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- Gov. Spencer Cox has signed 248 bills this year, including ones addressing firearms on college campuses and taxes for adult content online.
- Bills address online safety and technology in K-12 classrooms.
- Cox said infrastructure investments will help meet goal of building 35,000 new starter homes.
SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Spencer Cox signed an additional 74 bills on Thursday, including provisions about carrying firearms on college campuses and adding taxes for adult content online, bringing the total number of new laws inked from the recent legislative session to 248.
The governor has until Thursday to take action on the remaining 542 bills passed by lawmakers this year. Cox said he didn't have a list of potential vetoes as the session came to a close, but that could change as his office reviews the hundreds of bills in the weeks allotted for review after the session ended March 6.
Cox has made online safety a focus of his administration in recent years and has lauded the passage of a slate of bills he says will make a difference for kids online. Those include a bell-to-bell phone restriction in schools, requirements for digital skills courses and artificial intelligence in classrooms, and changes to software use in classrooms.
"These bills take a commonsense step to protect our kids and help them develop healthier habits with technology," Cox said in a news release. "By reducing screen time in schools and strengthening digital safety, we're establishing our bell-to-bell cellphone restriction so students can focus, connect and learn. Thank you to the sponsors of these bills for putting Utah's children first."
He also signed a bill to establish a new tax on online content deemed "harmful to minors," including online pornography. The money raised will help address mental health for minors.
The governor acknowledged to reporters Thursday that the state is behind on his goal of building 35,000 starter homes before his second term runs out. But he said he's optimistic that changes adopted by lawmakers will speed up building and streamline state permitting.
HB530, which he signed this week, will also help cities build infrastructure in areas ready for development, he said.
"One of the biggest problems we've had is infrastructure," Cox said during his monthly PBS Utah news conference. "We have places where homes could be built now. They're available, they're papered lots. In fact, we have, by last count, I think, over 190,000 lots that are available to build on today, but they just don't have the infrastructure."
Cox said a new housing director will work with local governments to "prioritize that infrastructure money on where we can get the biggest investment, the biggest bang for our buck."
When it comes to education, the governor recently signed bills creating a pilot grant program for higher education research and creating a retention policy for third graders who are not reading at grade level. That bill also includes investments in early literacy support, something Cox has championed since before the session began in January.
"These investments strengthen Utah's future by supporting both early literacy and higher education research and innovation," Cox said. "From helping more students read at grade level to expanding the Nucleus fund, we're making smart, long-term investments in the next generation."
Here are some other notable bills Cox has given his stamp of approval to:
- HB84 clarifies that open carry of firearms is not allowed on campuses of both public and private universities. Students can still carry concealed weapons, but those between the ages of 18 and 20 must obtain a permit to do so.
- HB174 permanently extends a moratorium on the use of hormones and puberty blockers for gender-related treatments for minors.
- HB366 makes several changes to retention elections for judges, and includes a so-called trigger provision that would implement a controversial proposal for a court to hear constitutional cases in the event that a compromise bill creating random three-judge panels to hear such cases is struck down.
- HB498 tweaks Utah's law, passed last year, that requires age verification to download smartphone apps. The new bill clarifies some definitions and compliance standards. The president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association — which sued over the law earlier this year — said the organization welcomes "recognition of the unconstitutional nature" of the earlier law, but said it still has concerns over First Amendment rights and will continue to challenge it in court.
- SB235 raises the pay for the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state auditor and state treasurer, bringing them in line with annual salaries for top Supreme Court justices.
