Welcome to the 2026 Legislative Session. This weekly brief is a UTIA-member benefit. If there is interest in receiving this tracker please refer to becoming a member by clicking here.

March 9, 2026

2026 UTIA Legislative Priorities

2026 Legislator and Intern Contact List

Icon Key:

✅ - Bill Passed in the 2026 Legislative Session

❌ - Bill Failed, or was Held, in the 2026 Legislative Session

Budget

✅ S.B. 4 Economic and Community Development Base Budget, Sen. Calvin Musselman

✅ H.B. 2 New Fiscal Year Supplemental Appropriations, Rep. Val Peterson

✅ S.B. 3 Current Fiscal Year Supplemental Appropriations, Sen. Jerry Stevenson

✅ H.B. 3 Appropriations Adjustments, Rep. Val Peterson

The Utah legislature finalized a more than $31 billion state budget for the 2026 fiscal year, prioritizing a 5.1% increase in public education funding and $101 million for a sixth consecutive income tax cut (lowering it to 4.45%). While the legislature initially asked state agencies to cut 5% across the board, those cuts did not need to be as deep after state revenue estimates came in better than expected. The new fiscal year will begin on July 1, 2026.

Despite an initial proposal from Legislative Fiscal Analysts to eliminate the film incentive program entirely, both the Tourism Marketing Performance Fund ($20.3M) and the Film Incentive Program were maintained.

Senator Jerry Stevenson’s Rural Film Incentive RFA was initially prioritized for $2 million in ongoing funding, but received an additional $1 million from the Executive Appropriations Committee on Thursday (March 5th) evening. This new total of $3 million is still significantly below the $12 million requested and historically appropriated.

Taxes

❌ H.B. 231 S2, Restaurant Tax Repeal Amendments, Rep. Norman Thurston

FAILED - This bill removed the ability for a county to impose the restaurant tax on food items and alcoholic beverage items sold at restaurants and prepared foods sold at convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores. Substitute versions of the bill proposed a full repeal of the tax, as well as, a transition to a local option sales tax.

The industry continuously opposed this bill due to concerns regarding:

• The creation of a permanent funding gap for county governments through the elimination of the tax

• The lack of public process or public notification in the implementation of a new local option sales tax

During the floor debate, several comments were made that mischaracterized the tourism industry and the intent of our advocacy on this bill. We take those concerns seriously and will be engaging directly with those legislators to ensure they have accurate information and a clear understanding of our industry’s role in elevating local economies, supporting jobs, and advancing generational community investments.

✅ HB 272, Tourism Taxes Amendments, Rep. Bridger Bolinder

PASSED - HB 272 is a cleanup bill that clarifies the analysis and auditing processes for the annual county transient room tax (TRT) and the tourism, recreation, cultural, convention, and airport facilities tax (TRCCA) expenditure reports conducted by the Utah State Auditor and the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analysts.

❌ H.B. 161 Property Tax Modifications, Rep. Jill Koford

FAILED - This bill would increase the residential property tax exemption for primary residences from 45% to 60% of fair market value, shifting the property tax burden onto commercial and industrial properties, as well as second homes.

❌H.B. 441 Property Transaction Amendments, Rep. Jill Koford

FAILED - This bill would require the seller or closing agent of a commercial property to disclose information about said property, including sale price, to a county assessor.

✅H.B. 575 S1 Fuel Tax and Supply Amendments, Rep. Calvin Roberts

PASSED - HB 575 reduces the state’s portion of the motor fuel tax rate by 15% or roughly 6 cents per gallon, from July 1, 2026 through December 31st, 2026. This is a temporary solution meant to provide relief to Utahns while long-term solutions are discussed.

Alcohol Policy

✅ H.B. 59 S5 Identification Verification Amendments, Rep. Steve Eliason

PASSED - HB 59 S5 is a clean up bill for the 100% ID Check Law enacted under last year’s HB 437, amended on the last day of the 2025 Legislative Session.

The bill maintains specialty identification cards for an interdicted person (typically following a DUI conviction), preventing them from purchasing or possessing alcoholic products. But also reverts back to requiring proof of age to be verified of an individual who looks 35 years or younger before being able to order an alcoholic beverage at a restaurant. 100% age verification is required to purchase alcohol at a retailer or state store, as well as, to enter a bar.

