HB 376 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Land Management Funding Amendments

HB 376 creates the Utah Forest Restoration Institute at Utah State University to improve forest and watershed health. The institute will conduct research, develop wildfire risk mitigation strategies, and coordinate with the existing Watershed Restoration Initiative to fund projects, including emergency requests after natural disasters. The bill appropriates $3.8 million from the Income Tax Fund for fiscal year 2027 to support these efforts. It requires the institute to monitor project effectiveness, review funding requests, and submit annual reports to legislative committees.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 27, 2026 Signed Mar 25, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Amended 2/3/2026 10:02:756 Substitute #1 · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was revised to reduce the total appropriation from $8.3 million to $1.9 million for fiscal year 2027. The substitute version also removed a separate reporting requirement for the Watershed Restoration Initiative and streamlined the formatting of the text.
Scope change
The scope of funding was significantly reduced, affecting the amount of money available for watershed restoration projects and the institute's operations.
FISCAL

The total appropriation for the Utah Forest Restoration Institute was reduced from $8.3 million ($3.8M + $4.5M) to $1.9 million.

REQUIREMENT

A duplicate annual reporting requirement for the Watershed Restoration Initiative was removed, leaving only the institute's reporting obligation.

TECHNICAL

Formatting and layout changes were made to the bill text, including the removal of specific line numbers and the reorganization of the title page.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 4, 2026 · House Mar 5, 2026

How they voted

270
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 29
Mar 4, 2026
D Democratic6
6 Yea
100% Yea
N Forward1
1 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican22
20 Yea 2
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
52
Key actions
10
Committee
5
Amendments
4
Mar 25, 2026
Signed into law
Governor Signed
executive
Mar 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ concurs with Senate amendment
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (27-0-2)
senate
Mar 4, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ to House with amendments
lower
Feb 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
upper
Feb 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ comm rpt/ amended [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Introduced
House Comm - Amendment Recommendation [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Committee
House/ to standing committee [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
lower
Jan 27, 2026
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors