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Wednesday, November 4, 2026

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Utah bill tracker

S.B. 249: Public Employee Negotiation Amendments

2026 General Session · Originating chamber: Senate

Saved official records and Ledger coverage. The outcome below is from the Legislature’s own step list.

What the bill does

Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026.

It would have established a Labor Relations Board for public-employee collective bargaining, with rulemaking and subpoena powers, protections for self-organization, payroll deduction of union dues and duties for labor organizations. It never reached a Senate floor vote: a motion to recommend it failed in committee, and it was filed on March 6, 2026.

This bill addresses collective bargaining for public employees.

  • Defines terms
  • Establishes the Labor Relations Board (board)
  • Describes the composition and duties of the board
  • Describes the entities the board may employ
  • Establishes the board's rulemaking authority
  • Authorizes the board to subpoena witnesses and administer oaths
  • Establishes who may serve as counsel for public employers and the board
  • Creates protections for public employees regarding self-organization
  • Allows a public employer to deduct an employee's dues for a collective bargaining unit from an employee's pay
  • Requires that labor organizations represent employees without discrimination
  • Requires that the board investigate a petition on a representation question under certain circumstances
  • Establishes criteria and the function of a representation election at the direction of the board
  • Establishes who may represent a public employer in collective bargaining
  • Establishes management rights of a public employer
  • Establishes a duty to bargain collectively for both the public employer and an exclusive representative
  • Describes what a collective bargaining agreement shall contain
  • Permits and describes the mediation of disputes relating to collective bargaining
  • Describes how to initiate fact finding relating to a dispute regarding collective bargaining
  • Establishes fact finding proceedings in a dispute related to collective bargaining
  • Allows arbitration for a dispute resulting from collective bargaining
  • Requires the board to establish an education course for fact finders and arbitrators
  • Describes an unfair labor practice of a public employer
  • Establishes the process by which an unfair labor practice is investigated and resolved
  • Establishes a hearing process for an unfair labor practice complaint hearing
  • Describes the process of the court enforcement and review of a board order
  • Prohibits police officers from engaging in strikes
  • Establishes criteria for mediation of a dispute under certain circumstances
  • Establishes the criteria for arbitration under certain circumstances

The description and list come from the bill's own long title as recorded by the Legislature; the paragraph above is the Ledger’s summary. Read the official bill. The Ledger takes no position on it.

Subjects: Counties · Labor and Employment · Labor Organizations · Labor Commission · Administrative Rulemaking and Procedures · Municipalities · Political Subdivisions (Local Issues) · Boards and Committees · Government Operations (State Issues) · State Officers and Employees · Labor Disputes · Local Government Employees · New Rulemaking Authority

How it moved

  1. · Senate1st reading (Introduced)Rules Committee
  2. · Senateto standing committeeRevenue and Taxation Committee
  3. · SenateSenate Comm - Motion to Recommend FailedRevenue and Taxation Committee
  4. · SenateSenate Comm - Recommends Returned to RulesRevenue and Taxation Committee
  5. · Senatefiledfile for bills not passed

Steps as the Legislature recorded them; clerical and fiscal-staff entries are left out. Numbers such as 54-14-7 are yeas, nays and absent.

Fiscal note

From the Legislative Fiscal Analyst's note on S.B. 249, dated February 9, 2026. A fiscal note estimates direct costs and revenue; it is not an appropriation.

  • State revenue: Enactment of this legislation likely will not materially impact state revenue.
  • State expenditures: Enactment of this legislation could cost the Labor Commission $380,000 ongoing beginning in FY 2027 from the General Fund for personnel costs to administer the provisions of the legislation.
  • Local government: Enactment of this legislation likely will not result in direct, measurable costs for local governments.
  • Individuals and businesses: Enactment of this legislation likely will not result in direct expenditures from tax or fee changes for Utah residents and businesses.

Bill overview

Sponsor: David P. Hinkins

Legislature passed-list status: Not available in the saved metadata.

Passed-list membership is not a finding that a bill was signed or took effect. A bill absent from that list is not necessarily pending or defeated.

Latest recorded action

filed
Action date:

The full step list is above. Find the bill in the official session list for status, hearings and committee records.

Recorded floor votes

No floor-vote records for this bill and session are available here. This does not mean no vote occurred; consult the official bill record.

Ledger coverage

No Ledger stories with an explicit source link to this bill and session are listed here.