Utah's 2026 legislative session: what passed and what died

Ledger briefs on major bills

• Appropriations AdjustmentsH.B. 3 is the Legislature's main supplemental budget bill for the 2026 session. It adds to and cuts back appropriations for state government for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2026 and June 30, 2027, covering state agencies, public education programs and higher education, provides funds for bills with a fiscal impact passed in the session, and includes intent language.The governor line-item vetoed parts of this appropriations bill on March 26, 2026
• Animal Crime Victim AmendmentsH.B. 87 changes how animals seized in animal abuse cases are placed, and has a notably uneven path. The House passed it 40 to 24 on February 10. On February 19 the Senate voted 12 to 16 against passing it on second reading, then took it up again and passed it 25 to 1 on February 25, with a 22 to 0 final vote the next day.Signed by the governor on March 25, 2026
• Unlicensed Driver AmendmentsH.B. 136 changes how Utah treats people caught driving without a driver license, driving privilege card or learner permit. It changes when police must impound a vehicle, how a driver without a credential is identified, which fees can be waived, what the fees are and where the money goes, the penalties for driving without a license, and administrative license suspensions.Signed by the governor on March 26, 2026
• Health Care Patient Reporting to the Division of Professional LicensingH.B. 164 deals with patient reports about health care providers. A provider who receives a disclosure of possible unprofessional or unlawful conduct must tell the patient how to report it to the Division of Professional Licensing, and a nondisclosure clause that blocks a patient from reporting would be valid only under conditions set in the bill. The division would publish a model notice online.Vetoed by the governor on March 26, 2026
• School Board Referendum AmendmentsH.B. 170 would have set up a process for residents of a school district to hold a referendum on certain laws passed by their local school board, including a school tax law. It included a coordination clause with H.B. 32, which dealt with signature gathering and verification.Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026
• Sex Characteristic Change Treatment AmendmentsH.B. 174 prohibits providing cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers to minors after a date set in the bill. It has a single operative provision.Signed by the governor on March 18, 2026
• Child Care Business Tax CreditH.B. 190 widens Utah's income tax credit for employers who provide child care. The nonrefundable credit, available against corporate and individual income tax, would cover off-site child care facilities, grow for certain small employers, and no longer require an employer to have claimed the credit for construction costs first. The Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity must publish a webpage on the credits.Signed by the governor on March 26, 2026
• Vehicle Inspection Fee AmendmentsH.B. 192 removes the state cap on what a vehicle safety inspection station can charge for labor, allowing a reasonable fee for the inspection instead of a statutory limit.Signed by the governor on March 26, 2026
• Transgender Medical Procedures AmendmentsH.B. 193 would have barred public employee insurance from covering certain transgender medical treatments and procedures, with a limited exception, and would have required coverage of procedures to restore a person to their biological sex if the plan had paid for a transition procedure before May 6, 2026.Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026
• Voting AmendmentsH.B. 209 changes how Utah checks and handles voters' citizenship. An election officer may independently determine that a registered voter is not a U.S. citizen, the voter can dispute the finding, and a voter whose non-citizen finding stands may not vote.Signed by the governor on March 25, 2026
• Charter School AmendmentsH.B. 241 made several changes for charter schools: parity with other eligible entities in buying decommissioned school property, limits on reselling property they acquire, an oath of office for governing board members, and a clarification that charter schools are public schools. It also replaced the Charter School Revolving Account with a Charter School Revolving Fund.Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026
• School Curriculum and Standards ModificationsH.B. 312 changes what public schools teach in social studies and how they get materials. The state superintendent must identify and develop open educational resource materials, schools must teach American self-governance and comparative government systems and use documents that shaped the nation's founding, American constitutional government and citizenship become two separate semester courses, and local education agencies may decide whether applied crafts and technical arts courses count toward fine arts credit.Signed by the governor on March 25, 2026
• Human Development InstructionH.B. 315 would have expanded the human development instruction that Utah schools must offer, requiring each local education agency to include a specific video, make instructional materials available to a student's parent on request, and have the State Board of Education publish a list of materials.Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026
• Nicotine Product Tax AmendmentsH.B. 337 raises Utah's taxes on cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and nontherapeutic nicotine devices, and replaces the weight-based rate on alternative nicotine products with a per-product rate for pouch products or a rate based on a percentage of the manufacturer's price. It adds a one-time inventory tax on cigarettes already in stock.Signed by the governor on March 25, 2026
• Electric Mobility Device AmendmentsH.B. 381 sets new rules for electric bicycles and similar devices. It makes it unlawful to drink alcohol while riding an electric-assisted bicycle, addresses tampering with or modifying a bike beyond its original settings, requires riders under 21 to wear a helmet on a highway, and creates a safety course for certain electric devices on highways.Signed by the governor on March 24, 2026
• Immigration AmendmentsH.B. 386 would have repealed Utah's Guest Worker Program and the Utah Pilot Sponsored Resident Immigrant Program Act, removed the scheduled repeal of the Private Employer Verification Act that was tied to the guest worker program's start date, and changed the exceptions to lawful-presence checks for certain public assistance benefits.Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026
• Sex-Designated Housing AmendmentsH.B. 404 amends the Utah Fair Housing Act to let a landlord limit housing to people of one biological sex. It defines the terms involved and says such a restriction is not unlawful discrimination under the act.Signed by the governor on March 23, 2026
• State Purchasing Reserve FundingH.B. 405 would have added an administrative fee to state cooperative purchasing contracts and put the revenue in a new State Purchasing Reserve Restricted Account. The state treasurer would have invested the account in precious metals, and the money could be used to offset the cost of buying goods and services for certain public entities and to ensure continuity in those entities' procurement.Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026
• School Bus Internet AccessH.B. 462 would have created a grant program to bring internet connectivity to school buses in rural school districts. It set priority rules for awards, let districts add their own money, required recipients to commit to long-term operation, and had the State Board of Education write the rules.Vetoed by the governor on March 26, 2026
• Election Code ModificationsH.B. 479 was a large elections bill. Its central change would have ended automatic mail ballots: starting in 2029 a voter would have to ask to receive a ballot by mail, and in most cases ask separately to return one by mail, renewing the request at least every eight years.Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026
• School Attendance ModificationsH.B. 502 covers three things in public schools: standardized citizenship grades that parents can opt out of, attendance-based grading, and a test-out option for core classes. It also creates a citizenship grade scholarship program in higher education, paid for by voluntary contributions on state tax returns.Signed by the governor on March 19, 2026
• Primary Election AmendmentsH.B. 548 dealt with when a city must hold a primary election. Under the bill a municipality could hold a primary when candidates for an office outnumber twice the open seats, and would have to when they outnumber three times the open seats. It also clarified when a special district may hold one.Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026
• Homelessness AmendmentsH.B. 596 was a broad rewrite of Utah's homeless services rules. It would have created a Mitigation Fund Task Force, renamed the shelter cities and shelter counties advisory boards as coordinating councils, let the state issue payments to providers for future services, and created a restricted account to help counties, funded by a transfer from the Cigarette Tax Restricted Account.Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026
• Public School Attendance AmendmentsS.B. 58 sets state requirements for how public schools track student attendance and respond to chronic absenteeism. Local education agencies must adopt stronger attendance tracking and intervention programs, meet performance measures for attendance notices and enforcement steps, and follow data quality standards for reporting student participation.Signed by the governor on March 19, 2026
• School Device RevisionsS.B. 69 changes the default rule for students' electronic devices in public schools. Instead of being prohibited during instructional time, personal devices would by default be prohibited during the whole school day.Signed by the governor on March 18, 2026
• Legislative Activities AmendmentsS.B. 192 reworks how the Legislature runs its own internal administration. The Legislative Management Committee takes charge of workplace harassment and discrimination policy and of branch-wide administrative policies, its quorum and meeting rules change, and its Subcommittee on Oversight is repealed.Signed by the governor on March 18, 2026
• State Employee Benefits AmendmentsS.B. 229 sets up a paid time off program for state employees. New agency employees would receive paid time off in place of separate annual and sick leave, and current employees could choose to join, with their accrued annual leave converted to paid time off hours. The Division of Human Resources writes the rules, each agency must run a leave bank, and the 401(k) match rises for employees in the new program.Signed by the governor on March 24, 2026
• Targeted Advertising TaxS.B. 287 creates a new annual tax on companies that deliver targeted advertising in Utah and meet revenue thresholds, based on their gross receipts from that advertising in the state. Companies file returns with the State Tax Commission, which administers the tax and can write rules for it. Proceeds go to a new Targeted Advertising Restricted Account.Signed by the governor on March 25, 2026
• Intellectual Diversity in Education and GovernmentS.B. 295 sets rules on what the bill calls intellectual diversity in Utah's public schools, colleges and state government. It changes the law on prohibited discriminatory practices, submissions and training, adds reporting requirements, and requires fair, uniform treatment of student clubs that are not part of the curriculum.Signed by the governor on March 25, 2026

Vetoes

• Health Care Patient Reporting to the Division of Professional LicensingVetoed by the governor on March 26, 2026
• School Bus Internet AccessVetoed by the governor on March 26, 2026
• Appropriations AdjustmentsThe governor line-item vetoed parts of this appropriations bill on March 26, 2026

Bills that became law, by subject