Bills Tracked by Breathe Utah
During the 2026 Utah Legislative Session, Breathe Utah tracked legislation affecting air quality, transportation emissions, water conservation, the Great Salt Lake, energy development, and environmental rulemaking. Below is a summary of key bills and their final status at the close of the session.
Great Salt Lake and Water Policy
HCR 9 – Concurrent Resolution Addressing the Great Salt Lake. Rep. Elison
Encourages federal assistance for Great Salt Lake restoration and recognizes the lake’s importance to Utah’s economy, ecology, and public health.
Final Status: Passed.
HB 247 – Great Salt Lake Funding Amendments. Rep. Ward
Directs revenue from the brine shrimp tax toward programs supporting the Great Salt Lake.
Final Status: Passed.
HB 296 – Water Commitment Amendments. Rep. Nguyen
Removes a key policy barrier by allowing conserved water to be dedicated to the Great Salt Lake, which is necessary for reducing lakebed dust over time. Allows water conservation plans to include committing conserved or available water to the Great Salt Lake, creating a pathway for water savings to be directed to lake inflows rather than exclusively to future development or consumptive use.
Final Status: Passed
HB 410 – Water Leasing Amendments. Rep. Koford
Updates Utah's water leasing amendments to make it easier for water rights holders to lease water to the GSL, helping direct more water back into the lake's system to support lake levels and ecology.
Final Status: Passed.
SB 250 – Great Salt Lake Amendments. Sen. Blouin
Would have transferred roughly $200 million into the Great Salt Lake Account to support water acquisition and conservation projects.
Final Status: Failed. Held in Senate Natural Resources Committee and did not advance.
Air Quality and Transportation
HB 22 – Vintage Vehicle Amendments. Rep. Thurston
Changes the “classic vehicle” registration to “vintage”, removes emissions testing requirements for older vehicles allowing some of the highest-emitting vehicles on Utah roads to continue operating unchecked. Removes the 2-speed idle test from requirements for vehicles pre OBD.
Final Status: Passed.
SB 208 – Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program Revisions. Sen. Pitcher
Strengthens Utah’s emissions inspection program by closing loopholes that allow drivers to avoid emissions testing through improper vehicle registration.
Final Status: Passed.
HB 263 – Heavy Duty Vehicle Amendments. Rep. Clancy
Creates a registration fee for older heavy-duty diesel vehicles intended to discourage operation of the highest-emitting trucks.
Final Status: Failed. Did not advance to final Senate vote.
HB 550 – Commuter Rail Amendments. Rep. Stoddard
Would require Utah’s commuter rail systems, including FrontRunner, to transition to electric-hybrid technology by 2031.
Final Status: Failed. Introduced, did not advance.
HB 378 – Fugitive Dust Mitigation Amendments. Rep. Gricius
Creates a small annual compliance fee for aggregate operations based on their emissions and authorizes the Utah Division of Air Quality and Utah Air Quality Board to implement the fee through rulemaking. The bill also requires dust-producing facilities, such as gravel pits and large excavation sites to post public signage with permit and contact information. Modestly improves oversight and transparency around fugitive dust sources, an important contributor to particulate pollution in Utah.
Final Status: Passed.
Water Conservation and Landscaping
SB 176 – Landscaping Procurement Amendments. Sen. Pitcher
Requires state agencies replacing end-of-life landscaping equipment on certain state properties to purchase electric equipment when practical.
Final Status: Failed in final House floor vote.
SB 046 – Waterwise Landscaping Amendments. Rep. Stratton
Promotes water-efficient landscaping and establishes water-wise requirements for state facilities.
Final Status: Passed
HB 328 – Water Usage Modifications. Rep. Okerlund
Addresses non-functional turf and water-efficient landscaping policies including overhead irrigation in certain cases.
Final Status: Failed. Did not advance to final vote in Senate.
HB 400 – Landscaping Water Amendments. Rep. Owens
Requires new development in the GSL basin to have water efficient landscaping to reduce waste and protect lake inflows.
Final Status: Failed. Passed house committee, failed to advance to house floor and senate.
Energy, Data Centers, and Infrastructure
HB 16 – Solar Power Plant Amendments. Rep. Jack
Recommended by Public Utilities, Energy, and Tech Interim Committee. Reduces or removes state incentives for solar power facilities over 1 MW located on certain prime farm or agricultural land.
Final Status: Passed.
HB 076 – Data Center Water Policy Amendments. Rep. Koford
Recommended by the Legislative Water Development Commission, requires large data centers to demonstrate where they will attain water.
Final Status: Passed
HB 401 - Geothermal Study Amendments. Rep. Watkins
Directs USU to study geologic and environmental impacts of developing geothermal energy in Utah, including at or near existing coal plants.
Final Status: Passed
HB 585 – Data Center Amendments. Rep. Dominguez
Requires large data centers to estimate and report energy use prior to construction and provide ongoing annual reporting.
Final Status: Failed. Introduced but did not advance.
SB 318 – Data Center Non-Disclosure Agreements. Sen. Blouin
Would restrict certain nondisclosure agreements between data center developers and government entities.
Final Status: Failed. Introduced but did not advance.
Environmental Governance and Rulemaking
HB 222– Limitation of Actions Amendments. Rep. Albrecht
Modifies Utah statute to shield individuals from criminal or civil liability related to damages from generating greenhouse gas emissions under any principle of law or equity, unless explicitly related to a state or federal law.
Final Status: Passed.
SB 234 – Rulemaking Amendments. Sen. Brammer
Changes how state agencies develop environmental and public health rules. The bill limits when agencies can adopt rules more stringent than federal standards and requires stronger scientific justification for certain regulatory actions. This is a negative bill, several organizations including Breathe Utah are asking Governor Cox to veto this bill.
Final Status: Passed. Veto request sent.
HB 437 – Environmental Permitting Amendments. Rep. Shallenberger
Requires the Department of Environmental Quality and the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining Board to develop rules establishing expedited environmental permitting processes.
Final Status: Passed.
HB 157 – Department of Natural Resources Amendments. Rep. Shipp
Eliminates the Alternative Energy Development Incentive and makes other changes to DNR.
Final Status: Failed. Did not receive final vote in Senate.
Overall Legislative Takeaways
The 2026 session reflected continued attention to the Great Salt Lake and water conservation, while also highlighting ongoing debates about environmental regulation and energy development.
Several measures that support conservation and emissions reductions ultimately passed, including improvements to the vehicle emissions inspection program, and water-wise landscaping policies.
At the same time, several major proposals, including large Great Salt Lake funding transfers, commuter rail electrification, expanded data center oversight, and requiring cleaner groundskeeping equipment at state facilities did not advance before the session adjourned.
For Breathe Utah, the end of the legislative session marks the beginning of the next phase of work: monitoring implementation of new policies, engaging in rulemaking processes, and preparing for continued discussions during the legislative interim.
