House passes concealed‑weapon reciprocity change after heated debate over 60‑day rule

The Utah House on Feb. 18 approved amendments to concealed‑weapon permitting that remove a 60‑day permissive stay for out‑of‑state permit holders, a move supporters said will increase reciprocity while critics warned it could weaken Utah's standards.

Representative Donaldson, who carried the measure, told the chamber that the 60‑day provision has proved unenforceable and that several enforcement and legal stakeholders — including the Bureau of Criminal Identification and the attorney general’s office — advised removing it. "The 60 day limit is unenforceable because it allows somebody to come in the state on a loan permit... The law enforcement department has a problem with enforcing this," the sponsor said.

Opponents described a policy risk if out‑of‑state permits with lower training or background standards become indefinitely valid in Utah. One floor speaker, speaking strongly against the change, said eliminating the 60‑day limit "does away with our ability to set any standards" and warned it could let people obtain permissive permits elsewhere and use them here without meeting Utah’s training requirements.

Backers countered that reciprocity agreements with other states — including a pledge from Texas cited by the sponsor — would expand recognition of Utah’s permit holders and that the Senate had approved the change unanimously. After debate and motions to circle and study aspects of the bill, the House adopted the measure and recorded a final roll call of 48 yes, 19 no, 8 absent.

Next steps: the measure was read by title and signed by the speaker and entered on the journal for record.