Utah Legislature: Governor, other executive officers could be getting raises

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers have less than 48 hours to debate and pass hundreds of bills before the legislative session comes to a close Friday at midnight.

The Senate kicked off the penultimate day of lawmaking by approving a bill that would increase the salaries of the governor and other elected officers in the executive branch, after the original bill sponsor passed the legislation to a colleague to run to avoid a potential conflict of interest.

More than 300 bills have passed as of Thursday morning, and many more will be considered during lengthy floor debate sessions.

This story will be updated throughout the day to bring you the latest from Utah's Capitol Hill.

Thursday, 11:54 am

Lawmakers OK pay raises for governor, other executive officers

The Senate passed a bill that would raise the annual salaries of the governor and other elected officials in the executive branch, but only after the bill's original sponsor offloaded the bill to a colleague to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

SB235 was introduced by Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork. In its original form, it would have raised the attorney general's salary to equal that of the chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court.Lawmakers set the salaries of executive and judicial officers each year. Traditionally, lawmakers set the salary for the governor. Other officers are then given a scaled amount, with the attorney general earning 95% of the governor's salary, and the lieutenant governor, state auditor and state treasurer earning 90%.When it comes to judges, lawmakers set the salary for a district court judge. Judges on the Utah Court of Appeals earn 105% of that and Utah Supreme Court justices earn 110%.For the next fiscal year, lawmakers have set the salary for a district judge at $224,750 and the governor's salary at $197,950.McKell said earlier this year that his bill was meant to bring the attorney general's salary in line with the higher salaries paid to the top jurists in the state.It passed the Senate last month, but members of the House of Representatives opted instead to make the governor's salary equal to the amount paid to the chief justice, while retaining the same pay scale for the rest of the executive branch. That means the governor, lieutenant governor, state auditor and state treasurer would also get a significant pay increase next year.The bill returned to the Senate for approval of the changes, but McKell opted out as the bill sponsor, likely because Gov. Spencer Cox is his brother-in-law."What the House said is, 'We don't really want the attorney general to be paid more than the governor,'" Sen. Brady Brammer, R-Highland, the new sponsor, told the Senate Thursday."They might be related," he added, "and so they dropped off of the bill and I became the new sponsor at that point to avoid any conflicts of interest."The bill passed 26-2 and now goes to Cox's desk. McKell voted in favor.

Utah Legislature: Governor, other executive officers could be getting raises

By Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL | Posted - March 5, 2026 at 12:30 p.m.

Utah lawmakers approved a bill boosting salaries for the governor and other executive officers on the second-to-last day of the legislative session. (Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News)

Lawmakers OK pay raises for governor, other executive officers

Most recent Utah Legislature stories

Related topics

More stories you may be interested in

Utah lawmaker attempts to put 'Word of Wisdom' in state code

U. President Taylor Randall on guest list for Trump-sponsored college sports roundtable

What the IOC says about war in Iran and the Olympic Truce

KSL Weather Forecast

Utah Legislature: Governor, other executive officers could be getting raises

By Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL | Posted - March 5, 2026 at 12:30 p.m.

Utah lawmakers approved a bill boosting salaries for the governor and other executive officers on the second-to-last day of the legislative session. (Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News)

Lawmakers OK pay raises for governor, other executive officers

Most recent Utah Legislature stories

Here are the biggest spending and tax cuts approved by the Utah Legislature this year

Utah lawmaker attempts to put 'Word of Wisdom' in state code

Senate halts bill requiring Utahns to turn in mail-in ballots in person with ID

Related topics

More stories you may be interested in

Utah lawmaker attempts to put 'Word of Wisdom' in state code

U. President Taylor Randall on guest list for Trump-sponsored college sports roundtable

What the IOC says about war in Iran and the Olympic Truce

KSL Weather Forecast