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Lawmakers call 2026 session historic for courts, highlight research funding and missed child-protection bill
Summary
Utah lawmakers at a Hinckley Institute forum said the 2026 Legislature introduced a record number of bills (1,015), passed roughly 540–541 measures, expanded courts and approved $45 million for university research, while a child-protection bill (SP124) failed to clear the House.
A panel of Utah lawmakers at the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute on Monday framed the 2026 Legislature as consequential but measured, citing a record 1,015 bills introduced and roughly 540–541 enacted.
Moderator Jason Perry opened the session by noting the volume of introductions and asking panelists to explain why introductions far outpaced successful legislation. "What matters is what passes," Representative Karen Peterson said, urging the public to judge lawmakers by enacted policy rather than by the number of bills introduced.
Senator Luz Escamilla described a tense end to the session governed by a constitutional midnight…
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