SB 118 Utah Senate · 2025 General Session

Political Party Procedures Amendments

SB 118 requires public institutions of higher education in Utah to make their meeting facilities available to registered political parties, removing a previous exemption for these buildings. Political parties must request space 30 days in advance (before 5 p.m.) and the cost charged can only cover actual cleaning and requested services. The bill also directs institutions to avoid scheduling conflicts with party meetings on the same evening. It does not apply to convention centers, sports arenas, or other facilities primarily used for events like conferences. The changes take effect May 7, 2025.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Feb 2025
House Passage
Feb 2025
Signed into Law
Mar 2025
Introduced Jan 21, 2025 Signed Mar 19, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 19, 2025
MINOR
This bill clarifies that public institutions of higher education must make their meeting facilities available to political parties on equal terms with other entities, removing a previous exemption. It also adjusts the language regarding facilities that host conventions and sporting events to ensure clarity on which venues are excluded from these requirements.
Scope change
The bill explicitly includes public institutions of higher education in the list of entities required to provide meeting facilities to political parties, whereas prior language may have been interpreted to exempt them.
SCOPE

Clarified that public institutions of higher education are not exempt from providing meeting facilities to registered political parties under the same rules as counties, municipalities, and school districts.

TECHNICAL

Adjusted wording in Subsection (5) to replace 'andor' with '[and] or' and '[such] sporting events' for improved readability and legal precision regarding excluded facilities.

Removed bracketed text '[publicly owned or operated]' in Subsection (5) to finalize the language for the enrolled version of the bill.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Actions timeline

Total actions
33
Key actions
7
Committee
4
Mar 19, 2025
Signed into law
Governor Signed
executive
Feb 20, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling
legislature
Feb 20, 2025
Upper · Passed
House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate
upper
Feb 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
lower
Feb 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
lower
Feb 6, 2025
Committee
House/ to standing committee
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Senate/ passed 3rd reading
lower
Jan 30, 2025
Upper · Passed
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
upper
Jan 23, 2025
Committee
Senate/ to standing committee
upper
Jan 21, 2025
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors