UTAH STATE CAPITOL—The 2026 Legislative Session opened Jan. 20 and lawmakers are off and running. Over the next 45 days hundreds of bills will be debated. Some will pass, others will fail as the session comes to a close on March 6. 

Legislators will be faced with some of the usual issues such as taxes, affordable housing, education and the GSL but also in the mix this year are criminal justice reforms, energy, a mineral lab and water.

“Every generation inherits the work of those who came before it,” said Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, in his opening day remarks. “And every generation, whether it realizes it or not, is laying foundations for the next.”

But for Utahns, real life doesn’t happen in committee meetings or on the House floor, he said. “It happens around kitchen tables, in the carpool pickup line, at business meetings, in the grocery store and at little league ball games. That’s where our focus should be. Our work here is meaningless if we aren’t focused on the people who put us in these chairs.”

  “This year, we celebrate 250 years of American liberty,” said Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, in his opening speech. “Two and a half centuries filled with lessons of courage, sacrifice and heartache that shaped our nation.” 

From the Revolutionary War to Gettysburg, Normandy and Afghanistan American service members have stepped forward in moments of the country’s greatest need, he said. “They endured unimaginable hardship so that the liberties we debate, defend and preserve in this chamber might endure.”

“I think what I'm working on – which is my top priority – is housing affordability,” said Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful. “I have a bill that I feel like is a really important bill. So would you say, ‘what is wrong? Why is it expensive and what could we change?’”

Ward said what he feels like is wrong and what he feels like adds to the cost is really the process by which homes are permitted or not in different places. “In our current permitting process, many times additional requirements get put on that in order to allow the home to be built, making it more expensive.”

He’s running HB184 titled Local Land Use Amendments. “That’s what it’s about,” said Ward. “Smaller lots and letting there be starter homes. It just says if somebody wants to build a home on a smaller lot, then it’s going to cost a little less just because it’s on a smaller lot. You don’t have to give somebody a subsidy, you just let them build it on a smaller lot.”

Let’s say someone has a third of an acre lot and they just wanted to split it so they had two sixths of an acre lots and they already had their home on one part and they wanted to build a small home on the other part where they split the lot, he said. “So they come to the city and say ‘well I know it’s zoned for a third of an acre but I want to build on a sixth of an acre and build another little house there.’”

Because that’s in this bill it would permit them to come ask the city to do that, said Ward. “Right now they can’t even ask the city. If they do, they'll just laugh at them and say that’s not allowed. Not only is the answer no, the answer is ‘I couldn't tell you yes even if I wanted to.’”

With this, someone could come in and say they wanted to build on a smaller lot, he said. “Then the city could still tell you no. They’d have 30 days to vote no if they didn’t want it. But if they don’t vote ‘no’ after 30 days you’ll be allowed to build it. You still have to follow all the other rules that you normally follow when you ask to build a house, but you could have it.”

 These are not duplexes, said Ward. “These are not apartments. It’s not a large industrial facility. This is a small home that’s being built. We need to make it easier for people to build smaller homes. We should make it easy instead of telling them no.”

“I have a bill around the Truth in Taxation process,” said Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton. “Across our state and in our county lots of people showed up to Truth in Taxation hearings and felt frustrated that they weren’t heard.”

Peterson said at the same time, a lot of officials said they’d been working on the budget for six months and residents just came at the end and now it’s hard to change courses. “So what the bill does is it notifies the public earlier. If the entity, the public, the school district, the city and county are considering a tax increase they'll get an earlier notification before the budget is actually approved.”

When they approve the budget it has to be based on the money they already have, she said. “They have to say ‘what does our budget look like without a tax increase?’ They start operating on that on July 1. Then in August when they hold their Truth in Taxation after that meeting they can take a vote on whether to move to a budget with an increased tax increase.” 

Peterson said she hopes it’s more transparent and brings more power to the conversation a little bit earlier and reduces the frustration.

For more information about bills and legislation during the session go to https://le.utah.gov/.