Gov. Spencer Cox signed another 176 bills from the 2023 Legislature into law on Mar. 14, completing roughly half of the measures passed by Utah lawmakers during their recent general session.
SALT LAKE CITY – In a marathon session on Wednesday, Mar. 14, Gov. Spencer Cox signed another 176 bills from the 2023 general session of the Utah Legislature into law.
That makes for a cumulative total of 278 bills enacted since the beginning of the Legislature on Jan. 17, still without a single veto.
In this batch, the governor enacted nine bills crafted by Cache Valley lawmakers – one from Rep. Mike Petersen (R-North Logan), two from Rep. Dan Johnson (R-Logan) and six from Rep. Casey Snider.
Petersen’s House Bill 347 (Ballot Drop Box Amendments) increased the criminal penalty for anyone taking, carrying away, concealing, removing or destroying a ballot drop box or its contents.
House Bill 154 (English Language Learner Amendments) by Johnson requires the State Board of Education to allocate funding to local education agencies for instructional materials and licenses for support of English language learner instruction.
Johnson’s other bill signed into law was House Bill 284 (Public Library Background Check Requirement). That law mandates that all employees of public libraries undergo a criminal background check.
Snider’s legislative efforts produced House Bills 30 (Wildlife Resources Code Recodification); 207 (Compact Commission Amendments); 261 (Fire Related Amendments); 299 (Boating Amendments); 347 (Water Reuse Projects Amendments); and 371 (Working Farm and Ranch Protection Fund).
In addition to clarifying some legal codes, those laws addressed state representation on compact groups, included the Bear River and Columbia Interstate compacts; approval and investigation of water reuse projects impacting the Great Salt Lake; preparation for and prevention of wildfires; funding of water infrastructure projects related to boating; and the management, regulation, conservation and use of natural resources.
With a cumulative total of 278 pieces of legislation now signed into law, Cox has now dealt with about half of the 575 bills approved by the Legislature.
The governor has until Mar. 24 to complete that necessary chore.