HB 369 Utah House · 2025 General Session

Elections Office

HB 369 establishes a "conflict of interest elections officer" to handle election disputes when the governor or lieutenant governor is a candidate. This officer, appointed by the state board of canvassers before even-year elections, replaces the lieutenant governor in such cases to avoid conflicts of interest. The bill also creates an Elections Oversight Task Force composed of legislative leaders, the governor, attorney general, and county clerks to review election administration and recommend improvements by September 2026. The task force will expire on July 1, 2027, with no funding provided for these changes.

Bill status failed 3 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

Governor

Introduced Jan 31, 2025 Last action Mar 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was substantially rewritten to shift focus from creating a permanent Elections Office under the Lieutenant Governor to establishing a temporary Conflict of Interest Election Officer and a new Elections Oversight Task Force. The original version created a permanent agency to take over election duties from the Lieutenant Governor, while the new version creates a one-time oversight mechanism to address potential conflicts when the Governor or Lieutenant Governor is a candidate.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from creating a permanent state agency to establish a temporary oversight mechanism and a task force for reviewing election administration.

SCOPE

Removed the creation of a permanent Elections Office as an independent state agency that would assume all election responsibilities from the Lieutenant Governor.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new Conflict of Interest Election Officer position to be appointed annually before even-numbered years when the Governor or Lieutenant Governor is a candidate, to handle election controversies involving those offices.

Created a new Elections Oversight Task Force with members including legislative leaders, the Governor, Attorney General, State Auditor, and county clerks to review election oversight systems and recommend improvements.

TIMELINE

Changed the effective date from a special date to May 7, 2025, and added a requirement for the Task Force to report by September 1, 2026.

DEFINITION

Removed extensive definitions and operational procedures for a permanent Elections Office director, replacing them with temporary appointment procedures for a conflict of interest officer.

ENFORCEMENT

Added dispute resolution authority for the State Board of Canvassers to determine whether matters fall within the Conflict of Interest Election Officer's authority.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 3, 2025

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee

upper

Mar 3, 2025

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Feb 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Feb 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation

lower

Feb 7, 2025

Committee

House/ to standing committee

lower

Jan 31, 2025

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor