These new Utah laws take effect Wednesday

SALT LAKE CITY — New laws are taking effect two months after this year's general legislative session ended.

The laws will impact Utahns' lives on a variety of issues, from health and safety to how much we pay in taxes to housing.

Here's a look at what's changing starting Wednesday.

Health

• Fluoridated water and food dyes: Utah attracted national attention for becoming the first state in the country to ban fluoride from public water systems by passing HB81 despite opposition from the dental industry. That ban goes into effect this week. Last month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised that and other Utah laws he says are leading the way on his Make America Healthy Again agenda. That includes HB402, which bans certain food dyes and additives from being served at school.
• SNAP amendments: Another Make America Healthy Again law that goes into effect on Wednesday is HB403, which prohibits Utahns from using SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps, to buy soda. However, this one isn't so straightforward. Before the ban is implemented, the Utah Department of Workforce Services must first get permission from the federal government. The state has until July 1 to ask for that. Until that's approved, using food stamps to buy soda is fair game.
• Behavioral health & emergency services: Under HB14, some emergency medical service workers will be allowed to provide more care for patients in certain cases. Advocates hope it will help with the nursing shortage. Meanwhile, SB48 gives the state more power to crack down on unlicensed life coaches who provide services that only a therapist can.
• Dog owner liability: Dog owners can no longer be liable if their animal hurts someone who is trespassing on their property, under the terms of SB101.

Business and taxes

• Income tax cut: Taxes are going down – again. For the fifth year in a row, lawmakers cut the income and corporate tax rate. Starting Wednesday, with HB106, that rate will be 4.5%. The cut is estimated to save a typical Utah family about $45 annually.
• Food bank and diaper donations: At the same time, Utahns can now contribute money directly to the Utah Food Bank to fight hunger when they pay their income taxes, thanks to SB151. HB547 also allows taxpayers to give money to a fund to provide diapers for families in need.
• Social Security tax: Fewer seniors in Utah will have to pay the state portion of the Social Security tax. SB71 raises the income limit to claim that credit from $75,000 to $90,000.
• Child actor regulations: In response to the child abuse case involving former family vlogger Ruby Franke, parents must now set aside the money their children make acting or creating content on social media and put it in a trust. Under HB322, there is also a new path for kids to get social media content removed when they become adults.
• App Store and data sharing: As part of Utah's fight against Big Tech, SB142 requires app stores to start verifying whether a user is an adult. Another law impacting social media companies, HB418, allows users of online platforms to take their data with them if they move to another platform. It also allows users to delete personal online data.

Crime and policing

• Crimes against children: The state's laws against child abuse are getting tougher. SB24 creates a new criminal offense for child torture and specifies penalties for that, including mandatory imprisonment. HB358 spells out that sexual activity with a child using virtual reality is illegal. And SB68 adds protections for child welfare workers who could be assaulted or threatened on the job, including better defining those crimes and the penalties for them.
• Ashley's Law: Also known as "Ashley's Law," HB127 will take effect this week. It increases the minimum prison time for someone convicted of raping an incapacitated adult. The law is named after Ashley Vigil, who, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, was repeatedly sexually abused by her stepfather.
• Drug trafficking: It will now be a first-degree felony to produce, distribute or traffic fentanyl in the state. The lawmaker who sponsored HB87 is a police chief who became emotional when describing the problems caused by the powerful synthetic opioid that's used to relieve pain.
• Human trafficking: A law aiming human trafficking, HB405, adds mandatory prison sentences for that crime. It also makes human trafficking for sexual exploitation a first-degree felony. HB38 changes the definition of aggravated sexual extortion to allow the state to go after blackmailers who sexually extort Utahns online. That bill also enhances criminal penalties for recruiting minors to join street gangs.
• Inmate's personal info: County jails are now required to collect biometric and other personal information on those processed into the jail under HB354, even if the county does not retain custody of the individual.
• Immigration: A handful of bills change how Utah's criminal justice system interacts with undocumented immigrants. HB226 increases the penalties for some misdemeanors to 365 days in prison, making it easier for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport migrants, while SB90 institutes mandatory minimum prison sentences for those convicted of criminal reentry into the United States after being deported. HB183 restricts migrants who are seeking political asylum or who have been granted temporary protected status from owning or purchasing firearms.

Transportation, energy and environment

• Nuclear energy: Utah is pushing to go nuclear. HB249, which takes effect Wednesday, is designed to lay the groundwork for bringing nuclear power to the state. It creates the Nuclear Energy Consortium to advise on nuclear development in Utah and recommend appropriate regulations for it, among other things.
• Water conservation: Municipalities in Utah now have to factor in water conservation when setting water rates under HB274.
• Road safety projects: A one-year moratorium on road safety projects in Salt Lake City begins Wednesday, as the Department of Transportation studies the impacts of such projects under SB195.

Elections, transparency and governance

• Utahns: No need for further confusion: Utah residents are officially "Utahns," not "Utahans." Though it's not the most significant bill passed this year, SB230 finally codifies what most locals have known for years.
• Elections: Some big changes are coming to the way Utahns — again, not Utahans — vote. By 2029, voters will need to opt in to receive a mail ballot and must return that ballot with the last four digits of their state identification number, thanks to HB300. HB27 allows county clerks to adjust voter precinct boundaries to match the boundaries of expanding or contracting cities. Elected officials are now barred from sending mailers using public funds in the months before an election under HB551. And you can thank Lucifer "Justin Case" Everylove for SB54, which limits what names candidates can put on the ballot.
• Records' requests: With SB277, Lawmakers are replacing the State Records Committee with a single administrative judge who will rule on disputes over public records. However, funding for the new position isn't even available until July 1, resulting in a further backlog of public records appeals. HB69 raises the bar for citizens to recoup attorneys' fees if they win cases over denied public records, likely making them more expensive to attain. Destroying a record that is subject to a pending record request will be a crime under SB163.

Social issues and education

• Flag ban: One of the most closely watched bills of the recent session, HB77, takes effect Wednesday, barring pride and "Make America Great Again" flags from being flown in public school classrooms or at government buildings.
• Gender: Inmates won't be able to initiate gender-related surgeries or hormone treatment while in prison. HB252 also requires inmates to be housed in facilities matching their biological sex. It also prohibits staff in juvenile detention centers from engaging in sexual relationships with inmates in custody up to the age of 25.
• Hands-on education: Aiming to get more high school students into career and technical education programs, HB447 will support "catalyst centers" across the state. The new law championed by Utah's House speaker allocates $65 million to create or expand those centers in the next fiscal year, with an ongoing cost of $150,000 to manage the program.

Housing and homelessness

• Human First: Lawmakers seem to address homelessness each session, and this year was no different. A comprehensive law, HB329, takes a "human first" approach, requiring programs to help homeless individuals transition, and adds safety requirements for homeless shelters.
• SB78 creates an ombudsman in the Office of Homeless Services to investigate complaints against homeless service providers on behalf of people experiencing homelessness.
• Unsanctioned camping on state land — including in Salt Lake City and other municipalities — will now be a class C misdemeanor under HB505.
• Counties will be required to provide first responders with a list of addiction treatment and mental health providers, per HB199, which also encourages first responders who reverse an overdose to refer individuals to those services immediately. The law aims to lessen the impact of the opioid crisis on homeless individuals.
• Evictions: Judges are no longer able to give tenants extra time to move out after they are given an eviction order. HB480 requires that judges give tenants three days to clear the premises, unless both the landlord and tenant agree otherwise.
• Some new affordable homes will not be required to have a garage, thanks to SB181, which eases some parking restrictions for deed-restricted owner-occupied dwellings.

Related topics