SB 193: State Legal Holiday Amendments - Utah

Substitute #2 → Substitute #3 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly revised to change its title from 'State Holy Day Amendments' to 'State Legal Holiday Amendments.' The most critical addition is making Good Friday an official legal holiday in Utah, which grants state employees a half-day of paid time off on that day. The bill also clarifies that every Sunday is a legal holiday for the purpose of calculating legislative session limits. While the requirements for schools to align breaks with holy days remain, the new version adds Good Friday to the list of recognized state holy days and expands the definition of legal holidays.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from only creating new holy days to officially designating Good Friday as a legal holiday and clarifying the status of Sundays for legislative calculations.

REQUIREMENT

Good Friday is now an official legal holiday in Utah, providing state employees with a half-day of paid time off.

The bill title and highlighted provisions were updated to reflect the inclusion of Good Friday as a legal holiday rather than just a holy day.

DEFINITION

Every Sunday is now explicitly defined as a legal holiday for the purpose of counting legislative session days.

TECHNICAL

The list of legal holidays in the code was reorganized to include Good Friday and adjust the numbering of other holidays.

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill removes the requirement to make Good Friday a state legal holiday and deletes the repealed section that listed traditional holidays. The remaining text, which defines various religious observances as 'state holy days' and requires schools and government entities to prioritize scheduling breaks or leave for these days, is retained without substantive changes.

Scope change

The bill's scope is reduced by removing the mandate to observe Good Friday as a paid legal holiday for all employees, while keeping the requirement for schools and government entities to accommodate time off for Good Friday and other listed holy days.

REQUIREMENT

Deleted the provision designating Good Friday as a legal holiday, meaning it is no longer a mandatory paid day off for all state and private employees.

Retained the requirement for school districts, charter schools, and institutions of higher education to prioritize scheduling breaks to coincide with Good Friday and other state holy days.

Retained the requirement for government entities to prioritize approving personal leave requests for state holy days.

TECHNICAL

Removed the repealed section (63G-1-301) that previously listed New Year's Day, Independence Day, Pioneer Day, Veterans Day, Christmas, and other traditional holidays as legal holidays.

DEFINITION

Kept the definition of 'state holy days' which includes Holi, Lunar New Year, Good Friday, Easter, Eid al-Fitr, Passover, Vesak Day, Eid al-Adha, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Diwali, and Christmas.

Amended 3/6/2026 20:03:374 → Substitute #1 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was reformatted from a final version to a substitute version, removing the specific provision granting state employees four hours of paid time off for Good Friday. The core policy goals of making Good Friday a legal holiday and requiring schools and government entities to prioritize scheduling around holy days remain unchanged.

REQUIREMENT

The clause requiring state employees to receive four hours of paid time off specifically for Good Friday was deleted.

TECHNICAL

The document structure was changed from a finalized bill to a substitute bill, including updated header information and page numbering.

Amended 3/3/2026 11:03:872 → Amended 3/6/2026 20:03:374 · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to correct a formatting error in the list of legal holidays and to fix a grammatical typo in the section regarding higher education institutions. The original version accidentally listed Easter Sunday twice and included a stray comma before 'institution of higher education.' These changes ensure the statute is clear and legally precise without altering the actual policy.

TECHNICAL

Corrected a duplicate entry for Easter Sunday in the list of legal holidays to prevent confusion about how many holidays are recognized.

Removed an extraneous comma from the sentence requiring institutions of higher education to prioritize scheduling breaks around holy days.

Amended Excerpts 3/6/2026 20:03:374 → Amended 3/3/2026 11:03:872 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was reorganized to formally establish Good Friday as a legal holiday in Utah, replacing the previous draft's informal list. It adds a requirement for state employees to receive four hours of paid time off specifically for Good Friday, while also mandating that schools and universities prioritize scheduling breaks to coincide with state holy days starting in the 2027-28 school year.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include specific provisions for state employee compensation and formalized the legal status of Good Friday within the Utah Code.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for state employees to receive four hours of paid time off on Good Friday.

Added a mandate for school districts, charter schools, and institutions of higher education to prioritize scheduling breaks to coincide with state holy days, effective 2027-28.

DEFINITION

Formally added Good Friday to the list of legal holidays in the Utah Code, replacing placeholder text and renumbering subsequent holidays.

TECHNICAL

Reorganized the bill structure from a draft excerpt format into a formal enacted bill with specific section numbers and code references.

Amended Excerpts 3/3/2026 11:03:872 → Amended Excerpts 3/6/2026 20:03:374 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to correct a line number reference in the instructions and to fix a formatting error in the list of state holidays. The most significant change is the addition of 'Presidents' Day' to the list of recognized holidays, replacing a duplicate entry for Washington and Lincoln Day. Additionally, the document header was updated to reflect 'Senate Floor Amendments' instead of 'Senate 3rd Reading Amendments'.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability was expanded by adding Presidents' Day to the list of state holidays that schools must prioritize for scheduling breaks.

TECHNICAL

Corrected the line number reference in the amendment instructions from lines 60-65 to lines 59-65.

Removed a duplicate entry for Washington and Lincoln Day that was incorrectly listed before the new Presidents' Day entry.

Changed the document title from 'Senate 3rd Reading Amendments' to 'Senate Floor Amendments' to accurately reflect the stage of the legislative process.

REQUIREMENT

Added 'Presidents' Day' to the list of state holidays, ensuring it is included alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and other recognized holidays.

Enrolled → Amended Excerpts 3/3/2026 11:03:872 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to explicitly state that state employees receive a half-day (four hours) of paid time off for Good Friday, clarifying the benefit previously implied but not clearly defined. It also corrected a typo in the list of legal holidays, changing 'Washington and LincolnPresidents' Day' to 'Washington and Lincoln Day', and added a specific provision granting Good Friday paid leave status separate from the standard Personal Preference Day.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding employee compensation was clarified to explicitly include paid time off for Good Friday, while the scope of legal holidays was technically corrected to remove a formatting error.

REQUIREMENT

Added a specific requirement that state employees receive four hours of paid time off for Good Friday, distinct from the standard eight-hour holiday allowance.

Inserted a new subsection explicitly granting Good Friday paid time off status to state employees.

DEFINITION

Corrected a typo in the legal holiday list, changing 'Washington and LincolnPresidents' Day' to 'Washington and Lincoln Day'.

Introduced → Enrolled · 6 edits · Mar 18, 2026

MODERATE

This bill expands Utah's legal holiday list to include Good Friday and adds new requirements for schools and higher education institutions to prioritize scheduling breaks around state holy days. It also grants state employees half-days of paid time off for Good Friday and requires government entities to prioritize approving personal leave requests on these days. The bill amends existing statutes to reflect these new holidays and scheduling priorities.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of state legal holidays to include Good Friday and extends the application of holiday scheduling requirements to charter schools and institutions of higher education, which were not explicitly mentioned in the previous version.

REQUIREMENT

Added Good Friday as a legal holiday in Utah.

Required school districts, charter schools, and institutions of higher education to prioritize scheduling breaks to coincide with Good Friday and other state holy days starting in the 2027-28 school year.

Required government entities to place a high priority on approving employee requests for personal leave on state holy days.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a provision granting state employees half-days of paid time off specifically for Good Friday.

TECHNICAL

Updated the House Sponsor name from 'LONG TITLE' to 'Walt Brooks' and adjusted the effective date to May 6, 2026.

SCOPE

Added amendments to Sections 53G-4-416, 53G-5-415, and 53H-3-1304 to mandate school scheduling priorities.

State Legal Holiday Amendments

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