HB 170 Utah House · 2026 General Session

School Board Referendum Amendments

HB 170 amends Utah's laws to establish a clearer process for school district residents to hold referendums on certain school board decisions. Specifically, it allows voters who live within a school district to petition for a vote on laws passed by their local school board that increase taxes or create new taxes, subject to limited exceptions. The bill defines key terms related to referendums and makes technical updates to existing statutes, but does not appropriate new funding or create new financial obligations. This directly affects school district residents seeking to challenge tax-related decisions through a voter referendum.

Issues: ✗ Budget & Taxes

Bill status failed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Mar 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Utah's referendum laws to clarify the process for challenging local school board tax laws. Key changes include adding a coordination clause to align with other tax-related legislation, updating the definition of 'local school tax law' to explicitly include judgment levies, and refining the rules for when a school board's decision can be challenged by voters. The bill also updates procedural details for manual and electronic referendums, including signature verification and pamphlet distribution timelines.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on local referendums but now explicitly includes judgment levies imposed by school boards under the definition of referable tax laws, broadening the range of school board actions subject to voter challenge.

REQUIREMENT

Added a coordination clause to ensure consistency with similar language in H.B. 32 regarding signature gathering and verification.

Amended the definition of 'local law' to clarify that it does not include local school tax laws, preventing confusion about which laws can be challenged.

Updated the evaluation timeline for local clerks to determine if a referendum petition is sufficient, ensuring consistency across different types of referendums.

DEFINITION

Updated the definition of 'local school tax law' to explicitly include judgment levies imposed by school boards, ensuring they are subject to referendum.

Revised the definition of 'local clerk' for school district referendums to specify that it is the county clerk where the majority of voters reside, rather than the school district clerk.

TIMELINE

Adjusted the timeline for providing proposition information pamphlets to sponsors in school district referendums to align with county and municipal processes.

Floor votes · House Feb 13, 2026

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

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee]

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee]

upper

Feb 18, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee]

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ comm rpt/ substituted [House Revenue and Taxation Committee]

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Revenue and Taxation Committee]

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Held [House Revenue and Taxation Committee]

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

House/ to standing committee [House Revenue and Taxation Committee]

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor