Crime, banning cellphones, tax cuts: What to expect in the second half of Utah’s legislative session

A little more than halfway through the 2025 legislative session, Utah’s elected representatives were starting to look a little haggard on the Friday before Presidents Day weekend as they split their attention between surprise controversies, political hot topics and planning for the long term for the Beehive State.

Before the 45-day session began on Jan. 21, nobody would have guessed that the first three weeks would be dominated by a public unions bill that flooded news coverage and filled the Capitol rotunda with angry school teachers, police officers and firefighters.

As expected, House Republicans have moved forward with conservative priorities related to immigration and elections, throwing out dozens of proposals to heighten criminal penalties and reform mail-in voting to see what policies stick among 75 House members and 29 senators.

But below the hum of these headline-grabbing actions, lawmakers have been plugging away on bills, often years in the making, that would pave the way for big changes to how the state addresses homelessness, higher education and energy as Utah prepares to welcome the world for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games.

Here are the biggest stories of the 2025 legislative session that you will want to follow as the Legislature works right up until midnight on March 7.

Early spotlight on unions

There is only one thing that could have made Utah Republican leadership align themselves with Franklin D. Roosevelt: a bill banning collective bargaining for public sector unions.

House and Senate majority leaders praised the Democratic icon, who said collective bargaining “cannot be transplanted into the public service,” in their defense of HB267, which prohibits a public sector union from negotiating contracts for a whole group of employees in Utah.

Lawmakers teased a compromise bill before passing the original version when a consensus failed to materialize, leading several hundred union members to descend on the Capitol to call on Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to issue his first veto of the session.

On Friday, the bill became one of the first dozen bills Cox signed into law. But his lukewarm statement in reaction to the bill, and hints of a potential alternative proposal, suggest that this issue might not be settled yet.

Bills to watch:

• HB267 “Public Sector Labor Union Amendments” (Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan)
• A proposed substitute to HB267 might still be in the works.

Election security smorgasbord

GOP lawmakers, mostly in the House, have introduced a slate of bills in response to concerns that arose in the 2024 election cycle and a pair of audits focused on signature verification, voter roll clean up and ballot chain of custody.

The bills range from overhauling ballot return, election oversight and voter roll maintenance, to measures targeting voter information transparency, primary election runoffs and deadlines for county clerks.

Bills to watch:

• HB300 “Amendments to Election Law” (Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem)
• HB332 “Voter Registration Data Amendments” (Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield)
• HB231 “Primary Election Amendments” (Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan)

Taking a hard look at crime and public safety

After four years of a porous U.S. border, and amid rising levels of chronic homelessness in Utah, lawmakers are looking to law enforcement for solutions.

GOP legislators are running a package of bills to increase sentences for fentanyl distribution, human trafficking, identity theft, unlicensed driving and violent misdemeanors as part of a broader effort to remove state obstacles to criminal deportations.

Lawmakers are also looking to change the state’s response to homelessness by forcing municipalities to enforce anti-camping ordinances and requiring shelters to be drug-free, while also linking state resources and first responders to help people on the streets get on the path to recovery.

Bills to watch:

• HB226 “Criminal Amendments” (Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton)
• HB392 “Unlicensed Driver Amendments” (Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City)
• HB199 “Substance Use Treatment and Enforcement Amendments” (Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo)
• HB329 “Homeless Services Amendments“ (Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo)

Changes are coming to higher education in Utah

As usual, lawmakers are prioritizing reforms to public education. But this year, there is a special focus on the state’s 16 institutions of higher education.