HB 342 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Federal Grant Process Amendments

HB 342 changes Utah's process for accepting federal grants by raising the approval threshold from $1 million to $5 million annually for new requests. It requires state agencies to first get approval from the Executive Appropriations Committee and then the full Legislature for high-dollar grants ($5M+), before submitting to the federal government. The bill also mandates that the Senate and House leaders create legislative oversight committees to monitor approved large grants. These changes apply to executive branch agencies, the judicial branch, and the State Board of Education when seeking federal funds that require no new state employee costs or matching funds. The bill does not appropriate new money but adds review steps to ensure legislative oversight of significant federal funding.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 23, 2026 Signed Mar 18, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 18, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates Utah's federal grant approval process by raising financial and staffing thresholds for executive agencies and creating a new tier for the highest-dollar grants. It requires the Legislature to approve 'ultra high impact' requests over $100 million and establishes a new oversight committee to monitor these large programs. The changes aim to increase legislative oversight of significant federal funding while reducing the administrative burden on smaller grants.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of legislative review to include a new category of 'ultra high impact' federal requests (over $100 million) that previously did not require direct legislative approval, and it adjusts the thresholds for executive branch agencies to cover larger sums and more staff.

THRESHOLDS

The dollar threshold for executive branch agencies to seek Governor approval increased from $1 million to $5 million, and the staffing threshold increased from 11 employees to 11 employees (textual adjustment clarifying the category).

DEFINITION

A new definition for 'ultra high impact federal funds request' was added for grants of $100 million or more per year.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements mandate that 'ultra high impact' requests must be approved by the Legislature and trigger the creation of a dedicated legislative oversight committee.

A new legislative oversight committee structure was created to review programming and funding for approved ultra high impact requests, with specific rules for membership and co-chairs.

TIMELINE

The bill includes a specific provision requiring the oversight committee to be established for any ultra high impact request approved on or after October 1, 2025.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 27, 2026 · House Feb 6, 2026

How they voted

25–0

Passed · 4 other

Total votes 29

Feb 27, 2026

D Democratic6

6 Yea

100% Yea

N Forward1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican22

18 Yea 4

81% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 18, 2026

Signed into law

Governor Signed

executive

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee]

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee]

upper

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee]

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ committee report favorable [House Rules Committee]

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Rules Committee]

lower

Jan 23, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors