Salt Lake County resident Melanie Call says she’s seen firsthand the importance of affordable, accessible child care.
Speaking to Utah legislators Feb. 6, Call recounted leaving her six-figure salary job to care for a newborn.
“I'm actually the aftermath of not providing access to child care,” she said at the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. “We exit the workforce. I was making over six figures, over $115,000 a year, and I could afford it — I just couldn't access it.”
For other working women, affordability is just as important if not more.
House Bill 190 aims to address both issues by incentivizing businesses to provide child care benefits or build child care facilities on site.
It expands the tax breaks Utah introduced for employers last year so that more provide their workers with child care options.
Park City Community Foundation Early Childhood Alliance Director Kristen Shulz said her organization, Park City Municipal and Summit County staff are advocating for HB190.
The bill is sponsored by Cache County GOP Rep. Jason Thompson and supported by The Policy Project, a Utah nonprofit focused on women and children’s legislation.
“[The Policy Project] thought that it fit really well within their portfolio of family affordability bills,” Shulz said. “They’re pushing several bills this session, including HB190, and honestly, I think this has been a really great example of collaboration between many groups who are interested in making child care affordable for Utahns.”
According to data Thompson shared with the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, 74% of Utah parents with children under six say they need two incomes to afford child care.
Small business owner Lindsay White testified that she’s been unable to hire qualified candidates who turned down offers because they couldn’t find child care.
“When an employee tells me she's pregnant, I want her to feel excited, not terrified, that she's about to lose her career,” White said.
HB190 cleared the committee on a 7-4 vote after some debate.
For example, Utah County Republican Rep. Lisa Shepherd worried about non-working women shouldering a bigger tax burden if employers get a tax cut.
Salt Lake County Republican Rep. Clinton Okerlund pointed out that women who are able to stay in the workforce will pay taxes on their income, somewhat balancing out the state’s revenue.
Elsewhere in The Policy Project’s slate of family affordability bills, they are looking to expand the state child tax credit for families, not just employers.
HB190 now heads to the full House for consideration before a Utah Senate committee sees it.
The 2026 Legislative General Session ends March 6.
