This story will be updated as lawmakers scramble to meet the midnight deadline.
Lawmakers adopted a steady pace of passing bills in 2026, even with a record number of bills introduced. While there were definitely some meaty topics to be debated, like changes to Utah courts and, as always, the state budget, the 2026 session felt more “business as usual” compared to a mad dash to the finish line of previous sessions.
Courts
✅ Utah Supreme Court expansion: This bill moved quickly through the process. It took just nine working days for SB134 to pass and be signed into law. The biggest splash was increasing the number of Utah Supreme Court Justices from five to seven. It also added more judges for the Utah Court of Appeals and district courts. Republicans claim this will increase the efficiency of the court system.
✅ Constitutional court panel: The bill's sponsor says HB392 is primarily about court efficiency. Swiftly passed and signed by the governor Feb. 13, it (along with SJR5) created a specialized three-judge panel to hear constitutionality challenges to Utah law. Detractors see it as an end run for lawmakers to reverse defeats they’ve seen in redistricting and abortion cases. The Utah Attorney General has already petitioned to move cases to the panel. The law has also been challenged in court.
✅ Constitutional court, but different: In response to court challenges to the creation of the constitutional panel, lawmakers amended HB366 to re-create the original vision of a three-judge court. The court would be put into place if if the law creating the panel gets struck down. The Utah State Bar raised alarm about the changes, saying that it could “threaten judicial stability,” while House Speaker Mike Schultz is “confident in our constitutional authority to do what we've done.”
✅ Just courts, but transparent courts: HB540 overhauls public access to Utah’s court system. It requires audio recording of all public court hearings, except in the justice courts and lets anyone request those recordings. Part of the bill creates a statewide website for the public to access all public court records for free. The bill also requires all Utah judges and commissioners to file annual financial disclosures similar to those of elected officials.
❌ Judicial retention and nomination changes: While they got some attention at the start of the session, bills to call snap retention elections for judges who engage in “certain conduct,” altering how judges are nominated for the bench, increase the number of votes a judge needs to remain on the bench and even allow voters to weigh in on Utah Supreme Court decisions all failed to gather steam by the end of the session.
LGBTQ+ issues:
✅ Final puberty blocker ban: One of the most charged committee hearings came from HB174. Sen. Rex Shipp’s bill bans minors who were allowed to continue taking hormones/puberty blockers after a partial ban from continuing to take them after Jan 28, 2028. One Eagle Mountain mom said the bill would block life-saving medication for her transgender daughter. But Shipp said the study commissioned by the state that supported the medication was biased, and the medication was actually harmful to the minors.
❌ Ban on transgender care for public insurance: HB193 would have prohibited publicly funded insurance from providing certain transgender medical procedures. It started as a ban on using any public funds on the surgeries, direct or indirect, but Rep. Nicholeen Peck said she didn’t want the public institutions that rely on that money to shut down.
Voting:
❌ Vote by mail changes: Rep. Jefferson Burton doesn’t want dead voters showing up to vote. HB479 would have required a valid ID for mail-in ballots and for polling staff to physically man ballot dropboxes and check voters’ identification. After making its way through the House, the bill hit snags in the Senate, where there were worries about the impacts on rural communities where ballot dropboxes are harder to come by. There was also a $7 million fiscal note, which would fall mostly onto local governments.
❌ Third-party voter registration review: HB288 was originally just a bill to give voter registration forms to people who purchased a hunting or fishing license. Support for the bill flipped after Rep. Trevor Lee added a substitute that would have allowed third parties to review the voter registration database. It went from unanimous support in the House Government Operations Committee to a unanimous tabling in the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee.
Taxes:
✅ Gas tax: HB575 cuts the state’s portion of the motor fuel tax rate by 15%, or roughly 6 cents per gallon, from July 1, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2026. The temporary cut is meant to provide relief to Utahns while long-term solutions are discussed.
✅ 6th income tax cut in a row: SB60 cut the income tax rate by 0.05 percentage points, from 4.5% to 4.45%. This year, the cut is spurred by Utah’s economic growth, which provided additional money despite the budget concerns. It’s also an election year and tax cuts certainly look great on campaign mailers.
❌ Rerouting education property taxes: Utah school districts are required to impose a basic property tax to help pay for themselves. For the second year in a row, Sen. Lincoln Fillmore proposed a bill, SB65, that would transfer that money to the state first and then the state would pay schools back, rather than the property tax going directly to the districts. Fillmore said it would give the state more budget flexibility. Critics likened it to “washing money.” Education groups oppose the bill, saying it could harm future funding for districts. It passed the Senate, but Fillmore told a House Committee he knew he didn’t have the votes and appeared to let it die.
✅ Streaming tax: SB162 clarifies that streaming services and e-books, audiobooks, music and online games are subject to sales tax. Most streaming services are already collecting sales tax, but a small number are not, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chris Wilson, said.
