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House passes amended bill raising auto liability minimums to $25K/$65K (aggregate $80K)
Summary
After hours of debate and multiple amendments, the Utah House passed Senate Bill 149 as amended, increasing minimum motor vehicle liability limits to $25,000 per person, $65,000 for two or more people and restoring $15,000 property-damage minimum (aggregate $80,000); the measure passed 44–28 and goes to the Senate.
The Utah House of Representatives on March 5 passed Senate Bill 149 as amended, raising the state's minimum motor vehicle liability limits and sending the bill back to the Senate. The final measure, approved 44–28, sets minimums at $25,000 per person, $65,000 for two or more people injured in a single accident and preserves $15,000 for property damage, producing a combined aggregate floor of $80,000.
Sponsor Representative Urquhart said the bill responds to cases where existing minimums are inadequate to cover medical bills and hospital liens. "What this simply does is it helps people who are injured in an accident have money that might compensate them for the accident," he said during floor debate. Urquhart framed the measure as a modest, long-delayed adjustment to limits that have been in place since the 1970s.
Representative McKiff offered a floor amendment focused on multi-victim crashes, saying the larger gap is in cases with multiple injured parties and proposing $25,000/$65,000 (per person / two-or-more) with an aggregate total that was discussed on the floor. "This amendment is a very small one, and I think it's in the best interest of the passage of the bill and the persons whom we designed to protect," he said.
Members pressed the sponsor and amendment proponents on affordability and insurance market effects. Representative Hansen noted that drivers can purchase higher limits if they choose, while Representative Ota declared a conflict of interest and warned higher minimums could raise premiums and prompt cancellations by the least-affluent motorists. In emotional remarks for the bill's supporters, Representative Harris recounted a severe crash scenario and asked rhetorically, "How much insurance do you want the car that that wheel came from to be carrying?" arguing for higher limits to protect families after catastrophic accidents.
Lawmakers debated implementation details and a later amendment to delay effective dates to allow insurers time to reconfigure systems; that administrative timing change was accepted. After the sequence of amendments and further floor debate, the House voted to pass SB 149 as amended by the adopted amendments 44–28. The measure will be transmitted to the Senate for further action.
The debate reflected competing priorities: proponents emphasized ensuring there is money available to satisfy claims in serious accidents and to reduce pressure on hospitals; opponents warned of premium increases and the risk of more uninsured drivers if costs rise. The House left the bill "as amended" and did not adopt amendments that would have returned limits to current figures.
Votes and next steps: SB 149 passed the House 44 yes, 28 no, as amended; it will be returned to the Senate for consideration. No additional formal amendments or conference actions were recorded on the floor during this session.
