The 2026 Legislative Session ended Friday night, March 6. More than 1,016 bills were introduced and lawmakers passed 541. Some drew attention while others went through without much fanfare. 

HJR 30, a resolution that passed on the last day, comes after years of a dispute between the federal government and the state over 22,000 acres of land on the north end of the Great Salt Lake.

“This was exciting news that happened kind of overnight,” said Sen. Scott D. Sandall, R-Tremonton. “It’s the result of over 20 years of litigation. The federal government has agreed to sell that. I’m proud to announce that there will be an excess of $60 million that will come back to the state of Utah to help in and around things of the Great Salt Lake.”

Sandall said they are going to use as much science as possible to get the best outcome for the money. “It’s land going from the state to the federal government and they're going to pay us for it.” 

This is land that has been in dispute, said Sandall. “It’s been counted as federal land, counted back as state land and finally the resolution to the dispute allows it to go back to federal land. I will tell you that public access is available completely and does not go away.”

“That’s a big deal,” said Senate President J. Stuart Adams. “A lot of our federal land they try to restrict access to. It’s funny, it’s the people’s ground but they don’t want the people on it.”

“This makes sure that people are able to access this new settled federal land and it will be open for that,” Sandall said. “It’s a lot of wetlands. It’s right on the edge of the Bear River Bird Refuge.” 

Here are a few bills that passed:

SB69 

This bill adds to legislation from the 2025 Session regarding cellphones. SB69 School Device Revision, sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-Salt Lake, calls for a “bell-to-bell” policy prohibiting the use of cellphones from when the first bell rings until the last bell when school ends. It will be the state’s default policy but preserves the option for the Local Education Agency (LEA) to set its own device policy.

SB134 (Court Amendments)

The governor signed this bill early in the session despite some controversy. SB134 calls for “statutory provisions related to judges and justices for Utah Courts.” 

• Increases the number of Utah Supreme Court justices from five to seven.
• Increases the number of Utah Court of Appeals judges from seven to nine.
• Increases the number of Utah District Court judges, adding three judges in each District Court in Districts 3, 4 and 5. 

SB60 

Reduces the personal and corporate income tax rate from 4.5% to 4.45%. This is the sixth year of income tax cuts for the state, with the goal of lowering the tax burden on families and corporations.

HB190/HB290 child tax credit related bills

HB190

Engages employers in addressing child care shortages by stacking state and federal credits. Large employers can receive up to 50% and small businesses up to 80% back on qualified child care expenses such as operating costs for employer-owned child care facilities, according to a Policy Project release. 

HB290 

Raises the income eligibility threshold for Utah’s Child Credit by $7,000 which allows more working families to qualify. This change could benefit an estimated 12,000 to 20,000 additional families and support 19,000 to 31,000 more children ages 0 to 5, the release said.

AI bills HB276, HB273 and SB275 

There were several bills considered dealing with AI and digital privacy 

HB276

 “Enacts provisions related to counterfeit intimate images and digital content provenance standards.”

HB273

“This bill requires the State Board of Education to create model policies on the use of

technology and artificial intelligence in a public school classroom.”

SB275

Creates the State-Endorsed Digital Identity Program. 

The bills will now head to the governor’s desk. For more information about the bills that passed during the 2026 session go to https://le.utah.gov/.