K-12 Education
✅ Bell-to-bell cellphone ban: SB69 prohibits the use of cellphones in schools from the first bell to the last. Critics worry about access to phones during emergencies such as a school shooting. But bill sponsor Sen. Lincoln Fillmore says SB69 doesn’t require phones to be locked up. Schools can also make their own rules about when phones can be used, but must allow access for emergencies.
✅ Early Literacy: SB241 aims to improve literacy for K-3 students by creating more interventions. Students will be tested earlier and more often. If they don’t meet certain benchmarks, their school will create an individualized reading plan. The most talked-about part of this bill is that it recommends holding some students back if they’re not reading at grade level. The $16 million price tag is to pay for paraprofessionals who can help schools with this effort. It also gives the state a new goal of getting 80% of third-grade students reading at grade level by 2030.
❌ Raises for school nurses: SB75 would have added school nurses to the list of school employees who get the “educator salary adjustment” from the Legislature. It's like a state-funded raise that eligible employees get on top of what their school pays them. This was one of the teachers' union's priority bills. While it had support from lawmakers, it didn’t get funded.
Higher Education
✅ Utah Valley University law school: The joint resolution would direct Utah Valley University to conduct a feasibility study to establish a law school. In collaboration with the Utah Board of Higher Education, the study will include facility and faculty needs, student support services, the process for American Bar Association accreditation and market demand for legal education in Utah. The university has to submit its findings to the Education Interim Committee and the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee by Nov. 30, 2026.
Government
✅ Closed-door spaceport meetings: SB132 wants to protect trade secrets during conversations about a Utah spaceport. Created last legislative session, the Spaceport Exploration Committee’s mission is to gather information on the economics, safety and feasibility of a space hub. This year's bill would allow closed-door meetings if trade secrets are discussed. It also expands the committee’s purview to look at spacecraft reentry.
✅ Sick time for state employees: SB229 changes paid time off for state employees. Existing employees can choose whether to opt into the new system — lawmakers made it optional after pushback. Currently, state employees receive vacation and sick time in two separate buckets. For new state employees and current ones who choose to participate, they’ll just get one bucket of paid time off that they can use for anything.
❌ Holding onto license plate camera data: HB327 would have required government agencies to destroy data from automatic license plate readers, like Flock cameras, after 90 days in most cases. Utah’s nine-month retention limit is one of the longest in the nation.
Artificial Intelligence
❌ Child AI protections: Rep. Doug Fiefia was hoping to shield Utah’s children from the dangers of AI chatbots. With HB286, Fiefia hoped to put safeguards in place to prevent a situation like when a Californian boy was prompted into a suicide attempt by ChatGPT. The bill would have required companies to post public safety and protection plans, report incidents to the state and review their product for “catastrophic risk.” The Trump admin came out against the bill.
Housing and Roads
❌ Renaming 900 South: HB196 sought to rename Salt Lake City’s Harvey Milk Boulevard (900 South) to Charlie Kirk Boulevard. The state cannot currently rename city streets. Rep. Trevor Lee’s bill would have allowed legislators to rename class C roads and force city governments to provide the new signage. It also prohibited more than one honorary name from being attached to these roads.
❌ Building homes on smaller lots: HB184 would have cut red tape around building homes on small city lots in zones where they aren’t already permitted. While zoning preemption was something Gov. Spencer Cox indicated he was in favor of, the bill faced stiff opposition from local elected officials and the Utah League of Cities and Towns.
Water
✅ Water for data centers: HB76 requires data centers to talk with local water authorities and municipalities prior to construction, and provide annual data about water usage. Data centers would be required to report on how much water was used, any efforts to protect the environment, and any other information required by the Division of Water Quality. It doesn’t put any limits on water usage. The bill initially died in the Senate, but was passed after a motion to reconsider.
✅ Don’t water the lawn in the rain: Keven Stratton has gotten another water bill passed with SB46. The bill requires state agencies to turn off overhead spray irrigation during the day and during a rainstorm. It also recommends agencies replace turf with native plant species and water-wise landscaping.
✅ New Water Conservation Option: SB296 adds a new bullet point to the Great Salt Lake water conservation plan. The bill says a commitment of available water is a viable conservation plan for water providers.
✅ Water leasing and dedicated water: Two bills by Rep. Jill Koford are aimed at making the process of navigating the complicated world of Utah water rights a little bit easier. HB410 gives the Great Salt Lake Commissioner the power to lease water for Great Salt Lake, while HB348 allows the state engineer to facilitate the transaction of water rights faster than before.
Energy
✅ Groundwork for nuclear fuel recycling: SB135 ensures governmental agencies can guide Utah’s nuclear process. It gives the Utah Office of Energy Development express jurisdiction over nuclear fuel reprocessing development. It also requires the Utah Energy Council to provide data and guidance on preliminary assessments for such projects. There’s a federal push for nuclear energy, as well as a state push with Operation Gigawatt. Sen. Derrin Owens hopes nuclear energy can replace the fossil fuel economies of struggling rural cities.
✅ Utah wants geothermal: Sen. Michael McKell has laid the groundwork for geothermal energy with SB21. The bill establishes the need for water rights to utilize geothermal energy, and clarifies which parties own the rights to the energy source. The bill also amends the role of Utah’s geothermal regulatory agency, the Division of Water Rights.
Immigration
❌ Ending the driving privilege card: HB287 would have eliminated the driving privilege card, which allows individuals to drive legally in Utah regardless of their immigration status. It also would have required law enforcement officials to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a person without legal status is involved in a car accident.
❌ No public assistance for immigrants without legal status: HB88 would have cut off state and local funds from supporting benefits for noncitizens in Utah without legal status, including non-emergency health care, housing assistance, food assistance and tuition assistance. The provision to make immigrants without legal status ineligible for in-state tuition was added to HB386, which is unlikely to pass.
✅ Driving without a license: HB136 requires law enforcement to impound a vehicle driven by someone without a drivers license or driving privilege card, with some exceptions. Advocates worry this will disproportionately harm immigrants, especially those unable to obtain a driving privilege card because the test is only available in English.
Public Lands
✅ Accessing wildlife management areas: HB30 repeals the 2025 requirement that users like cyclists, hikers and birdwatchers buy a hunting or fishing license to visit wildlife management areas. Now, users will have to watch an educational video and will have the option to donate to support these areas.
Criminal Justice
✅ Speeding up death penalty cases: HJR28 and HB495 both deal with capital punishment. They remove some ability for death penalty cases to be stalled and drawn out in court. Ineffective counsel is no longer a legal way to remand a capital court case in Utah. The bill also limits a defendant's ability to argue their mental competency.
✅ Criminal and Juvenile Justice reform: With HB48, Republican Rep. Karrianne Lisonbee made several changes to how Utah looks at criminal and juvenile justice. The most contested provision gives a judge discretion to send a juvenile to adult prison if they were 17 years old when they committed the crime but 18 years old by the time of sentencing. Recidivism data collection was also expanded to include arrests and jail bookings to inform lawmakers on policy. Critics argue that this will skew Utah’s picture of crime because people can get arrested or held in jail without ever being charged.
❌ Child welfare: The Utah House narrowly voted down SB124, a bill that would have created a "child safety warrant.” Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla wanted to give an extra tool to investigators to prevent child abuse. After several complaints, failed attempts to see the child and documentation of a “credible threat,” the Division of Child and Family Services would have been able to request a warrant from a judge. Some in the House feared it could encroach on parental rights and gave the division too much authority.
Drugs
✅ Ban on natural opioid: Lawmakers introduced SB45 to address a rise in kratom-related overdoses. Products are available in any gas station or vape shop, but as of May 6, only licensed tobacco shops can sell them, and it has to be recognizable as plant matter — meaning no concentrates, extracts or synthetics. 7-hydroxy, a kratom compound that contributes to its opioid qualities, will be put on the list of Schedule I drugs, like heroin or LSD.
✅ ZYN tax: HB337 taxes nicotine products, including cigarettes, vapes and e-cigs, at a higher rate. While widely popular with lawmakers, the American Cancer Society expressed disappointment that the tax was not higher and said it would have “little to no public health benefit.”
✅ Pschedelic treatment for PTSD: HB390 gives the Huntsman Mental Health Institute the go-ahead for a clinical study on psychedelic-assisted therapy for veterans. The bill defines three different psychedelic drugs to be used in the study. The study is set to end on July 1, 2032.
Administrivia
✅ Biscuit’s Bill: HB87 was nicknamed after Biscuit, a dog who spent several years at the Salt Lake County animal shelter after her owner was accused of animal abuse. Biscuit wasn’t able to be adopted during her owner’s case. The bill changes the law and allows animals to be placed with an appropriate individual who doesn’t live with the original owner. It initially failed in the Senate over language concerns. A revised bill later passed with a unanimous vote.
✅ Utah closes gambling loophole: Proposition betting has seen an explosion in popularity, but Utah is putting a stop to it with HB243. It’s been illegal to place bets on the outcome of a sports game for a while, but this bill makes it illegal to bet on individual statistics, like the number of touchdowns. Utah is currently being sued by Kalshi, a popular app for proposition bets, over the regulation.
✅ You can’t alter political signs: HB33 makes it a class B misdemeanor to remove, deface or alter any political sign. That means someone could face up to 6 months in jail and up to $1,000 in fines. The bill also makes it illegal to attach political signs to lightpoles and other government-owned property.
❌ Cold plunges aren’t pools: HB368 would have expanded the definition of a cold plunge to continue distancing it from swimming pools, which can increase the cost of installation and maintenance. The bill would expand the definition of cold baths for those located in an apartment complex, holding up to 650 gallons and meant for up to 5 bathers.
KUER’s Jim Hill, Caroline Ballard and Emily Pohlsander contributed to this report.
Ethan Rauschkolb is an intern with Amplify Utah and KUER covering the Utah State Legislature and other local news.
