Senate advances bill requiring drinking‑water emergency plans and rapid cyberbreach reporting
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Summary
HB 19 would require community water systems to complete emergency response plans, report security breaches to the Utah Cyber Center within two hours, and require annual Division of Drinking Water reports to the Legislature; the Senate read the bill a third time.
SALT LAKE CITY — Following the release of a state water audit, Senator Baldry presented House Bill 19 on day 16 to strengthen security and emergency planning for community drinking-water systems.
Senator Baldry told the Senate the bill requires community water systems to complete an emergency response plan, mandates reporting of a security breach to the Utah Cyber Center within two hours of discovery, requires the Division of Drinking Water to report annually to two legislative committees on security at community water systems, and classifies a community water-system emergency response plan as a protected record.
"We don't want our enemies knowing where our vulnerabilities are," Baldry said, referencing audit findings. She framed the bill as a Good Samaritan measure to address security vulnerabilities without broadly exposing sensitive details.
There were no substantive questions from the floor; the sponsor called the question and the clerk reported 23 yay votes, 0 nay votes and 6 absent. The bill was read for a third time.
The bill directs the Division of Drinking Water to produce annual reporting to the Legislature; exact implementation details, compliance timelines and any fiscal impacts will be clarified through committee staff and subsequent filings.
