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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday officially signed 74 bills from the 2024 legislative session, marking the final step in the bills' journey to becoming law.
The governor signed a handful of bills related to school security. Here's a breakdown of some of the major bills aimed at bolstering school safety that received Cox's signature.
School security bills
Sponsored by Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, the umbrella bill HB84 would establish a statewide system for school safety incidents. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the bill is the creation of a school guardian program requiring every public, charter and private school to have at least one armed security person at the school whenever class is in session.
This could include a uniformed school resource officer, a school safety and security officer provided by local law enforcement and hired by the school district, or a contracted security guard who would be allowed to conceal or open carry a firearm on school grounds. It could also include school employees.
The bill would also establish minimum safety procedures for schools, such as panic buttons and better communication systems, and require reporting by state employees and others if they become aware of threats to schools.
Additionally, it establishes the duties of the state security chief and requires them to develop training for school resource officers. It also calls for some reporting from the SafeUT Crisis Line to the state's intelligence databases and requires certain school safety data to be included in the state's annual school disciplinary report.
Also sponsored by Wilcox, HB14 addresses threatening or falsely reporting a school emergency. Under the legislation, any student who makes a false or threatening report targeted at a school will face suspension or even expulsion. Additionally, it enhances the criminal penalty for anyone making a threat against a school, raising the penalty for making a false report in certain circumstances a second-degree felony.
Sponsored by Rep. Ashlee Matthews, D-West Jordan, HB418 requires school districts to create a process for reintegrating student offenders and prevents a student from being reintegrated into a school where "a school or staff member is the victim of a sexual crime committed by the student being reintegrated."
Other bills signed
The governor also approved several bills related to the outdoors, recreation and water in the Beehive State. Here are a few highlights:
- HB11: Sponsored by Millcreek Democrat Rep. Doug Owens, HB11 limits the use of "overhead spray irrigation" by certain government entities within the Great Salt Lake basin. The bill originally would have limited "nonfunctional turf" to a maximum of 20% of landscaped space on "local entity property" for new builds and reconstructions completed after May 1, but it was replaced with a substitute version that limits spray irrigation use on park strips, planting beds and other landscaped areas.
- HB222: This bill seeks to clarify the dress code for hunters by stipulating that they must wear at least one item of orange on their outermost layer of clothing. Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, said the earlier law was potentially confusing and technically allowed hunters to wear an orange clothing item that wasn't visible.
- HB453: Cox also approved HB453, which strengthens regulations on mineral extraction from the Great Salt Lake to reduce the water consumption from industry. It also requires that revenue from mineral sales be used to conserve and manage water in the Great Salt Lake. Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, called the bill a "huge step in the right direction as we work to keep water in the lake."
