SJR 2 Utah Senate · 2026 General Session

Joint Resolution Regarding Constitutional Brackets

This resolution removes brackets surrounding section titles in the Utah Constitution, treating it as a technical editing change rather than a substantive amendment. It directs the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to prepare all future constitutional amendment resolutions and published versions of the constitution without these brackets. The bill does not alter constitutional content or affect citizens, as it only addresses formatting in official legal documents.

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Mar 3, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Amended Excerpts 1/20/2026 16:01:736 → Amended 1/20/2026 16:01:736 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was reformatted to include a detailed historical overview of section titles in the Utah Constitution, explaining that brackets were added for convenience rather than legal necessity. The core directive remains unchanged: the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel must remove these brackets from future constitutional amendments and the published constitution starting in the 2027 General Session.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's explanatory text was expanded to provide historical context, but the operational scope regarding the removal of brackets remains the same.

TECHNICAL

Added a detailed history section explaining that section titles and brackets were introduced in 1967 for convenience and have no substantive legal meaning.

Added a specific directive to remove brackets from the table of contents in the published constitution.

Added a new requirement to send copies of the resolution to the Attorney General, Chief Justice, and legal publishers.

Changed the effective date for future amendments from 2027 to 2026 in the draft text, though the final resolution still targets the 2027 session.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 20, 2026 · House Feb 11, 2026

How they voted

25–0

Passed · 4 other

Total votes 29

Jan 20, 2026

D Democratic6

5 Yea 1

83% Yea

N Forward1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican22

19 Yea 3

86% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ committee report favorable [House Rules Committee]

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Rules Committee]

lower

Jan 21, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (25-0-4)

senate

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ floor amendment

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor