Utah Senate Approves Bill Letting People Keep Firearms, Religious Materials in Private Vehicles on Private Parking Lots

The Utah Senate passed Senate Bill 78 on Feb. 22, 2007, approving a measure that limits when property owners may restrict what people keep inside privately owned vehicles parked on private lots. The bill, sponsored and presented by Senator Madsen, passed the Senate on a roll-call vote of 22 yes to 7 no.

Supporters said the bill strikes a balance between private-property rights and individual control over one’s personal vehicle. "This only addresses what can be kept in a person's private vehicle that rolls onto a parking lot," sponsor Senator Madsen said on the floor, urging colleagues it protects lawful possession while allowing reasonable employer accommodations such as secure, out-of-sight storage.

Opponents characterized the measure as a significant shift in private-property prerogatives. "This is basically saying to employers … you have to allow guns on our properties in the cars in our parking lots," Senator Romero said in floor debate, urging colleagues to preserve employers’ ability to set rules for their premises. Senator Bill warned the bill represented "a direct frontal assault" on the longstanding principle that employers may control their private property and said the measure could limit property owners’ authority.

A key point of floor discussion concerned liability and the bill’s civil-liability protections. Senator Van Tassel proposed striking limited language tied to criminal acts; Senator Madsen clarified the statutory drafting and intent on the floor, explaining the protection applies to the parking-lot owner unless the owner themself commits a criminal act involving a firearm. "It is not an employee," Madsen said, describing the drafting team's approach to preserve owner protections while addressing misuse concerns.

Senators examined corner cases including shared parking facilities and hunting clubs. Senator Fife asked whether the bill would require concealment at a duck-hunting club parking lot; the sponsor and proponents said owners could still adopt policies for fenced or secured lots and provide monitored storage options for employees who must comply with those security policies.

The Senate ultimately voted to read the bill for the third time and recorded the final passage tally as 22 yes, 7 no. The bill was ordered returned to the House for its further action.

The floor record shows extended, substantive exchanges between sponsor Senator Madsen and critics including Senators Romero, Bill and Butters. The debate centered on whether the bill overrode established private-property rights or reasonably protected an individual's control over their private vehicle while on private property. The Senate called the roll and advanced the bill following the debate; proponents described it as a measured, narrow change to prioritize vehicle-owner control of items stored inside the vehicle while parked on private lots.