If the proof of age is a Utah driver’s license, it must be electronically verified to check if the holder is an interdicted person. Otherwise electronic verification should recognize legitimate state ID barcodes. If proof of age is not able to be verified electronically, it requires the licensee to record the necessary information by hand and retain that information for seven days.

Finally, the bill also allows for a bar to hold a driver’s license that is suspected to be fake either visually or by electronic verification for 30 minutes and call for law enforcement to verify whether the license is fake. If law enforcement is not able to verify within 30 minutes or if the license is found to be valid it must be returned to the patron.

Because the bill passed with more than a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, the sponsor and industry stakeholders are asking the Governor to sign it promptly so the law change can take effect immediately.

✅ H.B. 597 S1 Alcohol Amendments, Rep. Jefferson Burton

PASSED - This is the alcohol omnibus bill. Industry-relevant provisions in the bill include:

Identification Verification

• Includes coordinating clause with HB 59 S5 Identification Verification Amendments, Rep. Steve Eliason (100% ID Check Law), with both bills having passed.

• Allows international driver’s licenses to be accepted as a valid form of identification (previously only international passports were permitted).

Bar-to-Restaurant Portability

• Allows a patron to transport an unfinished alcoholic beverage from a bar to a restaurant if:

  • The licenses are under the same ownership

  • The establishments are located within 35 feet of each other

  • A bar license employee escorts the patron

  • The path does not cross a public walkway.

Modernizing the 70 / 30 Split for Restaurant Licensees

• Removes flavors, sweeteners, other non-alcoholic drink additives, fees and charges from being counted toward the 30% alcohol revenue cap under the 70/30 split.

• The new formula for calculating the 70/30 split works by dividing the total annual amount paid to DABS by the sum of gross annual food sales and annual amount paid to DABS. Example:

  • Old Calculation: $30,000 alcohol sales (but only $10,000 paid to DABS for alcohol products) divided by $70,000 annual food sales + $30,000 alcohol sales = 30% of sales from alcohol

  • New Calculation: $10,000 paid to DABS divided by $70,000 + $10,000 = 12.45%

Proximity

• Provides local government authority (through a public meeting process) to recommend issuance of a restaurant license in proximity to parks and libraries to the DABS Commission.

• Maintains existing proximity restrictions for churches and schools.

Event Permitting

• Reduces some administrative burden in the event permitting approval process.

Penalties

• The proposed Class A misdemeanor update was walked back in an amendment from the Senate to current established penalties of Class B misdemeanor for knowingly selling or furnishing alcohol to a minor.

Not Included in the Bill:

• Hotel portability for all hotels that hold at least one license. Or updates to the existing portability challenges of conveyance areas.

• Expanded on-mountain alcohol licenses at ski resorts to include wine containers and ready-to-drink beverages under a new license.

Private Business

✅ SB 108 S1, Online Marketplace Amendments, Sen. Lincoln Fillmore

PASSED - This bill prohibits a municipality or county from regulating an online marketplace. We were able to introduce industry approved language ensuring that this bill did not prohibit local governments from adopting or enforcing short term rental ordinances.

❌ H.B. 294 - Employer Verification Amendments, Rep. Tiara Auxier

FAILED - This bill would have amended provisions related to the Private Employer Verification Act, impacting a private employer who employs 100 or more employees.

❌ H.B. 29 Unfair and Deceptive Pricing Amendments, Rep. Tyler Clancy

FAILED - This bill prohibited hidden fees by requiring the clear and conspicuous disclosure of the total price in an offer or an advertisement for a product. Additionally, the supplier must ensure the final price is more prominent than any other pricing information.

❌ S.B. 177 S1 Product Pricing Amendments, Sen. Stephanie Pitcher

FAILED - This bill provided that a supplier commits a deceptive act or practice if they fail to provide a disclaimer that the supplier sets or displays the price of a good or service using

algorithmic pricing.

✅ S.B. 287 S1 Targeted Advertising Tax, Sen. Mike McKell

PASSED - This bill will enact a targeted advertising tax that mirrors the state sales tax rate (currently 4.7%) and would be imposed in addition to all other taxes. The tax will apply to gross revenues of "Targeted Advertising Entities" that meet specific annual revenue thresholds:

• At least $1 million generated from targeted ads within Utah; and

• At least $100 million in total targeted advertising revenue globally.

The revenue of the targeted advertising tax will be distributed into a restricted account to fund specific allowable uses surrounding child literacy programs, mental health programs or services for children, public awareness campaigns for the effects of targeted advertising, etc.

Similar bills in other states are facing ongoing litigation surrounding the Internet Tax Freedom Act.

❌ S.B. 280 Damages Amendments, Sen. Ron Winterton

FAILED - S.B. 280 sought to standardize how medical damages are calculated and proven in civil injury and wrongful-death cases. It tied recoverable damages to the actual or necessarily owed costs rather than billed charges and improved transparency through mandatory disclosure requirements.

❌ S.B. 211 S1 Tort Amendments, Sen. Kirk Cullimore

FAILED - This bill:

• Limited what juries can hear about insurance and paid medical bills.

• Prevented settlement decisions based on discounted medical costs.

• Increased potential liability exposure and insurance costs.

State of Utah

❌ S.B. 273 S1 License Plate Amendments, Sen. Dan McCay

FAILED - This bill introduced a structured rotation for Utah's standard license plates. Language from this bill was moved into the below HB 481 Transportation Modifications during the last days of the legislative session.

✅ H.B. 481 S5 Transportation Modifications, Rep. Kay J. Christofferson

PASSED - An element of this overall transportation based bill includes authorizing the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) to propose design changes to Utah’s standard license plates. As our standard license plates represent state branding (The Greatest Snow on Earth and Life Elevated) it is beneficial to have these elements placed under the purview of GOEO and, subsequently, the Utah Office of Tourism.

✅ S.B. 275 S2 State-Endorsed Digital Identity Program Amendments, Sen. Kirk Cullimore

PASSED - This bill creates the State-Endorsed Digital Identity Program and establishes a Digital Identity Bill of Rights for Utahns. Supporters of the bill expressed that digital ID is no longer a question of “if,” but a matter of “when and how,” and positioned Utah as a national leader in this space. For Utah’s tourism industry, digital ID is more than a technical update. It is a critical tool for improving guest experiences, alcohol compliance, fraud prevention, and privacy.

✅ H.B. 537 S1 Olympic Ticket Sales Tax Exemption, Rep. Jon Hawkins

PASSED - This bill exempts the sale of 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games tickets from state sales and use tax.

Public Lands and Outdoor Recreation

✅ H.B. 536 S2 Criminal Conduct on Public Lands Amendments, Rep. Stewart Barlow

PASSED - This bill strengthens Utah’s criminal laws around damaging or defacing features on public lands.

❌ H.B. 375 S1 Outdoor Recreation Modifications, Rep. Jason Kyle

FAILED - This bill would have modified the name of the Outdoor Adventure Infrastructure Restricted Account to be the Outdoor Adventure Restricted Account to provide needed clarity. Additionally, the bill would have expanded the allowable uses of funds in the Outdoor Adventure Restricted Account to include the Every Kid Outdoors Initiative, outdoor recreation grants administered by the Division of Outdoor Recreation, and staffing/administrative costs.

✅ H.B. 567 Outdoor Recreational Infrastructure Grant Program Amendments, Rep. Tom Peterson

PASSED - This bill clarifies for the outdoor recreation infrastructure grant an eligible project may include the restoration of a natural feature, like a waterbody, for greater public access to the state's outdoors.

✅ H.B. 546 Public Lands Duty of Care Amendments, Rep. Ken Ivory

PASSED -  H.B. 546 seeks to further clarify Utah’s role in overseeing public lands within the state.

✅ S.B. 209 S3 Gooseberry Narrows State Park Study,Sen. Derrin Owens

PASSED - This bill directs the Division of State Parks to conduct a feasibility and cost-benefit study for the development of a new state park and dam in the Gooseberry Narrows area of Sanpete County.

Additional Resources

2026 House Majority Priorities

2026 Senate Majority Priorities

Weekly Schedules

2026 Committee Assignments

Appropriations Committees & Standing Committees