Legislation

HB294 would have changed the law regarding which private employers are required to use the federal E-Verify system to verify employees’ immigration status. Current law requires this of all private employers with over 150 employees, but HB294 would have lowered that threshold to 50 employees. The bill also created criminal penalties for using fraudulent identification to obtain employment.  

HB495 modifies competency proceedings in capital felony cases, removing important protections for individuals with intellectual disabilities by: requiring initial IQ tests and penalizing defendants who object to them, changing the criteria and process for automatic review of death sentences, creating expedited review timelines, and creating barriers for appeal and ineffective assistance of counsel challenges.    

HB479 was another attempt to gradually end Utah’s overwhelmingly popular vote-by-mail system. It revived many of the unpopular elements stripped out of HB300, the bill amending voting laws passed in 2025. HB479 would have required a voter to opt in every 8 years to return their ballot by mail, otherwise requiring them to return their mail ballot in person with a valid ID to either a polling location or a drop box staffed by two poll workers. This would have essentially required in-person voting for many Utahns.

HB571 was a sweeping anti-immigrant bill. It would have imposed broad restrictions on non-citizens, limiting their ability to bank, work, and live freely in Utah. The bill would have prohibited banks from opening accounts or issuing loans to anyone using a foreign ID.  

HB517 would have made it harder for guardians, students, educators, and authors to sue to protect their First Amendment rights, as it attempted to extend government immunity to state and local officials (including school districts), prohibit class actions, and allow school districts to require guardians to sign arbitration agreements.  

SJR7 would have called on the Governor to reconsider the Disability Law Center’s status as the state’s Protection & Advocacy Agency. This designation provides the organization with federal funding to serve people with disabilities in Utah. The timing of this bill was particularly concerning, given that the Disability Law Center had just filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of SB199. This 2025 law created a new ultra-guardianship for severely disabled individuals.  

HB315 would have required public schools to show students an ultrasound video and a video depicting fetal development twice between grades 7-12 in a health education class. The specific goal of this bill was to require schools to show “Baby Olivia”, a medically misleading video produced by an extreme anti-abortion group called Live Action.  

HB366 is deeply intertwined with HB392. HB366 makes several changes to the transfer process in HB392 and adds a fallback option in case the Utah Supreme Court rules the transfer to a three-judge panel unconstitutional.

This bill would have prohibited the Utah State Board of Education, local school districts, and other public employers from disciplining an employee for misgendering or using non-preferred gender-specific language or names for a student, coworker, or other individuals. The bill would have also required public employers to offer a religious exemption from any requirement to use preferred pronouns, names, or other gender-specific language.