Drinking Water Restructuring Amendments
HB 69 amends Utah's Safe Drinking Water Act to strengthen enforcement for public water systems violating safety standards. It directly affects water systems serving communities (especially those over 10,000 people) that repeatedly fail to comply with safety rules. The bill adds key mechanisms: courts can now appoint receivers to manage corrective actions for serious health risks, and force owners to sell the system if divestiture is needed for long-term compliance. These changes apply to existing violations, not new standards, and require no new funding. The bill passed unanimously in committee and is pending Senate action, with an effective date of May 6, 2026.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Jan 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 20, 2026
Signed Mar 25, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Substitute #1
·
5 edits
MODERATE
The bill was reorganized to amend two different code sections (19-4-106 and 19-4-109) instead of just one, and new language was added requiring the director to report to legislative committees if they pursue legal action that could lead to a water system receiver or divestment. This ensures legislative oversight of severe enforcement actions.
Scope change
The bill now explicitly amends Section 19-4-106 in addition to 19-4-109, expanding the scope of changes to include the director's general authority and duties.
REQUIREMENT
Added a new requirement for the director to report the status of civil actions to legislative committee chairs if those actions could result in a court-appointed receiver or divestment of a public water system.
SCOPE
Changed the bill to amend Section 19-4-106 (Director's authority) in addition to Section 19-4-109 (Violations and Penalties), whereas the original version only amended 19-4-109.
DEFINITION
Modified the definition of 'Receiver' to clarify that the individual is appointed as the court's agent to manage and dispose of receivership property.
TECHNICAL
Corrected a typo in the penalty section where 'A person who' was changed to 'A person who that'.
Adjusted the effective date section to align with the new structure of the bill.
Floor votes · Senate Feb 6, 2026 · House Jan 22, 2026
How they voted
26–0
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 29
Feb 6, 2026
D
Democratic6
83% Yea
N
Forward1
100% Yea
R
Republican22
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
48
Key actions
8
Committee
3
Amendments
2
Mar 25, 2026
Signed into law
Governor Signed
executive
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ concurs with Senate amendment
upper
Feb 6, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ to House with amendments
lower
Feb 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate/ passed 3rd reading
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
upper
Jan 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
upper
Jan 27, 2026
Committee
Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
upper
Jan 23, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
Jan 22, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
upper
Jan 20, 2026
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
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