SB 20 Utah Senate · 2026 General Session

Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Technical Changes

SB 20 makes technical corrections to Utah's natural resources, agriculture, and environment laws by removing outdated or obsolete provisions. It repeals expired authorizations, outdated reports, redundant deadlines, and incorrect language across numerous statutes, including provisions about water accounts, mercury switches, and carbon capture studies. The bill also updates submission deadlines for reports to legislative committees (by October 1) and corrects typographical errors without creating new requirements or costs. It directly affects the administrative framework of existing laws but does not change policy, funding, or impact specific individuals or organizations. This is a procedural cleanup bill with no new policy changes.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Jan 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Signed Mar 26, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 6 edits · Mar 26, 2026

MODERATE

This bill primarily performs technical cleanup on Utah's natural resources and agriculture statutes by repealing obsolete sections, correcting typos, and updating sunset dates. It also makes specific substantive changes, including extending a deadline for a water conveyance management plan study from 2013 to 2025, clarifying the process for counties to support federal land use designations, and adjusting Great Salt Lake mineral lease terms to prioritize non-evaporative extraction methods.

Scope change

The bill narrows the scope of several statutes by repealing outdated provisions and removing obsolete deadlines, while expanding the scope of the water conveyance management plan requirement by extending the compliance timeline.

TIMELINE

Extended the deadline for a study on water conveyance facility management plans from October 30, 2013, to August 31, 2025, to allow more time for facilities to prepare.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for the Office of the Governor to evaluate and report on county-supported proposals for federal land use designations before the Legislature can recommend them to Congress.

Repealed various outdated statutory sections related to obsolete programs, expired deadlines, and completed studies to clean up the code.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified Great Salt Lake mineral lease rules to prioritize applicants who do not use evaporative concentration methods and to require operators to demonstrate commercial viability and non-negative impacts on the lake's biota.

TECHNICAL

Corrected numerous typographical errors and formatting inconsistencies throughout the Utah Code sections affected by this bill.

DEFINITION

Clarified definitions regarding the Recreation and Public Purposes Act to better align with federal land disposal laws.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 20, 2026 · House Feb 4, 2026

How they voted

28–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 29

Jan 20, 2026

D Democratic6

6 Yea

100% Yea

N Forward1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican22

21 Yea 1

95% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 26, 2026

Signed into law

Governor Signed

executive

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

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

lower

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

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

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (28-0-1)

senate

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor