Welcome to the 9th day on the Hill.
The Utah Courts continue to be under pressure from a Legislature intent on having its way. A huge elections bill started moving its way through the Senate. And tax cuts may be on the agenda for a sixth year in a row, cutting funds for essential services.
There’s only 36 days left!
Observations from the Hill
COURTS UNDER PRESSURE: The most consequential action of the day unfolded in the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, where lawmakers advanced HB 392 Constitutional Court Amendments, the bill from Rep. Matt MacPherson that was only introduced yesterday creating a new statewide Constitutional Court. The proposal would pull constitutional challenges away from existing district courts and place them before a specialized, three-judge panel, with judges effectively pre-selected before cases are even filed.
Public testimony was overwhelmingly critical. Attorneys, retired judges, former clerks, and civic advocates warned that the bill would make it harder for everyday Utahns to challenge unconstitutional laws, invite forum shopping by the state, and further erode trust between the Legislature and the Judiciary. Several speakers pointed out that courts have repeatedly asked for more judges and staff at the district court level, not an entirely new court structure. Despite those concerns, the committee voted 7–2 to advance the bill.
Shortly after, the same committee also advanced SB 134 Court Amendments, sponsored by Sen. Chris Wilson, which would expand the Utah Supreme Court from five justices to seven. Supporters framed it as a response to population growth and workload, but critics noted that the court itself has said it is largely caught up on its backlog and that trial courts are the ones in real need of resources.
Taken together, the two bills signal an intensifying effort by legislative leaders to reshape the judicial system at a moment of heightened tension over redistricting, ballot initiatives, and constitutional limits on legislative power.
Also, lawmakers really need to figure out what “impugning the motives” of lawmakers mean, because it cannot simply mean mentioning the name of a lawmaker during public comment. It’s bad enough having lawmakers grill witnesses during public hearings just as they would a hostile witness in a courtroom without the committee chair also throwing out objections based on “rules of decorum” that are poorly defined. Rant Over
ELECTIONS OMNIBUS: Over in the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee, lawmakers passed SB 194 Elections Modifications, sponsored by Sen. Mike Mckell, a sprawling elections omnibus that reworks large sections of Utah election law.
At the core of the bill is a requirement that voters prove their citizenship with certain documentation outlined in the bill in order to vote in state elections, despite the Lt. Governor’s Office only days prior having released results of a comprehensive review of the state’s voter rolls that showed only one noncitizen having managed to register to vote (and they didn’t actually vote). If such documentation is not provided by a voter, they could still be permitted to vote in federal elections if they attest that they are a U.S. citizen, resulting in a bifurcated election system that would have to be managed by county clerks and has been the subject of costly litigation in other states, such as Arizona.
Other key provisions of the bill would reverse years of voter privacy built into the voter registration lists, allowing political parties and others to gain access to voter data in order to contact registered voters. Some senators expressed concern over this disclosure of information that Utahns had expected to be kept private by the government (though it didn’t concern them enough to not vote in favor of the bill).
The bill passed favorably out of committee by a vote of 6-1, and now heads to the Senate floor.
REVENUE CUTS, AGAIN: The Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee heard SB 60 Income Tax Rate Amendments, sponsored by Sen. Dan McCay, proposing to cut Utah’s income tax rate yet again, this time from 4.50% to 4.45%, retroactive to the start of the year. This would be a reduction in over $100,000,000 in ongoing state revenue that would otherwise be constitutionally mandated to be spent on the state’s public education system or for social services for children or those with disabilities.
Supporters argued income taxes are volatile and hard to administer, and that shifting toward consumption taxes improves stability. Opponents, including everyday Utahns testifying from low-income communities, pushed back hard, noting that repeated income tax cuts directly weaken the funding stream constitutionally dedicated to public education.
The debate landed awkwardly alongside lawmakers’ own acknowledgment that families and service providers are anxious about proposed 5% cuts across state government. The message from critics was simple: it’s hard to justify shrinking revenue yet again while telling schools, Medicaid providers, and social services to brace for less.
The bill passed favorably out of committee by a vote of 4-1, and now heads to the Senate floor.
