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2018 Utah legislative session

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2018 legislative sessions coverage
Utah State Legislature

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General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 22, 2018
Session end:   March 8, 2018
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Wayne Niederhauser (R)
House Speaker:  Gregory Hughes (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Ralph Okerlund (R)
House: Brad Wilson (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Gene Davis (D)
House: Brian King (D)
Structure
Members:  29 (Senate), 75 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art VI, Utah Constitution
Salary:   $273/day + per diem
Elections
Redistricting:  Redistricting Committee of the Utah Legislature handles redrawing boundaries

This page provides an overview of the 2018 Utah State Legislature and its general and special sessions. The timelines below contain noteworthy events from the sessions Ballotpedia curated throughout the year.

Click the links below to access relevant session information:

If you know of any additional events that should be added to this page, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Overview

In 2018, the Utah State Legislature was in session from January 22, 2018, through March 8, 2018. Legislators held a veto session April 18 and two special sessions—the first on July 18 and the second from December 3 to January 2.

Partisan control

Utah was one of 26 Republican state government trifectas in 2018. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Utah State Legislature in the 2018 legislative session.

Senate

Party As of July 2018
     Democratic Party 5
     Republican Party 24
     Vacancies 0
Total 29

House

Party As of July 2018
     Democratic Party 13
     Republican Party 62
     Vacancies 0
Total 75

Leadership in 2018

Senate

House

Status of legislation

Status of legislation: Regular session
Legislation Subject area Actions during the regular session Status at the end of the regular session
HB 148 Remove food sales tax Passed House Did not see further action
HB 218 Establish procedures for same-day voter registration Passed legislature Governor signed
HB 472 Expand Medicaid Passed legislature Governor signed
HB 293 School funding bill Passed legislature Governor signed
SB 171 When legislature can intervene in litigation Passed legislature
Governor vetoed 		Veto overturned
HB 198 Attorney general's constitutional duty to provide advice and representation Passed legislature
Governor vetoed 		Veto overturned
Budget bills Budget Passed legislature Governor signed
Status of legislation: First special session
Legislation Subject area Actions during the special session Status at the end of the special session
HB 2003 Child tax credit Passed legislature Governor signed
HB 2001 Related to the Inland Port Authority Passed legislature Governor signed
SB 2001 Require online companies to pay sales tax Passed legislature Governor signed
Status of legislation: Second special session
Legislation Subject area Actions during the special session Status at the end of the special session
HB 3001 Provides for the cultivation, processing, and use of medical marijuana Passed legislature Governor signed

Regular session

February 20, 2018

Utah House passes bill to remove sales tax on food
The Utah House of Representatives approved HB 148, which proposed removing the state's 1.75 percent state sales tax on food, except candy. It also proposed raising the sales tax on other non-food purchases from 4.7 percent to 4.92 percent. HB 148 would not have impacted local sales taxes on food.[1][2]

HB 148 passed the House on a 42-27 vote and was sent to the Utah State Senate.

According to Deseret News, there were 40 states with no sales tax on food as of February 2018.[1]

Update: HB 148 failed to pass a motion to recommend in the state Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee.

March 7, 2018

Voter registration bill clears legislature
On March 19, 2018, Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed HB 218 into law. The legislation, which cleared the Utah State Legislature on March 7, 2018, established procedures for same-day voter registration and opt-in registration during transactions with state driver's license agencies. The bill was introduced in the Utah House of Representatives on January 24, 2018. On February 5, 2018, a substitute bill cleared the House by a vote of 70 to 0. The Utah State Senate passed an amended version of the bill on March 7, 2018, by a vote of 24 to 0, and the House approved the amended version of the bill on the same day by a vote of 70 to 0.[3][4]

Update: Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed HB 218 March 19.

March 8, 2018

Medicaid and school funding bills pass legislature on final day
The state Legislature passed several bills on the final day of the regular session, including:

  • Medicaid expansion. House Bill 472, which proposed expanding Medicaid, passed both chambers. The bill included provisions to limit overall state spending and create work requirements, which would need federal government approval, for certain Medicaid recipients. The bill proposed extending health insurance coverage to residents with incomes at or below the federal poverty line, providing coverage to an estimated 72,000 people by 2020 and increasing to an estimated 87,500 by 2024, according to a bill analysis.[5]
  • School funding bill. The legislature advanced House Bill 293, a school funding bill which included a proposed income tax reduction from 5 percent to 4.95 percent and a five-year freeze on sales and property tax rates. The bill proposed matching state dollars to areas with low property tax values in an effort to equalize school district funding disparities.[6][7][8] Read more here.
Update: Gov. Herbert signed HB 293 March 26 and HB 472 March 27.

Budget

2018

The state Legislature approved a $17 billion budget bill March 8. The budget bill included proposals for:

  • Public education. Legislators proposed increasing public education by $124 million, including raising teacher pay. Lawmakers allocated $36 million for an estimated 7,700 additional public school students in the 2018-19 school year.
  • Higher education. The bill proposed allocating $9 million to address state college and university enrollment, $9 million to cover waived tuition, and $5 million for athletic facility and classroom renovation at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah.
  • Social services. Lawmakers proposed $10.5 million for Operation Rio Grande, an effort to decrease chronic homelessness by increasing policing, providing job training, drug treatment, health insurance, and constructing three new homeless shelters. The bill allocated $1 million to the Inn Between, a Salt Lake City homeless shelter, for facility expansion.
  • State worker salary. The plan proposed increasing state employee pay, including the governor, by 2.5 percent.
  • Lawsuit against California. Lawmakers proposed allocating $1.65 million for a lawsuit against California regarding coal-fired power rules. Rep. Michael Noel (R-District 73) proposed the lawsuit, alleging that California's policies hurt coal miners in his district and violated the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause. Gov. Herbert did not support state funding of the lawsuit.[9]

Process

See also: Utah state budget and finances
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Check out Ballotpedia articles about policy in your state on:
Budgets • Civil liberties • Education • Elections • Energy • Environment • Healthcare • Pensions

The state operates on an annual budget cycle. The sequence of key events in the budget process is as follows:[10]

  1. Budget instructions are sent to state agencies in August of the year preceding the start of the new fiscal year.
  2. Agencies submit their budget requests to the governor in October.
  3. The governor submits his or her proposed budget to the state legislature in December.
  4. The legislature typically passes a budget in March. A simple majority is required to pass a budget. The fiscal year begins July 1.

Utah is one of 44 states in which the governor has line item veto authority.[10][11]

The governor is statutorily required to submit a balanced budget to the legislature. The legislature is constitutionally required to adopt a balanced budget.[10]

Veto session: April 18

April 11, 2018

Legislators consider holding veto override session
The state Legislature announced it was considering a veto override session to address two bills the governor vetoed March 27.[12]

  • Senate Bill 171 proposed allowing legislators to provide evidence or written or oral argument if a state court challenges state statute, legislation, or "any action of the Legislature." SB 171 also proposed authorizing the legislature to file an amicus brief or present argument in response to federal court action. The measure included a provision specifying court intervention by the legislature would not limit the attorney general's ability to defend or prosecute legal actions and saying the legislature and the attorney general would function independently.[13]
SB 171 passed 61 to 8 in the House and 20 to 3 in the Senate during the regular session. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Gov. Herbert vetoed the legislation because he said it would create separate state positions in legal challenges.[12]
  • House Bill 198 directed the attorney general to provide written legal opinions when requested and mandated the attorney general establish confidentiality procedures to prevent conflicts of interest. Gov. Herbert blocked a legislative request for an attorney general opinion in 2017, saying it would violate his attorney-client privilege.[14]
Both chambers unanimously passed HB 198.[12]

The Utah Constitution authorizes the legislature to call a special veto session to consider veto overrides if two-thirds of members in both chambers agree to the session. A veto overrired requires two-thirds of members in both chambers—50 of the 75 members in the state House and 20 of the 29 members in the state Senate. At the time of the veto session, Utah had a 62-13 Republican majority in the state House and a 24-5 Republican majority in the state Senate.

In the 2018 legislative session, Utah was one of 36 states that required a two-thirds vote from both of its legislative chambers to override a veto.

Update: The legislature overturned the vetoes April 18.

April 18, 2018

Utah Legislature overrides two bills in veto session
The state Legislature voted to override Gov. Herbert's veto of Senate Bill 171. The override, which required a two-thirds majority vote, passed 21 to 7 in the Senate and 55 to 15 in the House.[15]

SB 171 established that the legislature could defend laws challenged in court even if the attorney general chose not to defend the law. The governor vetoed the bill March 27.[15]

Bill sponsor Sen. Stuart Adams (R) said he did not think SB 171 was an overreach, adding that the legislature should be able to defend its laws.[16]

The governor released a statement after the legislature's vote saying the Utah courts should resolve the question of the appropriate roles and functions of state government branches.[15]

Attorney General Sean Reyes (R) also released a statement:[15]

“ We believe in a carefully balanced democratic system of government where the legislature enacts laws, the executive branch enforces them, and courts interpret them. When one branch upsets that equilibrium, it threatens the harmony and integrity of the whole and erodes public confidence in the institutions.[17] ”


The legislature also vetoed House Bill 198, which established procedures requiring the attorney general to provide written legal opinions to the legislature. The veto override passed the state Senate by a 20-8 vote and the state House by a 63-7 vote.[16]

Special session: July 18

The legislature convened a special session July 18 to address legislation related to the Inland Port Authority, driving under the influence and distracted driving, obtaining sex changes, and changes to the state's alcohol laws.[18]

The legislature approved a bill to spend $30 million for a child tax credit that Congress ended when it approved the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017. Click here for more information on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Lawmakers also amended a law related to the Inland Port Authority passed during the regular session. The amendments decreased the land the port authority covers and prevented the port authority from building on certain wetlands.[19][20][21]

Update: Gov. Herbert signed the legislation July 21.

July 21, 2018

Gov. Herbert signs online sales tax bill into law
Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed SB 2001. The bill established requirements for online companies that do at least 200 sales or collect $100,000 worth of sales in Utah to collect sales tax beginning in 2019. It also ended an agreement between the state and online businesses that allowed the businesses to keep up to 18 percent of collected sales taxes.[20]

Utah was collecting about $140 million annually from voluntary agreements with online retailers like Amazon and Airbnb prior to the passage of SB 2001. Officials predicted the state to generate an additional $60 million as a result of the law.

The legislation was passed in response to the Supreme Court of the United States' decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. that ruled a retailer did not need a physical presence in a state in order to be required to collect sales tax.[20]

See also: South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.

Special session: December

Gov. Herbert called for a special session following the elections in November to discuss medical marijuana-related policies in the wake of disagreements surrounding Proposition 2 (Prop 2), which was on the ballot in November.[22] Click here for more information on Proposition 2.

See also: Utah Proposition 2, Medical Marijuana Initiative (2018)

December 3, 2018

Governor signs bill on state medical marijuana program
Gov. Herbert signed HB 3001 the same day the legislature approved the bill. HB 3001 replaced Utah Proposition 2, a medical marijuana initiative that passed on November 6.[23]

House Bill 3001 made a number of changes to the original measure passed by voters. Among others, HB 3001:

  • Removed the provision allowing patients to grow their own marijuana;
  • Reduced the number of privately-run dispensaries allowed; and
  • Required dispensaries to employ pharmacists to recommend dosages

HB 3001 kept many of the same qualifying conditions provided for under Proposition 2, but also made some changes, including limiting the list of qualifying conditions to specific illnesses. The bill allowed for medical marijuana treatment for HIV or AIDs but not other autoimmune disorders. The bill allowed for medical marijuana treatment for cachexia, but not other conditions manifested by physical wasting. It allowed marijuana treatment for Crohn's disease, but not similar gastrointestinal disorders.

HB 3001 added conditions that qualify for medical marijuana treatment, including:

  • Terminal illness for those projected to have less than six months left to live; and
  • A condition resulting in a patient receiving hospice care.

Negotiations between Utah legislators and Proposition 2 supporters (including the Utah Patients Coalition and Libertas Institute) and opponents (including Drug Safe Utah and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) resulted in an agreement concerning legislative alterations to Proposition 2 to be addressed by the legislature after the November election if the measure was approved, which it was. The alterations were initially presented and referred to as a "compromise deal."[24]

For more information on Proposition 2 and HB 3001, click here.

See also: Utah Proposition 2, Medical Marijuana Initiative (2018)

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

The methods by which the Utah Constitution can be amended:

See also: Article XXIII of the Utah Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Utah

The Utah Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Utah requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

Legislature

See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

According to Article XXIII, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A two-thirds majority vote in both the legislative chambers vote is required during one legislative session for the Utah State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 50 votes in the Utah House of Representatives and 20 votes in the Utah State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

Convention

See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

According to Section 2 of Article XXIII, a ballot question about whether to hold a convention can go on the ballot if two-thirds of the members of the Utah State Legislature vote to put it on the ballot.


See also

Elections Utah State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Deseret News, "Utah House votes to remove sales tax on food," February 20, 2018
  2. ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah House votes to eliminate state sales tax on food — bill now goes to the Senate," February 21, 2018
  3. ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Do you want to register to vote? Utah enacts widespread election law changes, including Election-Day registration. Here are all the changes," March 8, 2018
  4. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "H.B. 218 Modifications to Election Law," accessed March 15, 2018
  5. ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Medicaid expansion in Utah up for debate on the Legislature’s final day, even as feds signal they might not approve all the state wants," March 8, 2018
  6. ↑ Good4Utah.com, "Major school funding bill passes," March 8, 2018
  7. ↑ Fox13nox.com, "Your guide to all the things the Utah State Legislature did to your life this year," March 9, 2018
  8. ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Tax hike compromise to replace Our Schools Now easily clears first hurdle on Utah’s Capitol Hill," March 8, 2018
  9. ↑ Daily Herald, "Homelessness, Olympic bid get a piece of $16.7B Utah budget," March 7, 2018
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 National Association of State Budget Officers, "Budget Processes in the States, Spring 2021," accessed January 24, 2023
  11. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Separation of Powers: Executive Veto Powers," accessed January 26, 2024
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 The Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah Legislature to call veto override session — extending battle with Gov. Gary Herbert over separation of powers," April 12, 2018
  13. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "S.B. 171 Intervention Amendments," accessed April 12, 2018
  14. ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah House GOP slaps at governor for refusing special session last year," January 23, 2018
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Fox 13 Salt Lake City, "Utah Legislature votes to override pair of vetoes from Gov. Herbert," April 18, 2018
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 The Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah Legislature overrides vetoes in balance-of-powers battle with Gov. Gary Herbert," April 18, 2018
  17. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  18. ↑ Fox13, "Inland port, beer sales and more on agenda for special legislative session in Utah Wednesday," July 18, 2018
  19. ↑ Fox 13, "Big Utah families, the legislature is giving you about $175 in a child tax credit," July 18, 2018
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 The State, "Utah Legislature passes requirement for online sales tax," July 18, 2018 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "online" defined multiple times with different content
  21. ↑ Good4Utah.com, "Inland Port changes made during special session," July 18, 2018
  22. ↑ Deseret News, "Herbert calls for special session on medical marijuana in light of Proposition 2 compromise," October 4, 2018
  23. ↑ Fox 13, "Utah State Legislature votes to replace Proposition 2, the medical cannabis ballot initiative," December 3, 2018
  24. ↑ Fox 13 Now, "Deal struck on medical marijuana compromise legislation," accessed October 4, 2018
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