HCR 15 Utah House · 2025 General Session

Concurrent Resolution Regarding Religious Freedom

HCR 15 is a symbolic resolution (not a law) passed by Utah's legislature expressing support for religious freedom in public spaces. It encourages public school students and teachers to openly express their faith, supports religious symbols in public areas, and promotes accommodating religious observances in government and community settings. The resolution also calls for fostering respectful dialogue among different faiths, citing historical and legal precedents like the First Amendment and recent Supreme Court rulings. It has no funding or binding requirements and directs copies to local school boards and government bodies for awareness. This resolution does not change existing laws or create new obligations.
Bill status passed 3 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Governor
Introduced Feb 24, 2025 Last action Mar 8, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Substitute #1 · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was reformatted and expanded with additional historical references and a new requirement to distribute copies to local government bodies. The core policy content remains the same, but the document now includes George Washington's 1796 farewell address and adds a directive to send the resolution to county, municipal, and school board officials.
Scope change
The scope of the resolution's distribution was expanded to include county legislative bodies, municipal legislative bodies, and local school boards, which were not mentioned in the original version.
REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement that copies of the resolution be sent to each county legislative body, municipal legislative body, and local school board within the state.

TECHNICAL

Replaced the George Washington 1790 Newport letter reference with a 1796 farewell address quote about religion and morality being indispensable to political prosperity.

Changed formatting from a single-line header to a multi-line title block with sponsor information centered on the page.

Replaced bullet points with checkmark symbols (▸) for the highlighted provisions list.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
20
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Mar 4, 2025
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
Mar 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
upper
Feb 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
lower
Feb 26, 2025
Committee
House/ to standing committee
lower
Feb 24, 2025
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors