Utah News

The atmosphere within NBA arenas is often intense, with home fans playing a significant role in energizing their team while engaging in verbal exchanges with opposing players. Although passionate fandom is widely accepted, it must remain distinct from disrespectful conduct.

That is where the Utah Jazz fanbase has faced criticism due to incidents involving racial slurs, creating a lasting perception across the league. Nevertheless, Deron Williams has argued that such a reputation does not accurately reflect the character of the majority of the Jazz fanbase.

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Williams defends the Jazz fans

Despite not having an NBA championship even now, the Jazz have cultivated a reputation for having one of the league’s most energetic fanbases. The atmosphere inside the Delta Center has historically remained vibrant and intimidating, irrespective of the team’s performance. At times, however, this heightened passion has led to unfortunate incidents that overshadow all the positive aspects.

A prominent example of this occurred in March 2019 when Russell Westbrook, at the time representing the OKC Thunder, was involved in a confrontation with a fan named Shane Kiesel, who allegedly used a racial remark toward him. Unsurprisingly, the incident was met with heavy criticism, signaling how vile the Jazz fans could be with their words.

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A similar controversy involving Westbrook occurred during the first round series in the 2018 playoffs, when another aggressive fan was captured on video directing a racially insensitive remark towards the former MVP. The intensity and criticism that it followed were so intense and triggering that the Jazz organization imposed a lifetime ban on the individual, almost instantly.

But when D-Will, who spent the first six years of his NBA career in Utah, addressed such speculations, he revealed that his interactions with fans have always been overwhelmingly positive. Although he acknowledged that some incidents can be isolated affairs, the overall environment inside the arena has always been supportive, especially since he had never encountered any racial issues himself.

“Fans are amazing. Everybody talks bout how racist they are tough. It’s crazy because It’s never been anything directed towards me, so I never heard it,” Williams said. “I never experienced it walking down the street, so it baffles me when people say it. Obviously, there’s racism everywhere, let’s be honest.”

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D-Will wasn’t throwing Jazz fans under the bus

Nevertheless, multiple former players have publicly discussed uncomfortable experiences during games in Utah, contributing to a broader perception that has persisted throughout the league. For D-Will, though, his connection to the franchise and the support he received from the community make him hesitant to condemn the fans outright.

Perhaps that is why he chose to defend them, emphasizing that a passionate fan culture should not automatically be equated with racism.

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Utah has undoubtedly developed a reputation as one of the more challenging road environments in the league, perhaps even to this day – both for its intensity and, at times, for the controversies that have accompanied it.

Related: Cavaliers sharpshooter shares a shocking story of getting mugged in the middle of Nicaragua: “There was blood everywhere”

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – On Thursday, the Utah Valley clinched at least a share of its second straight WAC title. But on Saturday, the Wolverines won it outright.

Sherman Weatherspoon IV scored a career-high 27 points, while Jackson Holcombe added 23 and Trevan Leonhardt chipped in 21 to lead Utah Valley to a 104-101 double overtime road win at Utah Tech on Saturday night at Burns Arena.

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Utah Valley improves to 24-7 overall and finishes alone atop the WAC standings with a 14-4 mark. The Wolverines have won six straight heading into next week’s WAC Tournament.

The championship marks the second straight outright WAC regular-season title for Utah Valley and the first time in program history the Wolverines have won back-to-back conference championships.

Utah Valley wins second straight WAC title

“Just so proud of our guys,” said Utah Valley head coach Todd Phillips. “They hung in there, hung in there, hung in there and got the win tonight. It felt like four games out there. It was a back-and-forth title fight between two really good teams and we just kept throwing haymakers at each other.”

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Weatherspoon IV knocked down a pair of early threes as Utah Valley jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening minutes. Utah Tech answered with a run to tie the game at 17-17 before the two teams battled through multiple lead changes over the remainder of the half. Utah Valley closed the opening period on a 7-3 run, capped by a Weatherspoon IV three with three seconds remaining, to take a 40-36 lead into the locker room.

Weatherspoon IV picked up right where he left off to start the second half, knocking down another three-pointer before Holcombe added a basket to push the lead to nine, 45-36.

Utah Valley extended its lead midway through the second half when Holcombe scored on back-to-back possessions to spark a 16-4 run. The surge was capped by free throws from Isaac Hawkins and back-to-back threes from Weatherspoon IV and Tyler Weaver to give the Wolverines a 61-46 lead with 11:51 to play.

Utah Tech chipped away late, cutting the deficit to four points in the final minute before tying the game at 81-81 on a three-point play by Ethan Potter with eight seconds remaining. Leonhardt’s three-point attempt at the buzzer came up short, sending the game to overtime.

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Utah Tech opened overtime on a 4-0 run before Utah Valley answered with threes from Weaver and Leonhardt to tie the game at 87-87 with three minutes remaining. Leonhardt later drilled another three to give the Wolverines a 90-87 lead, but the Trailblazers answered with free throws to tie the game again at 92-92 and force a second overtime.

In the second extra period, Tyler Medaris, who had checked in after Hayden Welling fouled out, sparked Utah Valley with a layup to start a 6-0 run that gave the Wolverines a 99-92 lead with 2:50 to play.

“Tyler Medaris was huge,” Phillips said. “He’s a worker and brings it every day in practice. When we called his name tonight late in the game, he stepped up and was big for us.”

Utah Tech closed to within one point in the final seconds, but Weaver knocked down two free throws with two seconds left to seal the 104-101 victory as the Trailblazers missed a potential tying three at the buzzer.

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Weatherspoon IV, whose previous career high was 13 points, finished with 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a career-best 6-of-7 from three-point range.

“Sherm was big-time tonight,” Phillips said. “He really shoots it well in practice and the rim got big for him tonight. We needed every one of those threes.”

Holcombe scored 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting and went 7-of-10 from the free throw line. He narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds and added seven assists and two steals.

Leonhardt finished with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting and hit a career-high five three-pointers. He also dished out nine assists with three rebounds, two steals, and a block.

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Weaver added a career-high 10 points off the bench, while Hawkins chipped in nine.

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Utah Valley shot 50 percent (36-of-72) from the field and 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from three-point range. Utah Tech shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) overall and 30 percent (9-of-30) from long distance.

Both teams finished with 41 rebounds, while Utah Valley held a 44-34 edge in points in the paint.

The game marked Utah Valley’s first overtime contest of the season.

Utah Valley now prepares for next week’s WAC Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The Wolverines will take the No. 1 seed into the tournament and have a bye directly into Friday night’s semifinal against the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal game between Southern Utah and UT-Arlington.

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Several Italy 2026 medalists from Utah spoke with the community and future generations of athletes on Saturday as part of The Watch Party’s welcome home, Para Sport showcase kick-off.

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After welcoming the athletes, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall spoke on Utah’s connection to the games.

“Utah loves the games. It’s in our cultural identity. It’s in our hearts, and so when we get to meet athletes, meet these Olympians, and cheer on our Paralympians in the next ten days, it lights us up inside,” Mendenhall said.

One such competitor, gold medalist Hilary Knight of the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey team, reflected on her career and said that the national team’s ethos is about being part of something bigger than yourself.

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“It’s so incredible to be able to share that journey and that experience with our respective communities, to come back to Utah to be celebrated in such fashion,” she expressed. “It’s just so incredible, and I’m looking forward to the next generation of young hockey players and young Olympians, and the future couldn’t be brighter.”

Chris Lillies, who won a second consecutive gold medal in freestyle skiing, said that he had a lot of expectations placed on him to go back-to-back in 2026.

“I’m just happy we got it done. We got great teammates that helped me get there. I’ve got a great coaching staff, the U.S. Ski Team, and a whole Utah community that supported our team, and there’s a reason we had such success,” he said.

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The showcase also resumed the Italy 2026 watch party for the Paralympic Games, which lasts from March 6 to 17. Decorated Paralympian Nancy Gustafson addressed how adapted programs offer para athletes the chance to represent their country in a team atmosphere.

“I had an accident when I was 20 years old that left my arm paralyzed, so that dream kind of went by the wayside, and so for me, the Paralympics was a second chance,” she said.

One young aspiring athlete said that he learned a lot talking to Team USA. “It helped inspire me for if I could go to the Olympics. It was really fun and made me go like ‘oh, dang! I’m talking with like, Olympic people!”

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LOGAN, Utah (ABC4) — Utah State men’s basketball clinched an outright Mountain West regular season title on Saturday beating New Mexico 94-90.

With the win, the Aggies earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.

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This is Utah State’s third all-time Mountain West championship, and its second outright title since joining the league in 2013. The Aggies had secured at least a share of the title prior to the game, but were able to prevent the second-place Lobos from claiming a share with the victory.

This is the second time USU has won the MW title outright, joining the 2024 squad as the only Aggie teams to do so.

The Aggies conclude the 2025-26 regular season 25-6 overall and 15-5 in conference play. This is the 12th 25-win season in program history, and the first time the team has ever won 25-plus in four-straight seasons.

The senior class showed up in a big way on senior night, combining for 62 of Utah State’s 94 points in the contest. In his final game in the Spectrum, senior guard MJ Collins Jr. led the way as he went for 27 points with a season-best six rebounds, an assist and a steal. This was the second-best scoring performance of the season for Collins Jr.

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“It means a lot. Not too many people are able to say that they won anything, especially not in college. With this group of guys, coaching staff, I’m fortunate to say that I’m a champion. That’s something that nobody will ever forget, and it’s what we live for. This was our goal coming in on June 1st, when we first figured out who everybody was and were seeing each other for the first time, so it’s just an unbelievable achievement to be able to carry it out from June 1st up until today,” said Collins.

Other seniors honored following the game included guards Drake Allen and Kolby King, and forwards Zach Keller and Garry Clark. Allen going for 14 points, Keller for eight, King finishing with seven and Clark going for six.

The Aggies led from nearly start-to-finish in the victory, leading for over 38 minutes while trailing for less than one. Despite holding the lead most of the way, New Mexico was on the Aggies heels throughout thanks in large part to a 32-point performance from Jake Hall.

“First of all, that’s an NCAA tournament team if I’ve seen one. I really think Coach Olen is one of the best in the country. I think Jake Hall, as we all saw tonight, how good of a player he really is, just a tremendous shooter. I haven’t seen anything like it from a freshman in a long time. There’s a reason he set the record,” said Utah state head coach Jerrod Calhoun. “I thought our guys were just resilient, and I thought we got great efforts from a lot of guys. Obviously, MJ carried us in the second half. We shared the ball, made timely plays, and it was just a great college basketball game.”

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Utah State set the tone early with 10 makes in its first 15 shots, opening up a double-digit advantage six minutes in at 17-7. The Aggies remained decisively in front through the rest of the half, until a 7-0 New Mexico run to close the half gave the Lobos their first and only lead of the contest, going into the locker room up 43-42.

The second half started the same as the first, the Aggies pouncing to quickly regain control. USU opened the final 20 minutes with a 12-2 run out of the gates, sparked by back-to-back triples from Collins Jr.

The Aggies will now hit the road for Las Vegas for the Mountain West tournament taking place next week from March 11-14th. The Aggies will be the No. 1-seed and will play their first game at 1 p.m.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The regular season has come to an end for the Lobo men’s basketball team. UNM fell 90-94 to Utah State on Saturday. With the loss, the Lobos will be the 3 seed in the Mountain West tournament.

“I thought we did a nice job for a lot of the season to put us in that situation and felt like we fought and gave a great effort tonight, but just came up short,” said UNM head coach Eric Olen. “We would have liked to have made a few more plays and those guys are disappointed, but it is what it is.”

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Jake Hall continued his stellar freshman campaign by setting a new UNM freshman single-game record with 32 points. Including his total against USU, Hall finished the season with 506 points, which is a new record by a freshman in UNM history. He also set the conference-season scoring record by a freshman.

Tomislav Buljan also finished the regular season with notable accolades. With a double-double against USU, he finished conference play with 10 double-doubles. That mark tied SDSU’s Kahwi Leonard for the most by a freshman in MW history. He also had a nation-leading 14th game this season with at least five offensive rebounds.

The Lobos now head to the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas. With a first-round bye, UNM will play in the quarterfinal round on Thursday night.

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There have been some terrible starts for Utah during a difficult season as first-year coach Alex Jensen tries to turn around his alma mater.

The talent level wasn’t what the Runnin’ Utes needed to compete in the Big 12 Conference after a roster overhaul, and it has led to the team finding itself consistently fighting from behind this season.

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The Utes hit their lowest of lows on Saturday, though, in their regular-season finale, a 101-76 loss at Baylor.

Utah’s defensive effort — or lack thereof — and another porous effort in protecting the ball culminated in the Utes’ most lopsided loss of the year at Foster Pavilion in Waco, Texas.

“I’m fine with losing. Just the effort was frustrating and not what — they owe it to themselves and I think the university,” Jensen said in a postgame interview on ESPN 700 AM.

“… I think the first five minutes we replicated the same mistakes that we’ve had for the last two two weeks or so, unforced turnovers, and it’s hard to win or get better when you make the same mistakes over and over again.”

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Baylor’s offense met little resistance out of the gate, as the Bears made 21 of their first 25 shots and went on runs of 10-0, 12-0 and 10-0 again to go up 51-25 before taking a 20-point lead into the break.

The Utes (10-21, 2-16 Big 12), meanwhile, were careless with the basketball, giving up 10 first-half turnovers that led to 22 Baylor points, helping the Bears go into halftime up 53-33.

“We’ve talked about it all year long, don’t jump the pass, don’t get sped up,” Jensen said. “They had 22 points off our turnovers at halftime.

“Our margin for error’s small, and it’s hard to be in a game, let alone win a game, giving up 22 points off turnovers in a half.”

When Utah gave up more than 50 points to Colorado during the first half of its home finale earlier this week, the Utes at least put together a second-half rally to make things interesting before falling by 14.

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That didn’t happen in Waco, though.

Utah could only pull as close as 17 in the early moments of the second half before Baylor (16-15, 6-12 Big 12) simply had its way and led by as many as 30 points before easing into the victory.

The Bears dominated in most statistical categories — they outscored Utah 58-42 in paint points and also had sizable advantages in total rebounds (26-19), offensive rebounds (12-6), second-chance points (15-10), bench points (30-14), steals (10-3) and assists (22-15).

“It’s hard,” Jensen said. “We try to pressure the pick and roll because we’re not great at guarding the ball one-on-one. That leaves us exposed underneath, and again, winning or losing, I’m just disappointed how we lost because I think we could have had a little more fight in us.”

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The Utes ended up shooting only one percentage point lower than Baylor — at 60.4% to 61.5% — though that’s misleading, as it was greatly impacted by Utah shooting 65.4% in the second half when the game was out of reach.

It was only the ninth loss for Utah since 1996-97 when the Utes have shot 55% or better, per men’s basketball sports information director John Vu.

Turnovers, especially, stood out for a Utah team that has proven to be lackadaisical with the ball. The Utes ended up with 16 turnovers, and Baylor turned those into 31 points.

Utah only forced three Bears turnovers and converted those into five points. That one statistic accounted for the 26-point margin of loss for the Utes.

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Utah didn’t have an answer for Baylor freshman guard Tounde Yessoufou, who finished with 26 points on 10 of 16 shooting. He also had five rebounds, four assists and a career high tying six steals.

Bears guard Cameron Carr also had a standout day, as Baylor had four players in double figures. Carr ended up with 21 points on an efficient 9 of 13 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.

All five players in Baylor’s starting lineup ended up with at least three assists, led by Caden Powell with five.

The Bears ended up scoring an average of 1.656 points per possession, and that only went down slightly in the second half after averaging 1.767 points per possession in the first 20 minutes.

