Utah House passes a slate of bills on elections, housing, energy and public safety; key votes and summaries

The Utah House of Representatives completed a full floor session on Feb. 10, 2025, passing a series of bills on campaign disclosure searches, municipal zoning for short-term rentals, energy transmission technologies, waste classification, insurance regulations, wildfire mapping/accountability and multiple other technical and programmatic changes.

In total, the chamber voted on and passed more than a dozen bills during the afternoon session. The measures included changes to election disclosure searchability, municipal zoning provisions for short-term rentals, state support for advanced transmission technologies on the electric grid, and additions to the controlled substances schedule. Several bills included technical fixes or clarifications requested by state agencies.

Votes at a glance (bill — short description — final outcome and tally):

- First Substitute HB 59, Fireworks Modifications — A definitional cleanup in fireworks law requested after enactment; the House concurred with Senate amendments and passed final passage. Outcome: approved; 71 yes, 0 no.

- Second Substitute HB 95, Campaign Contribution Revisions — Requires the lieutenant governor’s office to upgrade the campaign disclosure website to allow backward searches by a contributor (corporation) name so users can see where that corporation gave money. Representative Peterson said the change "requires our lieutenant governor's office to upgrade the ... disclosures website" so contributors can be searched. Outcome: approved; 74 yes, 0 no.

- First Substitute HB 256, Municipal Zoning Amendments (short-term rental provisions) — Gives municipalities and counties…