Beer drinkers could be providing some help to disabled children.

Almost 25 percent of the state's beer tax money could be used to fund early childhood intervention programs under HB312, which unanimously passed the House Health and Human Services Committee Friday. The $2.1 million ongoing appropriation would come from money that is currently going to the state's general fund, and is above the $4.1 million dedicated to alcohol addiction prevention and treatment programs.

Initially, the bill proposed a 20-percent increase in the beer tax, which is currently $12.80 on each 31-gallon barrel. It is levied on all beers, whether a 3.2 percent alcohol six-pack purchased in a grocery store, imports bought from the state liquor stores or drafts ordered in a bar.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, said he got rid of the tax increase when he discovered the already existing surplus.

The early childhood intervention programs, which are administered by the Utah Department of Health, help disabled children who suffer from things like cerebral palsy, Down syndrome or other developmental disorders in their first three years of life.

"This is a 'Fram oil filter' kind of program," Urquhart said. "It helps us pay now, so we don't have to pay later."

Annually, the program struggles to receive adequate funding when it goes through the standard appropriations process, Urquhart said, and he would prefer to see the program have a dependable stream of funding. He decided to utilize the beer tax because fetal alcohol syndrome is one of the problems addressed by the early intervention programs.

Helping motivate Urquhart to fund the programs is his own, personal experience with the program after his fourth child was born premature and needed assistance to prepare for school. Through the program, parents get a personalized plan and a counselor to help them help their child.

"We're not bad parents, but everything we did seemed to be wrong," he said. "Thank God that we had some extra help. It really helped our family and especially our little girl."

Having a guaranteed revenue source for the programs would be a significant help, said George Delavan, director of the Division of Community and Family Health Services. Anyone with a disabled child under 3 years old can use the programs, and the state cannot deny assistance. Currently they use a mix of federal grants and state funds.

Last year, the programs received $675,000 from the Legislature. They did not receive any money the previous two years, Delavan said.

"It would be very helpful," he said. "This program is a real challenge because it grows every year."

---

E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com