SB 222 Utah Senate · 2026 General Session

Right to Try Amendments

SB 222 amends Utah's "Right to Try" law to expand access to investigational drugs. It removes the requirement that patients have a terminal illness, instead allowing individuals with serious conditions that pose significant risks compared to experimental treatments and limited conventional options to qualify. The bill updates definitions to clarify "eligible illness" and expands permissible medicinal dosage forms (e.g., adding transdermal and sublingual options). This change directly affects patients seeking experimental treatments who previously faced eligibility barriers due to non-terminal diagnoses. The law takes effect May 6, 2026, with no new funding required.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 30, 2026 Signed Mar 18, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute #2 Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 18, 2026
MODERATE
This bill updates the 'Right to Try' law by refining definitions for drugs and devices, expanding the list of acceptable medicine forms, and adding a new reporting requirement for manufacturers. It also clarifies the criteria for 'terminal illness' to ensure patients have exhausted conventional options before accessing investigational treatments.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of eligible medicine forms to include concentrated oils, liquid suspensions, transdermal preparations, and sublingual preparations, while tightening eligibility criteria for terminal illness.
DEFINITION

Updated the definition of 'investigational drug' and 'investigational device' to explicitly require successful completion of FDA Phase 1 testing.

Added 'concentrated oil', 'liquid suspension formulation', 'transdermal preparation', and 'sublingual preparation' to the list of acceptable medicinal dosage forms.

ELIGIBILITY

Refined the definition of 'terminal illness' to require that the condition poses a greater risk than the investigational treatment and will inevitably lead to death, or is cancer determined by a board-certified oncologist.

REQUIREMENT

Created a new reporting requirement for manufacturers to submit data on patient numbers, illnesses treated, adverse outcomes, and other relevant information to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee.

TIMELINE

Changed the bill's effective date from May 6, 2026, to May 6, 2026 (no change in date, but the timestamp in the diff indicates a procedural update from 2-23-26 to 3-11-26).

Floor votes · Senate Feb 23, 2026 · House Mar 6, 2026

How they voted

240
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 29
Feb 23, 2026
D Democratic6
6 Yea
100% Yea
N Forward1
1 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican22
17 Yea 5
77% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
49
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Mar 18, 2026
Signed into law
Governor Signed
executive
Mar 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling
upper
Mar 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate
upper
Mar 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
lower
Mar 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ committee report favorable [House Health and Human Services Committee]
lower
Feb 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Health and Human Services Committee]
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Committee
House/ to standing committee [House Health and Human Services Committee]
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
Feb 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate/ passed 3rd reading
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Health and Human Services Committee]
upper
Feb 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Health and Human Services Committee]
upper
Feb 2, 2026
Committee
Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Health and Human Services Committee]
upper
Jan 30, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors