SJR 3 Utah Senate · 2026 General Session

Joint Resolution Amending Rules Relating to the Practice of Law

SJR 3 amends Utah's Rules of Judicial Administration to clarify how the state Bar can collect fees from licensed lawyers. It requires that all licensing fees directly cover the Bar's costs for admitting lawyers, disciplining members, and creating practice rules, and prohibits using these fees to fund services for lawyers or the public. The bill also allows the Bar to collect voluntary fees for specific services, provided they're reasonable and reflect actual costs. This directly affects all licensed lawyers, paralegals, and the Utah State Bar, as it governs their fee structure and oversight under the Supreme Court.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Last action Mar 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from its original version to create a substitute version with several substantive changes to how the Utah Supreme Court can impose fees on lawyers. The key modification involves changing the language around fee approval authority and adding 'approve or impose' language to clarify the Court's role. The document also includes formatting changes and page numbering updates typical of legislative amendments.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on amending Utah Rules of Judicial Administration Rule 14-102 regarding the practice of law and fee structures, with no change to which entities or individuals are affected.

REQUIREMENT

Changed language in multiple sections from 'impose' to 'approve or impose' regarding the Supreme Court's authority over licensing fees and voluntary fees, clarifying the Court's approval role.

TECHNICAL

Removed bracketed text '[Supreme Court-by]' and '[power-authorizes]' from paragraph (a)(1), cleaning up the language to read 'Supreme Court, by its constitutional power, authorizes'.

Changed 'costs and expenses incurred by the Bar' to 'costs and expenses incurred to admit and license' in paragraph (a)(3), slightly narrowing the scope of what costs are considered.

Changed 'fee that the Bar charges or collects' to 'fee that is charged or collected' in paragraph (a)(6), removing the specific reference to the Bar as the actor.

Changed 'for which the Bar charges the fee' to 'for which the fee is charged' in paragraph (a)(6)(ii), removing the specific reference to the Bar.

Added page headers and timestamps (02-03 15:25, 1st Sub. Green) indicating this is a substitute version with tracking information.

Removed the House Sponsor line from the header section.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ 3nd Reading Calendar to Rules [Senate Rules Committee]

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors