Committee holds Good Friday holiday bill after tie; sponsor eyes amendment for school alignment

Senate Bill 193, a measure to designate Good Friday as a state legal holiday, was presented to the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee Feb. 13 and held in committee after a tie vote.

Senator Stratton, sponsor of the bill, framed the proposal as recognizing historic references to religion in the nation's founding documents but emphasized inclusivity. He told the committee the bill, as drafted, would make the Friday preceding Easter a legal state holiday but said he intended to offer an amendment that would encourage—rather than require—K-12 and higher-education institutions to use best efforts to align spring breaks with listed state holy days. "Each employee may select one additional day called personal preference day... the employee may use to observe a state holy day as defined in section 63G...," he said while describing the amendment concept.

Committee members expressed concern about the effect of any education-alignment language. Senator Brammer asked whether to pass the bill now with the promise of an amendment or wait for the amendment text; he and others noted that universities might find alignment problematic when Easter falls near finals or graduation. Senator Fillmore said the amendment's logistics could be problematic and preferred allowing school districts and universities their own input.

Public comment included testimony from Gail Rizika of the Utah Eagle Forum, who said she supported the bill as drafted and called Good Friday part of an "Easter weekend" that could be widely observed.

When the committee took a recorded vote after discussion, members were split; the chair said the tie vote meant the bill would be held for further amendment work, and encouraged the sponsor to continue refining the language to win additional support. The committee did not advance the bill this session pending the sponsor's amendment work.