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Don McHenry led the Utes with 20 points, four rebounds and two assists, and Terrence Brown (16 points, five assists) and Keanu Dawes (14 points) also finished in double-figures, though Brown and Dawes added most of their points in the second half when it was a blowout.

If there’s a silver lining for the Utes, it’s that the season is nearly over.

Utah will be the No. 16 seed in next week’s Big 12 tournament, and if the effort the team has put on the floor recently shows up again, it should be a quick exit. The Utes play No. 9 seed Cincinnati on Tuesday (1 p.m. MST, ESPN+) in the tournament’s first round.

“I truly mean it, it’s another opportunity and challenge. You only get so many. It’s hard to realize when you’re in the middle of it, but like there’s only so many games you have every year and in your career,” Jensen said of facing a Cincinnati team next week that the Utes led by five with under two minutes to play in their first matchup this year before falling 69-65.

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“Cincinnati, I’m kind of glad for that matchup because that was a game I think we could have won at the end. You know, challenge our guys. We’ll find out what they’re made of and if they take that challenge or just kind of have a little pride and come out and fight.”

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — As the 2026 general session of the Utah legislature comes to a close, here are the six biggest changes coming that you should know about.

This session, the legislature introduced 606 bills to the house and 330 bills to the senate, with 85 resolutions in both houses. As of the last day of the session, they’ve passed more than 500 of those bills.

After the session ends, the governor has 20 days to sign or veto all the bills that have been passed. Gov. Spencer Cox has indicated that he is not planning on vetoing many, if any, bills.

1. Bell-to-bell phone ban

One cause that Gov. Cox championed throughout this session was a so-called “bell-to-bell” cell phone ban in schools. This bill bans the use of cellphones, smart watches, or other “emerging technology” at a school during school hours.

S.B. 69 makes changes to a bill that was passed in 2025, which originally banned cell phone and other electronic device use during instructional time. This bill expands the ban, making it so that phones cannot be used during school hours.

Educators speak on Utah ‘bell-to-bell’ cell phone ban bill

School hours are defined in the bill as from the beginning of the school day until the end of the school day, including all instructional time, lunch periods, recess, and transition time between classes.

There are some exceptions, namely: if there is a threat to the health or safety of an individual, or if there is a school-wide emergency, for their IEP accommodation plan, for a medical need, or to use the SafeUT Crisis Line.

The bill passed the Senate and then the House, and Cox is expected to sign it into law. When he does, the bill will go into effect on July 1, 2026, so in time for the 2026-2027 school year.

2. Gas tax cut

Another big priority for House majority leaders was to lower the price Utahns pay at the pump by lowering the state gas on tax. Originally, lawmakers said that they would pay for the cut by taxing refineries instead, but when it was introduced, there was no refinery tax in it.

Instead, it pays for that tax cut with nearly $12 million from the state’s general fund.

H.B. 575 lowers the state gas tax from July 1, 2026 to December 1, 2026, and during that time, the tax will be a flat rate of 31.9 cents per gallon. Currently, gas is taxed at a rate of 14.2% of the statewide average price of a gallon of gas, and this bill would lower the price you pay by about 6 cents per gallon.

Proposal to lower gas tax will use state funding rather than taxing refineries, exports

The bill also makes some changes to the permitting process for pipeline infrastructure and requires refineries to report to the Office of Energy Development on production, putting pressure on refineries to bring more supply to the state.

3. Including prop betting as gambling

Another issue that Cox made a priority was sports betting and prediction markets like Kalshi. Cox has previously said that these sorts of platforms have “no place in Utah,” and that they are gambling, “pure and simple.”

H.B. 243 includes proposition betting under Utah’s definition of gambling, and gambling is illegal in the state, written in the Constitution. It defines a proposition bet as “a gambling bet on an individual action, statistic, occurrence, or non-occurrence.”

It passed the House and the Senate, and if Cox signs it, it will go into effect on May 6, 2026. If it is signed, it may be challenged by prediction market platforms like Kalshi, which has already filed a lawsuit against Gov. Cox over anticipated regulations.

Kalshi sues Utah officials over comments made, anticipated regulation of prediction markets

4. Ongoing funding for homelessness services

The state budget recommendations from the Executive Appropriations Committee includes about $12 million in ongoing funding to address homelessness. In addition to the state funding, cities are required to match dollar-for-dollar what the state spends.

That ongoing funding will go to emergency shelter and housing for homeless people, a program for “high utilizers in the criminal justice system,” and mental and behavioral health. Additional ongoing funding will go to phase II investments in the state’s plan to address homelessness. The budget also includes one-time funding for a variety of homelessness services.

Cox cited securing this ongoing funding as one of the highlights of the legislative session for him. While the state did not fund a centralized homeless campus this year, Cox said he is hopeful that it will pass next year, if there is still a need for it.

This budget will pass, because it is unconstitutional for the state not to pass a budget each year.

5. Ban on transgender healthcare for minors

After preventing minors from beginning cross-sex hormones (hormone replacement therapy) or puberty blockers last year, (allowing minors who were already receiving that care to continue to receive it), the legislature has passed a full ban on cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers for minors.

However, there are some exceptions. H.B. 174 prevents health care providers from providing “hormonal transgender treatment” to a patient who is a minor and was not diagnosed with gender dysphoria before January 28, 2023. This goes into effect on May 6, 2026.

Bills affecting transgender healthcare pass Utah House

Additionally, beginning on January 28, 2027, a health care provider cannot provide transgender hormone treatments to minors if the patient was younger than 16 on the effective date of the bill and has not received cross-sex hormones prior to the effective date of the bill.

Health care providers can also provide hormonal transgender treatment to a minor for the purpose of stopping that treatment before January 28, 2027 can provide that treatment.

Other transgender related bills, including one that would prevent state money from covering transgender procedures and one that would change the word “gender” to “sex” in Utah state code, did not pass this session.

6. Court reform

Court reform has been another major priority for Republican legislators this session. They quickly passed a bill to expand the Utah Supreme Court from five justices to seven in the second week of the session, and Cox signed it into law almost immediately. S.B. 134 also expanded the court of appeals from seven to nine judges, and it also added judges on the district court level.

Another bill that was passed and has already been signed into law is one that created a three-judge panel for cases where the defendant is a state agency or a state official, H.B. 392 and its companion rule change H.J.R. 5. This would move some of the state’s highest profile cases, like the redistricting case or the abortion ban case, out of the district where they were filed.

New ‘Constitutional Court’ trigger law proposed in response to three-judge panel challenges at Utah Supreme Court

This law has already seen pushback, with plaintiffs in the redistricting and abortion case filing another lawsuit to stop the law from going into effect. Because the law only allows the state to make the motion to move the case to the panel, the plaintiffs are arguing that it makes the state into a “super litigant.” They’re also arguing that the law is unconstitutional, claiming that the Utah Constitution requires the district court to have only a single judge.

In response, changes to the law that would revert the panel to a “constitutional court” if it is found unconstitutional were introduced to substitute version of H.B. 366, and that substitute version was passed by the House and Senate, and it’s waiting to be signed by the governor.

The Constitutional Court differs from a three-judge panel in that it creates an entirely new court consisting of judges who would apply to sit on it and be assigned by a nominating commission, as opposed to the panel, which is a group of district-level judges randomly assigned by the Judicial Council. It’s similar in that the Constitutional Court would still hear civil cases challenged on their constitutionality that are moved from their district court judges.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.

The Utah legislative branch took on the state’s court system this legislative session as high-profile legal battles over redistricting and other top legislative priorities transform the state’s political landscape.

Lawmakers also returned to unfinished fights on immigration, Big Tech and elections. Shaping these discussions were Trump administration actions on deportations, artificial intelligence and the budget.

The federal “big, beautiful bill” erased revenue surpluses as Utah leadership asked agencies to recommend 5% reductions to increase government efficiency and pay for tax cuts focused on family affordability.

Despite the tricky budget year, lawmakers increased education spending and secured critical ongoing funds for Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s homelessness initiatives. The governor praised the work of elected representatives.

“This is probably my favorite session, certainly my favorite session since I became governor,” Cox told the Deseret News on Friday. “And that’s because of the collaboration, the way we worked together, it doesn’t mean I like every bill.”

“It doesn’t mean I got everything I wanted, but the process played out in a much fairer way, a better way where we got good results and results that I can support.”

In recent years, Cox called on lawmakers to increase public transparency and to limit the number of bills considered in a session as lawmakers repeatedly broke their own record for the number of laws passed every year.

Legislative leadership said this year they leaned on committees to more thoroughly vet bills through the process. As a result fewer than 550 bills passed, compared to 582 in 2025 and 591 in 2024.

Unlike past years, Cox said he had not compiled a private “veto list” during the session because he was able to work directly with legislative leadership. But he said he is sure he will “find some (he’s) concerned about.”

Judicial transparency, or takeover?

The judiciary-focused bills sparked debate at nearly every stage of the legislative process this session. Senate President Stuart Adams said on Friday the judicial bill package produces “a fairness that (will go) on forever.”

But Sen. Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, in the same meeting, said her Democratic constituents did not approve of the process, and so she and her colleagues voted against the bills.

Certain bills, such as expanding the state Supreme Court from five to seven justices and establishing a new three-judge constitutional court, were introduced early in the session and seemed to make it to the governor’s desk at a uniquely quick pace.

That sparked ire among petitioners in lawsuits against the state of Utah, especially after the state invoked the new laws and forced the civil actions to be transferred from a single district judge to a three-judge district panel.

The legislature’s solution — or insurance — was amending the judicial modifications bill that would allow any litigant in a civil suit against the state to file a notice requiring a constitutional challenge to be heard by a three-judge panel instead of a single district judge.

If the recently enacted three-judge panel system for constitutional challenges is struck down by the courts, then a trigger in the bill would automatically create a new constitutional court to hear the case.

State lawmakers argued that more eyes on an issue ensure greater transparency, but critics accused them of changing the rules when they realized they were losing the game.

Big investments in literacy and higher ed

While higher education budget reallocations grabbed last year’s headlines, the 2026 Legislature focused its education attention primarily on Utah’s K-12 schools.

Navigating the uneasy confluence of technology and the classroom defined several education bills earning passing grades by the Legislature.

Last year, lawmakers tackled the vexing cellphones in school challenge by ratifying a law prohibiting the devices during class instruction. They expanded that limit in 2026, forbidding student cellphone use from opening bell until closing bell.

Local schools and districts can still establish their own cellphone policies — but “bell-to-bell” appears to be the state-wide choice.

Meanwhile, a pair of classroom technology bills — the so-called SAFE Act and the Balance Act – are now slated to become laws. The education measures require school software vendors to meet child safety requirements and establish age-appropriate screen time guidelines.

Responding to sobering reading proficiency scores, lawmakers passed a bill calling for early literacy strategies — including a provision requiring a student to repeat third grade if he or she isn’t meeting minimum standards.

Lawmakers also supported scientific research at Utah’s public colleges — passing a bill that creates a grant program for research funding in vital areas such as critical minerals, AI and aerospace.

Major election reforms rejected. Why?

Utah lawmakers passed minimal updates to the state’s vote-by-mail system. They approved SB194, ensuring county clerks continue to verify signatures in addition to the last four digits of a government ID.

The bill would require the lieutenant governor to create an official conflict of interest avoidance plan for overseeing her own election. Lawmakers also passed HB209 requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in state elections.

But the bigger story on elections this year might be what the Legislature did not pass. Senate Republicans broke with their House counterparts by rejecting HB479, which would have established an opt-in process to submit a ballot through the mail or vote in-person with photo ID.

Senate leadership also squashed HB529, which would have transferred election oversight away from the lieutenant governor to a new secretary of state position.

Utah Compact survives GOP divides

The Utah Legislature upheld the state’s 15-year-old compact on immigration amid Republican division over whether to revisit policies that make the state a welcoming place for illegal immigrants.

Lawmakers did pass one bill to address some of the public safety concerns associated with illegal immigration. HB136 would empower police officers to enforce traffic citations against unlicensed drivers.

The bill would allow law enforcement, after pulling someone over for a traffic violation, to impound an adult’s car and to do a fingerprint scan if they have no driving credential and no one can pick up the vehicle.

However, HB141, taxing foreign money transfers by illegal immigrants, HB294, requiring more businesses to verify legal status and HB386, ending subsidies for illegal immigrants never got a Senate vote.

The bill, HB386, would have repealed one of the pillars of the Utah Compact policy package — a state-run migrant worker visa program that never received a federal waiver to be implemented.

The bill passed 39-33 before stalling when no senator would sponsor it. This was because it sought to unravel a hard-won consensus with no effort to build an alternative, according to Senate leadership.

Big Tech

Utah lawmakers have led the nation in passing regulations to protect children from the harms of social media. But opposition from the White House and industry giants this year led to a mixed bag for Utah’s anti-Big Tech crusaders.

In a stunning move, the Trump administration sent a memo to legislative leadership halfway through the session crushing HB286, which would have required new AI models to publish risk assessments and child protection plans.

An alternate proposal, HB438, would have imposed penalties for AI chatbots that engage in harmful conversations with minors. Despite support from legislative leadership, the bill failed on Thursday after lobbyists descended on lawmakers to oppose the measure.

The Legislature did take the bold step, however, of becoming only the second state in the nation to levy a tax on the nation’s biggest online advertising companies, Meta and Google, through SB287.

“They are killing our children,” House Majority Leader Casey Snider, R-Paradise, said on Friday. “When we know a product exists that destroys the lives of our children it is our obligation to do the right thing to diminish the reach of that horrible and horrendous behavior. Social media is not our friend.”

Lawmakers cut spending to cut taxes

Lawmakers navigated a difficult budget environment to prioritize tax relief for Utahns and Utah businesses. As federal changes from the “Big, Beautiful Bill” erased Utah’s $300 million budget surplus, lawmakers asked state agencies to recommend 5% spending reductions.

The Legislature ultimately reallocated $275 million from state programs, about 2.4% of agency budgets, while setting aside $123 million to continue Utah’s six-year-streak of income tax cuts.

Legislative leadership framed the process as ensuring government efficiency and supporting family affordability. In addition to reducing the individual and corporate income tax from 4.5% to 4.45%, lawmakers passed HB290 to expand the child tax credit to up to 20,000 additional families with children under 6, and HB190 to increase the tax break for Utah businesses who provide employer-owned child care facilities to cover up to 80% of related costs.

The Legislature also passed HB575 to lower the gas tax from $0.38 per gallon to $0.32. Lawmakers abandoned the original proposal which would have paid for the cut by raising taxes on fuel sent out of state. Lawmakers also backed away from several bills to cap local property taxes.

Instead, the Legislature passed HB236 to facilitate public participation in local property taxes and SB238 to prevent individuals from claiming multiple property tax exemptions.

Cox wins big with homelessness funding

The Legislature backed Gov. Cox’s priority of shifting homelessness policy to target criminal recidivism among the chronically homeless and to strengthen the state’s network of long-term recovery resources.

Lawmakers approved nearly $44 million, including $18 million in new ongoing money, to orient programs toward repeat offenders, with isolated shelter space for “high utilizers,” while the state awaits federal support for a central homelessness campus.

Lawmakers also passed HB308, which simplifies reporting requirements, creates a loan program for businesses harmed by nearby shelters, lets shelters expand to 135% of capacity if needed and requires non-shelter cities to contribute more to help mitigate costs associated with homeless shelters.

Proposals to increase housing options and to place guardrails around the central campus, if built in northwest Salt Lake City, did not proceed to a floor vote.

The affordability session

Before the start of the legislative session, the Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics published a poll that showed housing affordability was the No. 1 issue Utah voters wanted the Utah Legislature to address this year.

During the session lawmakers presented the Utah Housing Strategic Plan that aims to “ensure that every resident in Utah has access to safe, affordable and stable housing options.”

One bill that went along with the plan is HB492, sponsored by Rep. Calvin Roberts, R-Draper, which passed on Friday. The bill would help build infrastructure that would allow thousands of houses around the state to be built.

The money for these projects would come from funds that already exist within the state. The first-time homebuyers program from Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, received an appropriation of $10 million this year. The program gives $20,000 to individuals to use for a down payment, closing costs or to buy down the rate.

Roberts also led a bill to create the Division of Housing and Community Development, which would sit within the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to help centralize and organize how housing policy is handled in the state. HB68 would also establish the position of state housing coordinator to lead the division.

Efforts made to help families and children overall in Utah

Senate minority leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, sponsored multiple bills aimed to help children and child care this session that failed to pass.

One bill would have provided grants for home-based child care centers and another would have set up a child care facility for state employees. She also sponsored a bill to increase how many children get free lunch and one to provide dental care for uninsured kids — but both failed.

Rep. Ariel DeFay, R-Kaysville led a bill, HB329, to increase maternity leave for state employees to 12 weeks, and will set protections for pumping breast milk in public. Families with children will also benefit from the child tax credit and the child care business tax credit.

Great Salt Lake/Natural resources

To pull the Great Salt Lake out of its currently-labeled “serious adverse effects” status, an additional 261 billion gallons of water (800,000 acre-feet) will need to be added.

As President Donald Trump, who recently took interest in the lake’s conservation, put it, “We’re losing water rapidly, rapidly, and it’s getting smaller, smaller, drier, drier.” The lake has shrunk 600 square miles since 1986.

The 2026 legislative session saw a range of bills brought forward to help conserve not only the Great Salt Lake, but Utah’s water generally.

Rep. Jill Koford, R-Ogden, sponsored legislation that would allow farmers to temporarily sell their water rights to the state. One such bill, HB410, is on its way to Cox’s desk.

Other bills were aimed at giving Utah better ability to manage land within its borders. While more than half of Utah’s land is federally owned, a vast majority is held under “proprietorial interest only,” Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, told the Deseret News.

He sponsored HB546 to assess the access, health and productivity of the land. The bill was passed by the Legislature and is also ready for Cox’s signature.

“The first step is to gather the data and then we go from there,” Ivory said.

Energy

The 2026 legislative session will change Utah’s energy and environmental sectors in several distinct ways.

First, SB135 authorizes Utah to pursue nuclear fuel recycling and an advanced nuclear development hub, called a “Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus.” The bill also requires the state to conduct a study of its own laws and regulations to find where nuclear energy is currently held back in the state.

The Legislature also passed HB76, which requires data centers to report how much water they use. For each day the operator of a large data center fails to report, the state will impose a $100 fine.

While estimates vary, data centers’ daily water consumption is generally thought to be hundreds of millions of gallons.

Salt Lake City/Transportation

Salt Lake City found itself at the center of a few more bills this year, but it didn’t appear to be a target quite as much as last year.

SB242 ended up being one of the biggest bills that affected Utah’s capital city this year, prohibiting Salt Lake City from conducting lane reduction projects on major corridors. It also gives the Utah Department of Transportation more say in whether the city can create similar projects on bigger city roads.

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall called it an improvement to last year’s SB195, which paused several road projects in the city and called for a study of the impacts of recently-completed ones. Still, many residents showed up to meetings to voice their disapproval of the bill, which is why the bill was rejected by many legislative Democrats.

Utah lawmakers passed HB302, which tells local governments to fly one flag but allows them to adopt others for ceremonial purposes that could be flown in select places, like City Hall. That was in response to Salt Lake City adding three flags last year to bypass a bill prohibiting governments from flying LGBTQ, Juneteenth or other flags.

There weren’t many public safety measures focusing on Salt Lake City this year, though. Mendenhall credits that to the city’s new public safety plan and improvements implemented by Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd, who celebrated his first anniversary on the job this week.

A look at miscellaneous measures passed by the Legislature this year

There were a number of bills introduced this session dealing with the welfare of animals, specifically animals in shelters. HB87, also known as “Biscuit’s bill,” focuses on animals that are stuck in shelters for years after being victims of animal abuse and neglect. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Verona Mauga, D-Salt Lake City. It will help speed up the adoption process and provides options for how these animals can be adopted.

SB201, sponsored by Sen. Keith Grover, R-Provo, would make it so fewer shelter animals in the state are euthanized. The bill would give animal rescues and other organizations the ability to pull animals before they are euthanized.

At the start of the session there were three different bills that regulated the use and sale of kratom in Utah in different ways. By the end of the session, parts of all the bills were merged together into SB45, which passed on Wednesday. The bill started as a complete ban on kratom but was changed to allow only the sale of pure leaf kratom in smoke shops to people 21 and older.

Utah lawmakers also increased the tax on nicotine and tobacco products through HB337. The bill raised taxes on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack and also put a $1 tax on alternative nicotine products, like Zyn, that have up to 20 pouches. There is also a tax raise on e-cigarettes and vaping products.

Lawmakers have also added a new state holiday this session. Good Friday will be an official state legal holiday starting next year, but workers will only get a half day off for the holiday. State employees will also receive a new benefits package, created by SB229, which changes how their leave works.

The governor and other elected officials in the executive branch will see major pay increases after lawmakers made the governor’s salary equal to that of the state Supreme Court’s chief justice. Under SB235 the governor will now make around $247,225, while the attorney general will earn $234,863 and the Lt. Gov, state auditor and state treasurer will make around $225,500.

Last year, lawmakers set up a system to screen firefighters for cancer as they have a much higher risk for certain cancers than most people. This year they passed HB416 to establish a cancer benefit trust fund to help these firefighters pay their medical bills and lessen the burden on them and their families.

Contributing: Carter Williams

The Utah Legislature upheld the state’s 15-year-old compact on immigration amid Republican division over whether to revisit policies that make the state a welcoming place for illegal immigrants.

House Republicans had departed from the 2011 compromise in dramatic fashion last Friday when they narrowly passed a bill overturning some of the compact’s core tenets of economic integration.

On the final night of the 2026 session, Senate Republicans refused to consider the bill, along with several other House proposals, which would further limit illegal immigrants’ access to jobs and services.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox joined legislative leadership in expressing a desire for Utah to continue to pursue a balance between rule of law and human dignity as states struggle to navigate federal inaction.

“This is probably the No. 1 issue that’s on the minds of lots of Americans,” Cox said. “Because we had an administration that really screwed this up four years ago, and let far too many people across the border.”

Unlicensed drivers bill passes

Lawmakers did pass one bill to address some of the public safety concerns associated with illegal immigration. HB136 would empower police officers to enforce traffic citations against unlicensed drivers.

Even as total car crashes have fallen over the past five years, crashes involving unlicensed drivers have risen statewide, and now account for 35% of crashes and 45% of DUI arrests in West Valley City.

But law enforcement agencies report being unable to issue citations to some of these drivers because they cannot be identified. This has become a major obstacle, resulting in multiple highway fatalities.

The bill would allow law enforcement, after pulling someone over for a traffic violation, to impound an adult’s car and to do a fingerprint scan if they have no driving credential and no one can pick up the vehicle.

Another bill aimed at improving the safety of Utah roads, HB118, requiring English language ability to drive large trucks, also passed the Senate along party lines on the last night of the session.

Senate kills immigration bills

However, other House proposals that were resurrected from last year, which also sought to address the impacts of illegal immigration, did not meet approval in the Senate.

HB141, taxing foreign money transfers by illegal immigrants, HB294, requiring more businesses to verify legal status and HB386, ending subsidies for illegal immigrants, didn’t get a Senate vote.

The bill, HB386, would have repealed one of the pillars of the Utah Compact policy package — a state-run migrant worker visa program that never received a federal waiver to be implemented.

Last Friday, Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, forced a House vote on a substitute version of the bill that incorporated portions of his HB88, one of the session’s most controversial bills.

Initial versions of the bill required taxpayer-funded programs to deny local or federal benefits to those who could not prove lawful presence in the U.S. This was shut down by a “voice vote” on the House floor.

But last Friday, Lee made House members vote up or down on HB386, with a newly included ban on in-state university tuition and subsidized home loans for those who are unable to prove legal residency.

The bill passed 39-33 before stalling when no senator would sponsor it. This was because it sought to unravel a hard-won consensus with no effort to build an alternative, according to Senate leadership.

The bill “does away with the Utah Compact,” which was negotiated with key constituencies, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said.

“That compact was vetted by a lot of stakeholders many years ago,” Adams said. “If you don’t bring everyone back together, how do you actually wash away a compact without that type of effort?”

The Utah Compact, which was re-signed by community leaders in 2019, outlined five principles, including recognizing federal immigration authority, maintaining family unity and facilitating immigrants’ assimilation.

Utah Speaker Mike Schultz acknowledged the toll historic levels of immigration has had on Utahns. Some local services were “overwhelmed” before the Trump administration closed the border, he said.

But Utah’s Republican majority still believes a “balance” can be struck on immigration policy that values Utah as a “diverse state” with a “diverse economy,” according to Schultz.

Immigration population doubles

Since 2019, the illegal immigrant population in Utah doubled from an estimated 90,000 to nearly 180,000, and the number of English as a Second Language students grew to more than 58,400.

A recent analysis of federal immigration data found that during the final 18 months of the Biden administration, Salt Lake City received more immigrant arrivals per capita than nearly any other city in the country.

The rate of 1,685 immigrant arrivals for every 100,000 residents was mirrored by a statewide rate of 1,015, making Utah sixth in the nation, outranking hot spots like Arizona, Nevada and California.

Amid a nationwide deportation crackdown, Lee told the Deseret News the Trump administration asked him to pursue policies that would remove incentives for illegal immigration to encourage self-deportation.

Lee’s other immigration proposals, repealing Utah’s driving privilege card program, and blocking access to banks, jobs and housing for illegal immigrants, were held without a committee hearing.

States around the country are struggling with the same impacts of mass immigration. Neighboring states like Colorado have even higher rates of immigration-related crime than Utah.

Throughout the session lawmakers lamented that multiple presidential administrations rejected Utah’s 2011 migrant worker program and that Congress had failed to reform immigration law.

Faced with federal dysfunction, and a lack of political will to resolve a useful campaign issue, Cox said governors are currently engaging in conversations about federal immigration solutions.

But regardless of what happens on the national level, Cox hopes Utah can continue to be a model of common sense and compassionate policies, even if that means revisiting the 15-year-old compact.

“In Utah, we believe that you should have to follow the law, that we should make people follow the law, and that we can do that with dignity and respect,” Cox said. “In Utah, we care about doing this the right way.”