The 2026 Legislative session is now well under way, and as most Democrats do, I hold my breath for 45 days hoping for some good and a minimum of harm. In my role as Issues Director for WDC I try to watch for bills of particular importance. Because I also have a role as Study Group Director for the Judicial and Criminal Justice Group of the Women’s State Legislative Council, I have paid particular attention to bills going through the committees for which that group has responsibility. Accordingly, here are a few that have earned a place on my traditional “Gold Stars” and “Rotten Apples” list.
Gold Stars
Amongst the Rotten Apples, there are also legislators putting forward good bills that benefit Utahns. Thus, we give credit where credit is due and note that many others belong on this list.
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H.B. 122 -- Pregnant and Postpartum Inmate Amendments (Rep. Pierucci, C.) makes substantial strides toward treating pregnant inmates and those who have given birth with humanity and respect by extending the period during which post-partum accommodations are given, including prohibitions against the use of restraints, and giving social service support to new mothers regarding the care and placement of the infant, addiction treatment, etc.
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H.B. 443 -- Amendments to Procedure to Fill A Legislative Vacancy (Rep. Stoddard, A.) proposes to fill mid-term vacancies in the Legislature via an open special election process that coincides with the dates of regularly scheduled primaries and elections rather than through intra-party elections as is the current case.
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H.B. 278 -- School Board Election Amendments (Rep. Arthur, J.) would re-establish State School Board elections as non-partisan elections.
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H.B. 198 -- Educator Salary Adjustment (Rep. Arthur, J.) uncouples salary provisions for educators from the Utah Fits All Scholarship (voucher) program passed last year.
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H.B. 230 Second Substitute -- Offender Amendments (Rep. Ballard, M.G.) works to support inmates as they transition out of incarceration into society by ensuring access to state IDs (eg, driver’s licenses), housing, and addiction treatment where needed.
Rotten Apples
Some of the year’s biggest Rotten Apples will impact our courts and our elections and, as usual, our Legislature has made it a point to harm some of our most vulnerable communities.
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S.B. 134 -- Appellate Court Amendments (Sen. Wilson, C.) increases the number of Justices on the Utah Supreme Court from 5 to 7 and increases the number of appellate judges to 9. Notably, most public comment opposed this bill, or as many stated, approved ⅔ of it. Law professors, the Utah Bar, retired judges argued that adding Supreme Court Justices would make that court’s processes less efficient, given that opinions are written through consensus. Rather, the courts want more resources–staff, judges--in the appellate and district courts. Unfortunately, this bill has passed both chambers and is on the Governor’s desk for signature, written to take effect immediately. This has the potential to impact the outcome of the redistricting case that will likely land before the Supreme Court again.
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H.B. 392 -- Constitutional Court Amendments (Rep. MacPherson, M.) falls into a similar category as SB134, as it has the appearance of an attempt to impact outcomes in cases where there is a dispute between the legislature and the courts. Briefly, it would create a new “Constitutional Court” to address those issues. It would do so by adding three District Judges who would prioritize these cases on their docket. Again, a broad range of attorneys, retired judges, and law professors spoke against it out of concern that it would not necessarily expedite those cases and has the appearance of an effort by the legislature to impact their outcome. It is ready for a third reading in the House.
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H.J.R. 13 -- Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Judicial Retention (Rep. Brooks, W.) puts a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The requested change would allow the Legislature to initiate a special retention election process for judges they deem unfit, incompetent, etc. One can only assume that would include those who render opinions with which they disagree.
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H.B. 209 -- Voting Amendments (Rep. Maloy, A. Cory) distinguishes between the right to vote in State/Local elections vs federal elections. Voters must provide evidence of citizenship if they wish to vote in Utah elections (vs federal). I’ve discussed this bill in greater depth here, but it warrants a call to your Representative urging a NO vote.
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H.B. 27 First Substitute -- Signature Verification Revisions (Rep. Shepherd, L.) requires that the name and precinct number of persons signing candidate ballot petitions to be posted on the Lt Governor’s website for a period of 90 days. Those whose registration records are private are NOT exempted.
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S.B. 194 First Substitute -- Election Modifications (Sen. McKell, M.) is an omnibus election bill that addresses a wide range of issues, many of which are quite controversial. Among the issues it addresses are those of voting records that are currently designated as private, the number of signatures required to put a candidate on the ballot, citizenship verification (similar to HB209), and the methods by which mid-term vacancies are filled. Public comment strongly noted the need to address these issues within separate bills rather than in an omnibus bill such as this. Some measures such as the reduction in the number of signatures required to get onto the ballot warrant our support, while others are much more problematic.
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H.B. 193 First Substitute -- Transgender Medical Procedures Amendments (Rep. Peck, N.) forbids the use of any public funds for the medical treatments related to gender transitioning while H.B. 174 First Substitute -- Sex Characteristic Change Treatment Amendments (Rep. Shipp, R.P.) bans the use of puberty blocking treatments or cross-gender hormone therapies in minors.
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H.B. 256 -- School District Elections Amendments (Rep. Kyle, J.) would turn local school board elections into partisan elections.
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H.B. 232 -- Medicaid Abortion Payment Amendments (Rep. Peck, N.) blocks entities that provide abortion care (think Planned Parenthood) from qualifying as a Medicaid provider.
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H.B. 331 -- Criminal Offenses Modifications (Rep. Clancy, T.) directly attacks 1st amendment rights to assemble.
For the reasons noted, the list above is somewhat slanted and nowhere comprehensive. I encourage you all to learn about the information available at le.utah.gov and engage on your own with the legislative session and your representatives.
