Utah Senate rejects bill to give veterans free access to state parks

The Utah Senate on Day 16 rejected a second substitute to Senate Bill 114, a proposal that would have authorized a veterans access program for State Parks and contained a three-year sunset to let agencies evaluate costs and usage. The motion to pass the second substitute failed 13–15 with one senator absent.

Sponsor Senator Kwan said the substitute version included a three‑year sunset intended to give the Department of State Parks and the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs time to gather data and determine whether the program was sustainable. "So the second sub ... puts a sunset date of 3 years and, thinking that that will give us enough data to see if this is a project that State Parks can move forward on," Kwan said during floor remarks. He also said the proposal came after conversations with the two agencies and noted roughly 1,600 park passes distributed last year as evidence of demand.

Opponents warned the change would undercut State Parks' fee‑for‑service model. "When we place our mandate to State Parks to be self sufficient... if we allow veterans — will the next time we allow our police and our firefighters free access to our parks?" said Senator Sandle, who opposed the bill. Sandle said the proposal risked setting a precedent that could erode the parks' revenue base.

Senator Reebie spoke in favor of the proposal, saying, "Our veterans deserve to have any type of benefit we can give them. They showed up. They put their lives on the line. I think this is a small price to pay."

The bill's floor action included a substitution step earlier in the debate. Senator Bridal moved a delete‑and‑replace substitution that produced the second substitute; the Senate adopted the substitution on voice agreement before the final passage vote. Senator Kwan then moved passage of the second substitute; after several roll‑call attempts and a period of vote troubleshooting the Senate recorded 13 yes votes, 15 no votes and one absence and declared the second substitute failed. The measure will be returned to staff for filing.

Supporters emphasized the bill was developed in collaboration with State Parks and the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs; opponents stressed fiscal pressures on the parks division and warned about expanding exemptions. The sponsors said the sunset was designed to limit long‑term obligations while giving agencies empirical data to inform a permanent policy.

With the failure on the floor, there is no immediate statutory change; the record shows substantial division among senators over whether the Legislature should mandate free or reduced access for veterans rather than leave the issue to agency policy or to narrowly tailored pilot programs.

Votes and next step: Second substitute Senate Bill 114 (veteran access to state parks) failed 13–15, 1 absent; the measure will be returned to staff for filing and may be revised off the floor.