2013 and 2015, the audit found, but only $265,000 was actually recovered in that time.

Among all providers, the audit found, the Inspector General of Medicaid Services recovered approximately $6.3 million in Medicaid overpayments in 2017. However, that figure was about $12.1 million in 2012 and steadily declined since, leading the audit report to warn that "diminishing recoveries in fraud, waste, and abuse may soon threaten the (office's) financial return on investment."

Since the Department of Health is the state body overseeing the state's Medicaid program, putting the Cottrell's office under the state auditor could create "a contractual relationship" between the auditor and the department, the office argued in a written response. "Such a contractual relationship may hinder future audits of the Department of Health by the Office of the State Auditor," the response states.

Utah House wants lawmakers to have power to call special session

Utah lawmakers want the power to call themselves into special session, and they want voters to give them that power.

The House passed a resolution 73-1 late Tuesday calling for a constitutional amendment allowing the Legislature to convene itself in emergencies. Only the governor can call lawmakers into session under Utah law.

The issue will be on the 2018 election ballot if it passes the Legislature with a two-thirds majority vote in the House and Senate.

Utah Senate proposes hike in vehicle registration fees instead of sales tax increase

Vehicle registration fees would jump from $44 to $72 but there would no longer be a statewide sales tax increase under the latest version of the Legislature's Transportation Governance and Funding Task Force bill.

Senates voted 18-9 to give SB136 preliminary approval Tuesday night. A final vote in that chamber could come as soon as Wednesday.

Work requirement, other Medicaid changes sought under bill approved by Senate

The Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would direct the state health department to seek changes in Utah's Medicaid program from the federal government, including a work requirement for some recipients.

"I don’t think we are just giving a blank check to the Department of Health. We are giving them very clear guidelines to go implement the program," the sponsor of SB172, Sen. Dan Hemmert, R-Orem, said.

Senators voted 20-16 to send SB172 to the House.

Bill to prevent 'dying from detox' moves forward at Utah Legislature

A pair of bills targeting Utah's opioid crisis moved forward Tuesday at the Utah Legislature.

Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, is sponsoring HB410, which would create a work group to study alcohol and substance withdrawals within county jails and report the findings to the Legislature.

Moss said there are rising jail deaths across the country due to the opioid crisis, known as "dying from detox."

Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, brought another bill before the committee that would increase the rate of reimbursement of county jails with which the state contracts from 89.5 percent to 91 percent for housing state inmates undergoing a treatment program.

Sales taxes could be increased for roads, transit projects or both under bill

Counties would be able to raise local sales taxes for roads, transit projects or both under a bill advanced unanimously Tuesday by the House Transportation Committee.

HB423, sponsored by House Majority Whip Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, would also allow private companies to compete with the Utah Transit Authority for transit projects.

The bill, which now goes to the full House, was described as a back up to more comprehensive legislation from the Legislature's Transportation Governance and Funding Task Force.

Contributing: Dennis Romboy, Ben Lockhart, Lisa Riley Roche, Preston Cathart

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