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Utah Senate passes multiple base budgets and technical bills, forwarding measures to the House
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Summary
On Jan. 29 the Utah Senate approved several base-budget bills — including higher education, economic development, transportation and general government — and a set of technical fixes and policy bills, recording roll-call votes and sending the measures to the House for consideration.
The Utah Senate on Jan. 29 passed a series of base-budget bills and other measures and sent them to the House for consideration, approving funding for higher education, economic and community development, transportation and several other state functions.
Senator Mike Milner, sponsor of Senate Bill 1, summarized the higher-education package, saying, “This bill appropriates 1,900,000,000 from the general fund and income tax fund for operating and capital budgets and another 91,500,000.0 from the income tax fund to the performance funding restricted account.” After brief remarks and a motion to pass, the Senate recorded 27 yea votes, 0 nay votes and 2 absent; the bill will be transmitted to the House.
Senator Musselman presented Senate Bill 4, the economic and community development base budget, noting “Across the funding sources, Senate Bill 4 appropriates a total of $1,800,000,000 in FY 2027.” The Senate approved SB4 by roll call, 26 yeas, 0 nays, 3 absent, and the measure will go to the House.
Senate Bill 5 (general government base budgets) was described by Senator Vickers as covering base budgets for 10 agencies; the sponsor said the bill appropriates $149,800,000 from the general fund for operating and capital budgets and a total of $451,000,000 across funding sources for FY2027. SB5 passed on the floor with 27 yeas, 0 nays, 2 absent.
Senate Bill 6 (transportation and infrastructure) drew a presentation from Senator Ibsen, who outlined capital, debt service, telehealth and UDOT items and stated that “Across all funding sources, senate bill 6 appropriates a total of $4,000,000,000 in 2027.” The chamber approved SB6 by roll call, recorded as 28 yeas, 0 nays, 1 absent.
Senate Bill 7 (National Guard, Veterans Affairs and Legislature base budgets) was presented by Senator Stevenson, who said the bill provides base funding for the Utah National Guard, veterans’ programs and the Legislature with total appropriations of about $202,000,000 for FY2027. The Senate passed SB7 and will transmit it to the House.
The second-substitute of Senate Bill 120 (towing modifications) was presented as a technical clean-up bill that incorporated language from the sheriff's association; a fiscal note was confirmed as showing no change. The Senate approved the bill by roll call, 25 yeas, 0 nays, 4 absent.
Other measures advanced or acted on included Senate Bill 17 (credit card processing fee amendments tied to a legislative auditor general report) and Senate Bill 58 (public-school attendance reporting amendments). Senator Winterton summarized SB17 as implementing a recommendation from the 2024 audit; SB17 passed unanimously on the floor. Senator Fillmore said SB58 seeks common definitions and calendars for attendance data in response to State Board of Education audit findings; the Senate passed SB58 by roll call, 29 yeas, 0 nays.
Several bills were "circled" (set aside for later review), including the annual rules reauthorization (SB47) and a substitute for SB51 (school safety modifications) that was pending publication. Leadership also lifted Senate Bill 140 (election adjustments related to shifting the congressional filing deadline) to the top of the second-reading calendar and moved it toward a third reading.
The Senate concluded with brief recognitions — including guests from Camp K and Spencer Fox Eccles — and adjourned to reconvene Jan. 30 at 11 a.m.
Votes at a glance (selected items passed on Jan. 29): Senate Bill 1 (Higher Education) — 27 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; SB4 (Economic & Community Development) — 26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent; SB5 (General Government) — 27 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent; SB6 (Transportation) — 28 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent; SB7 (National Guard/Veterans/Legislature) — 27–28 yea (recording adjusted on the floor), 0 nay, 1 absent; SB120 (Towing modifications) — 25 yea, 0 nay, 4 absent; SB17 (Credit card processing fees) — unanimous yea; SB58 (Public school attendance) — 29 yea, 0 nay.
What’s next: The bills passed by the Senate will be transmitted to the House for consideration; several House-originated base-budget bills were also placed at the top of the second-reading calendar for the following day.
