Bill Tracker

Weekly Updates

Friday, February 7

With the end of week 4, we are now more than halfway through the session! We added one new bill to our tracker this week, SB 212, which is a large transportation bill including dozens of provisions. Notably, it requires cities to identify transportation impediments and plan to address them by 2027. SB 212 passed unanimously in committee and will soon be voted on by the full Senate.

HB 290, our priority bill about bike lane obstructions, passed the House 61-10 and will likely be sent to a Senate committee hearing next week. HB 134 Food Cart Amendments also passed the House 72-0 and will likely be heard in a Senate Committee next week.

Lastly, stay tuned for two new bills to be released very soon - Bicycle Rack Amendments (Rep. Mauga) and Traffic Safety Amendments (Rep. Fitisemanu).

Today marks the end of week 3 (out of 7). Unfortunately, Rep Ward’s two zoning reform bills, HB 88 and HB 90, were held in committee, largely due to opposition from the Utah League of Cities and Towns. This means these bills are effectively dead for this session. While disappointing, lawmakers seemed interesting in continuing these conversations and potential supporting similar zoning bills in the future.

On a more positive note, Bike Utah’s priority bill HB 290, which addresses bike lane obstructions and safety hazards, passed unanimously in committee and is now headed to the House floor for a full vote.

SB 212 was introduced this week, causing an uproar in the cycling community because it would have established a 20 mph speed limit for cyclists on all sidewalks, paths, and trails throughout the state. After strong pushback, SB 212 was substituted to remove that provision. The bill now only requires e-bike riders younger than 21 to wear a helmet when riding on the road. It passed unanimously in committee and is heading to the full Senate.