HB 296 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Water Commitment Amendments

HB 296 amends Utah's water conservation plan requirements to allow water providers (like utilities and water districts) to include commitments for water uses on the Great Salt Lake within their conservation plans. The bill adds "the commitment of available water to uses on the Great Salt Lake" as an optional provision that providers may incorporate into their plans. It makes technical updates to existing code without appropriating funds or changing core requirements for water conservation goals, public notice, or plan submissions. This change specifically enables water providers to formally account for Great Salt Lake water needs in their conservation strategies. The bill does not alter the mandatory elements of water conservation plans, such as public hearings, five-year updates, or regional conservation goals.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 21, 2026 Signed Mar 25, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 25, 2026
MINOR
This bill updates the legal requirements for Utah water providers to create water conservation plans. The most significant change is the addition of a specific provision allowing water providers to commit available water to uses on the Great Salt Lake within these plans. The bill also includes minor technical corrections to existing language regarding rulemaking and reporting schedules.
Scope change
The scope of the water conservation plan requirements has expanded to explicitly include commitments of water for the Great Salt Lake, whereas previously this was not listed as a permissible item in the plan.
REQUIREMENT

Added a specific item to the list of allowable content in water conservation plans, permitting the commitment of available water to uses on the Great Salt Lake.

TECHNICAL

Corrected a sentence regarding the adoption of Colorado River management plan goals to remove redundant phrasing and ensure grammatical consistency.

Reordered the numbering of the final item in the list of permissible plan contents to fix a formatting error where two items shared the label '(xi).

Floor votes · Senate Feb 20, 2026 · House Feb 6, 2026

How they voted

252
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 29
Feb 20, 2026
D Democratic6
6 Yea
100% Yea
N Forward1
1 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican22
18 Yea 2 Nay 2
81% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
39
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Mar 25, 2026
Signed into law
Governor Signed
executive
Feb 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ passed 3rd reading
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Committee
Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
upper
Feb 9, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
Feb 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
upper
Jan 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ committee report favorable [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
lower
Jan 23, 2026
Committee
House/ to standing committee [House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
lower
Jan 21, 2026
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors