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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah may have an over-easy solution to an egg dilemma that scrambled legislators last year.
Members of the Senate Business and Labor Committee voted unanimously in favor of advancing SB222 Wednesday afternoon. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, would extend the deadline for farm owners or operators to have cage-free housing for egg-laying hens from Jan. 1, 2025, to Jan. 1, 2030.
The bill also sets an Oct. 31, 2027, deadline for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food to file a progress report on all cage-free efforts to the Business and Labor Interim Committee.
"We need to delay this implementation date; that's what this does," McKell said, offering a brief explanation as the committee raced to get back on time during a long meeting.
The Utah Legislature passed a measure in 2021 that requires only cage-free methods in egg production by 2025. It was approved as major egg buyers and industry leaders pushed producers to switch to cage-free eggs.
However, issues with the law emerged before this year's legislative session. Utah egg producers said they were pouring millions of dollars into the conversions, but most remained 50% to 75% compliant with the forthcoming law at the time.
Committee members at the time considered several options, including rescinding the law, but an extension offers more time for the producers to implement changes. McKell originally had proposed a 10-year extension in the bill, but he split it in half after consulting with other lawmakers and members of Utah's egg production industry.
An extension may also offer time for the state to review other concerns producers brought to light in August, such as potentially banning the sale of noncage-free eggs once the law goes into effect. That was an item discussed as producers feared that the cost of implementing the law would be passed onto consumers, who would likely pick the cheapest egg option.
Those issues weren't discussed at all on Wednesday. But with the vote, SB222 will go to the Senate for a floor vote. It must clear the Senate and House of Representatives by the end of March 1 before it can go into law.
