Utah officials tout regulatory sandbox successes, pivot to targeted industry outreach

The interim Business, Labor and Commerce Committee heard an update on Utah’s regulatory “sandbox” from former Representative Jefferson Moss and Dana Sharara on the state’s approach to waiving or easing state regulatory requirements for emerging businesses.

The sandbox, created by legislation first passed in February 2021 (HP 217) to form the Office of Regulatory Relief, allows businesses to apply for temporary waivers of state statutes or administrative rules so regulators and companies can test innovations without immediately changing permanent law. ‘‘When we did the sandbox a few years ago ... it was, I think, the first in the nation to do something like this,’’ said Jefferson Moss, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity.

Committee members were told the program has produced two businesses that graduated from the sandbox, two businesses currently under contract and more than 20 firms assisted through pre-application or clarification work. Dana Sharara, director of the Office of Regulatory Relief, said most early contacts are resolved without a formal waiver because agencies and companies can clarify regulatory language or address the issue through an administrative rule rather than a statutory change.

Sharara walked members through…