SB 8 provides funding for compensation adjustments for Utah state employees and higher education staff for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. It includes a 1% labor market pay increase, funding for health/dental benefit changes, retirement rate adjustments, and a $26-per-pay-period retirement plan match. The bill appropriates $124.5 million for 2027 (with significant portions from General and Income Tax Funds) to cover these specific employee compensation changes. It directly affects all state employees and higher education personnel covered by these funding provisions. The bill focuses on operational budget adjustments rather than new policy mandates.
SB 151 modifies how Utah allocates insurance premium tax revenue to fund public safety. It directs $5 million in FY 2027 toward firefighter retirement programs and creates a new Motor Vehicle Safety Impact Account to fund hiring new Highway Patrol troopers through annual transfers from insurance tax revenue. The bill clarifies funding priorities for firefighter retirement, requires the state to notify lawmakers if excess revenue is collected, and repeals outdated provisions. These changes directly affect firefighters' retirement benefits and Highway Patrol staffing levels.
HB 416 creates the Firefighter Cancer Benefit Trust Fund to provide financial support for firefighters diagnosed with cancer presumed to be work-related. The bill redirects existing revenue from property and life insurance premiums (specifically 50% of the first $4 million from property insurance tax and 10% of the first $1 million from life insurance tax) to fund this trust, replacing prior allocations. The trust fund, administered by an 11-member board (including firefighters, fire chiefs, medical experts, and officials), will cover benefits for affected firefighters and their families, with assets protected from creditor claims. This bill modifies tax distribution rules without new appropriations, directly affecting Utah firefighters with presumptive cancer diagnoses under existing law.
HB 190 expands Utah's tax credit for employers providing child care by increasing the credit rate for small businesses to 30% (from 10%) of eligible child care costs and allowing credits for off-site child care facilities employers don't own. It removes a previous requirement that employers must have claimed a construction-related credit to qualify for the child care credit. The bill directly affects Utah employers who provide child care for employees, particularly small businesses meeting IRS Section 45F criteria. The changes apply retroactively and make no new state funding appropriations.
This concurrent resolution directs Utah's Public Employees' Benefit and Insurance Program (PEHP) to add hormone replacement therapy (HRT) treatments for perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms to its drug formulary. It specifically affects state employees covered by PEHP health plans, requiring the program to include these treatments in its approved medications. The resolution does not address "black box" warnings but mandates PEHP to cover HRT for symptom relief. As a procedural directive, it guides an agency's existing policy without creating new law.
SB 98 creates a voluntary certification program for employers to become "recovery ready workplaces," administered by Utah's Department of Health and Human Services. Employers seeking certification must implement specific practices, including preventing workplace factors that contribute to substance use disorders, reducing stigma, providing employee education, making naloxone (an opiate antagonist) available, and supporting employees accessing treatment. The bill authorizes the department to establish application criteria and an application process, with potential funding from the Electronic Cigarette Substance and Nicotine Product Proceeds Restricted Account. This program directly affects employers who choose to participate, aiming to improve workplace support for employees with substance use disorders.
HB 270 voids non-compete agreements between employers and licensed healthcare workers in Utah, effective May 6, 2026. It specifically targets agreements that restrict healthcare workers - such as nurses, doctors, therapists, and counselors - from practicing in certain areas or for specific time periods after leaving a job. The bill also makes void certain nonsolicitation agreements between employers and healthcare workers under defined circumstances. This applies to all 35+ licensed healthcare professions listed in the bill, including advanced practice nurses, psychologists, and physical therapists, without creating new financial obligations.
SB 229 modifies Utah state employee benefits by replacing separate annual and sick leave with a single paid time off (PTO) system. It requires agencies to convert accrued leave hours to PTO at a 1:1 ratio, grants the Division of Human Resources authority to set PTO rules, and expands postpartum recovery leave for eligible employees. The bill also adds parental leave eligibility for State Board of Education employees and adjusts 401(k) match rates and maximum employer contributions for specified employees. These changes directly affect all Utah state employees covered under the modified benefit provisions, with no new funding required.
This bill allows Utah's Local Public Safety and Firefighter Surviving Spouse Trust Fund to reimburse employers for health coverage costs they paid between May 1, 2024, and May 7, 2025, for surviving spouses and dependent children of public safety or firefighter employees who died on duty. It specifically covers premiums and health savings account contributions already paid by employers during that period. The reimbursement uses existing money in the trust fund, requiring no new state funding. This change applies retroactively to costs incurred before the bill's effective date of May 6, 2026.
HB 396 modifies disclosure rules for subcontractors working on Utah public construction projects. It requires subcontractors to sign a statement confirming they have no employees (to qualify for a "zero estimated exposure" workers' compensation policy) and to report employee details to the state division. The bill also mandates general contractors and property owners to keep records for audits, shifts interest rates and penalties for unemployment insurance to be set by rule, and expands "unprofessional conduct" to include failing to meet these new requirements. These changes directly affect subcontractors, contractors, and property owners involved in public construction projects.
