Every year, the Utah Legislature convenes at the Capitol for 45 days. And so do we, prepped and ready to advocate for your freedoms. Ultimately, all bills will either pass, die, or become fundamentally changed in the process.
Here’s our final digest of the highest-priority bills for Libertas Institute this year. These bills impact key freedoms for Utahns, including free enterprise, privacy, education empowerment, and personal freedom.
The Good: Reforms That Passed
We are proud to celebrate five tremendous wins from this session.
Utah is now the first state in the nation to pass a comprehensive reform aligning military and civilian occupational licenses. SB 90, sponsored by Sen. Heidi Balderree and Rep. Ariel Defay, means veterans’ hard-earned skills are formally acknowledged when applying for a professional license. This bill ensures faster pathways to employment for veterans and a stronger workforce across Utah. Seventy-nine percent of Utah voters support this policy.
In education news, Rep. Ariel Defay and Sen. Lincoln Fillmore’s HB 126 cleared up the legal fog around microschools, making it easier for parents and founders to launch them. Nearly 70% of Utahns support this policy. If you want to turn your home into a learning hub, this bill confirms that you can.
Rep. Jason Kyle and Sen. Todd Weiler’s HB 261 tightened warrant protections for third-party data, maintaining the privacy of your personal information from unlawful government searches.
Sen. Kirk Cullimore and Rep. Kristen Chevrier’s SB 217 loosened the grip of red tape on small food producers, giving local farmers and at-home food makers more room to operate. Utahns now have greater freedom to “Eat Local.”
And an exciting last-minute win of the session, Sen. Lincoln Fillmore and Rep. Jill Koford’s SB 284 legalized detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs) across Utah. Libertas Institute has spent a lot of time lately asking a pretty simple question: why can’t grandma live in the backyard? Turns out, enough legislators agreed with the 82% of Utah voters who support this policy. Now, go get started on that backyard cottage!
The Bad: Good Reforms That Didn’t Make it Through
Sen. Daniel McCay’s SB 262 would have restricted law enforcement from using unmarked vehicles to pull people over for routine traffic violations. It was a commonsense policy that would increase public safety through a greater visible law enforcement presence. This bill passed out of committee, then died in the Senate.
The Ugly: A Good Policy That Got Cut
HB 450 initially included a policy we were eager to pass into law. Rep. David Shallenberger and Sen. Kirk Cullimore’s bill included a “Truth in Surveillance” element that would have required government entities to obtain legislative sign-off before deploying high-risk surveillance technologies like license plate readers and facial recognition systems. Eighty percent of Utahns support public consent requirements before implementing high-risk technology.
Unfortunately, that key protection was removed before the bill passed, and we still support what remained. However, we plan to work on this issue further during the interim and bring “Truth in Surveillance” back again next year.
What’s Next?
While this year’s legislative session is over, our work isn’t. We’re pleased that five key priorities succeeded, and these wins have only invigorated us to keep fighting. We will be here next year, same as always, working to build with you a freer Utah.
