Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
- Utah's legislative session has focused on public union bans, election security and crime.
- Lawmakers advance bills on higher education reforms, homelessness and public safety measures.
- Additional proposals include tax cuts, housing density and innovative transportation initiatives.
SALT LAKE CITY — A little more than halfway through the 2025 legislative session, Utah's elected representatives were starting to look a little haggard on the Friday before Presidents Day weekend as they split their attention between surprise controversies, political hot topics and planning for the long term for the Beehive State.
Before the 45-day session began on Jan. 21, nobody would have guessed that the first three weeks would be dominated by a public unions bill that flooded news coverage and filled the Capitol rotunda with angry school teachers, police officers and firefighters.
As expected, House Republicans have moved forward with conservative priorities related to immigration and elections, throwing out dozens of proposals to heighten criminal penalties and reform mail-in voting to see what policies stick among 75 House members and 29 senators.
But below the hum of these headline-grabbing actions, lawmakers have been plugging away on bills, often years in the making, that would pave the way for big changes to how the state addresses homelessness, higher education and energy as Utah prepares to welcome the world for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games.
Here are the biggest stories of the 2025 legislative session that you will want to follow as the Legislature works right up until midnight on March 7.
Early spotlight on unions
There is only one thing that could have made Utah Republican leadership align themselves with Franklin D. Roosevelt: a bill banning collective bargaining for public sector unions.
House and Senate majority leaders praised the Democratic icon, who said collective bargaining "cannot be transplanted into the public service," in their defense of HB267, which prohibits a public sector union from negotiating contracts for a whole group of employees in Utah.
Lawmakers teased a compromise bill before passing the original version when a consensus failed to materialize, leading several hundred union members to descend on the Capitol to call on Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to issue his first veto of the session.
On Friday, the bill became one of the first dozen bills Cox signed into law. But his lukewarm statement in reaction to the bill, and hints of a potential alternative proposal, suggest that this issue might not be settled yet.
Bills to watch:
- HB267 "Public Sector Labor Union Amendments" (Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan)
- A proposed substitute to HB267 might still be in the works.
Election security smorgasbord
GOP lawmakers, mostly in the House, have introduced a slate of bills in response to concerns that arose in the 2024 election cycle and a pair of audits focused on signature verification, voter roll clean up and ballot chain of custody.
The bills range from overhauling ballot return, election oversight and voter roll maintenance, to measures targeting voter information transparency, primary election runoffs and deadlines for county clerks.
Bills to watch:
- HB300 "Amendments to Election Law" (Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem)
- HB332 "Voter Registration Data Amendments" (Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield)
- HB231 "Primary Election Amendments" (Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan)
Taking a hard look at crime and public safety
After four years of a porous U.S. border, and amid rising levels of chronic homelessness in Utah, lawmakers are looking to law enforcement for solutions.
GOP legislators are running a package of bills to increase sentences for fentanyl distribution, human trafficking, identity theft, unlicensed driving and violent misdemeanors as part of a broader effort to remove state obstacles to criminal deportations.
Lawmakers are also looking to change the state's response to homelessness by forcing municipalities to enforce anti-camping ordinances and requiring shelters to be drug-free, while also linking state resources and first responders to help people on the streets get on the path to recovery.
Bills to watch:
- HB226 "Criminal Amendments" (Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton)
- HB392 "Unlicensed Driver Amendments" (Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City)
- HB199 "Substance Use Treatment and Enforcement Amendments" (Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo)
- HB329 "Homeless Services Amendments" (Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo)
Changes are coming to higher education in Utah
As usual, lawmakers are prioritizing reforms to public education. But this year, there is a special focus on the state's 16 institutions of higher education.
Lawmakers have advanced bills that would realign Utah higher education toward high demand majors and growing industries, recenter civics education in high school curricula and reset the state's default to no cellphones in class.
The Legislature is also limiting how the popular Fits All scholarship can be used for extracurricular activities, and thinking about how to help all students with school meals, hands-on training and gun safety.
Bills to watch:
- HB265 "Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment" (Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton)
- HB447 "Statewide Catalyst Campus Model" (Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper)
- SB178 "Devices in Public Schools" (Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan)
Other important Utah legislation
Legislating an innovative future: "Build, baby, build" has found bipartisan consensus on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are green-lighting proposals to increase housing density, explore a spaceport, launch air taxis, unleash nuclear energy and expand the grid.
Judicial jiu-jitsu: In response to court rulings that limit the Legislature's ability to alter citizen-initiated legislation and run constitutional amendments, lawmakers are hoping to raise the bar on ballot initiatives, judicial retention votes and possibly the size of the court.
Tackling social issues: Conservative lawmakers are reviving efforts to prohibit sexual performances in public, ban government entities from displaying political flags and define which single-sex spaces transgender individuals may enter.
Make America Healthy Again comes to Utah: Did somebody say RFK Jr.? Lawmakers are looking to prohibit fluoride in public drinking water, add new labels to food, and ban SNAP benefits from being used to buy candy.
Family friendly: The Legislature appears primed to increase access to child care, using public facilities or private tax credits, and to expand the child tax credit to children under 1.
Who will benefit from tax cuts: A tight budget year has set the stage for a showdown between the Senate's goal to reduce the income tax rate and Cox's promise to eliminate the state tax on Social Security benefits.
Odds and ends: Human composting; "Utahn," not "Utahan;" new holidays — lots of them; and last, but certainly not least, ending daylight saving time.
