HB 546 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Public Lands Duty of Care Amendments

HB 546 clarifies Utah's jurisdiction over approximately 35 million acres (96% of federal lands in Utah) where the federal government holds only a "proprietary interest" (owning land but not governing it). The bill requires the state’s Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office to map landscape-scale lands, identify areas needing management attention in forested zones, and report annually to the Federalism Commission. It asserts that Utah never ceded legislative authority over these lands and mandates state agencies to presume jurisdiction unless the federal government proves otherwise through constitutional enumeration. The bill makes technical changes to Utah Code sections governing state sovereignty and federal land management without appropriating new funds.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Feb 11, 2026 Signed Mar 25, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Amended Excerpts 2/27/2026 09:02:256 → Amended 2/27/2026 09:02:256 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was reorganized to formally define the state's sovereignty over federal lands, specifically asserting that the state retains legislative jurisdiction over approximately 35 million acres of federal land in Utah. It establishes a presumption that all federal lands are treated as 'proprietary interest lands' unless the federal government proves otherwise, thereby expanding state authority over natural resources, water, and zoning on these properties. The text also updates the list of affected Utah Code sections to reflect the new statutory language.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to explicitly include a presumption of state jurisdiction over all federally controlled lands in Utah, shifting the burden of proof to the federal government to demonstrate exclusive jurisdiction.

DEFINITION

New definitions were added for 'Federal proprietary interest lands' and 'State entity' to clarify which federal lands are subject to state laws.

REQUIREMENT

The bill mandates a legal presumption that all federally controlled lands are subject to state police powers unless the federal government provides specific proof of exclusive jurisdiction.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was updated to include a 'Long Title' and 'Enacts' section, and the list of affected Utah Code sections was revised to include new sections 63L-11-501 through 63L-11-503.

Floor votes · House Feb 27, 2026

How they voted

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

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 25, 2026

Signed into law

Governor Signed

executive

Mar 5, 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 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

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

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Committee

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

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Introduced

House/ floor amendment

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ committee report favorable [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]

lower

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

House/ to standing committee [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor