SB 235 Utah Senate · 2026 General Session

Governor Compensation Amendments

SB 235 adjusts the governor's salary to match the total annual compensation of Utah's chief justice of the Supreme Court, effective July 1, 2026. This change directly affects the governor's pay and indirectly impacts other constitutional offices (like attorney general, lieutenant governor, and state auditor) since their salaries are set as fixed percentages of the governor's salary. The bill makes technical updates to existing salary formulas in Utah law without appropriating new funds. It does not alter the attorney general's current 95% salary formula but ensures future adjustments align with the chief justice's compensation. The bill requires no new spending and takes effect on the specified date.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Feb 3, 2026 Signed Mar 18, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute #1 → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 18, 2026

MODERATE

This bill establishes a new baseline for the Governor's salary effective July 1, 2026, by tying it directly to the Chief Justice's compensation rather than a fixed amount. It also standardizes the salary percentages for other constitutional officers relative to the Governor's new salary and clarifies that these offices must fund their own additional life insurance premiums from existing budgets.

Scope change

The scope of the salary determination changed from a fixed legislative appropriation to a dynamic calculation based on the Chief Justice's total compensation package.

TIMELINE

The effective date for the new salary structure was set to July 1, 2026.

REQUIREMENT

The Governor's salary is now explicitly defined as the Chief Justice's salary plus their specific additional compensation, replacing any previous fixed amount.

Salary percentages for the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Auditor, and State Treasurer are now calculated based on the Governor's new salary rather than a prior standard.

A new requirement mandates that each constitutional office must pay for the additional state-paid life insurance for its officer using funds from its existing budget.

TECHNICAL

The timestamp metadata from the legislative record was removed during the finalization of the enrolled bill.

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

How they voted

26–2

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 29

Mar 5, 2026

D Democratic6

4 Yea 1 Nay 1

66% Yea

N Forward1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican22

21 Yea 1 Nay

95% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 18, 2026

Signed into law

Governor Signed

executive

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate/ concurs with House amendment

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ return to Rules due to fiscal impact [House Rules Committee]

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ comm rpt/ substituted [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ lifted from standing committee [House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee]

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Recommends Returned to Rules [House Government Operations Committee]

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Not Considered [House Government Operations Committee]

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

House/ to standing committee [House Government Operations Committee]

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate/ passed 3rd reading

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee]

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee]

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Not Considered [Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee]

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee]

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor