2026 Utah Legislative Session now under way

SALT LAKE CITY—Sen. Derrin Owens and Rep. Troy Shelley, the Utah legislators representing Sanpete County, agree that “right sizing” state government, including requiring state colleges and agencies to cut lower-priority programs and reallocate the money to higher priorities, will possibly be the biggest focus of the 2026 Legislature.
Meanwhile, in an interview Tuesday, Owens said the biggest news for Sanpete County might be his bill, just introduced, to create the “Gooseberry Narrows State Park,” including a major reservoir, a facility Sanpete interests have fought for more than 70 years.
The bill could reignite the effort to funnel water from the eastern slope of the Wasatch Plateau through a tunnel (already constructed) into Sanpete County, where it could be put to agricultural and municipal use.
In his pre-session newsletter to constituents, noted that in 2025, the Legislature passed a measure requiring the eight degree-granting institutions in Utah to “reallocate” 10 percent of their 2025-26 budgets from degrees and programs serving a relatively small number of students to “high-demand degree programs helping meet workforce needs…”
And Shelley told the Sanpete Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 6 that the tax changes from the “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Congress early in the Trump administration have reduced Utah’s income tax revenue by roughly $300 million.
Legislation pending before the current session would expand last year’s reallocation initiative by requiring colleges to reallocate another 5 percent of their 2026-27 budgets. And the legislation extends the 5 percent reallocation requirement to all state agencies.
There have been suggestions that the 5 percent might turn out to be a cut. But Owens says, “It’s too early to be talking about a cut. The goal is simply to DOGE every agency.”
Despite the prospect of tighter finances, lawmakers are pursuing tax relief, Shelley told the Chamber of Commerce. A proposed constitutional amendment on property tax exemptions has been filed, along with legislation creating what sponsors call a “Property Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights.”
In his newsletter, Owens touted Utah’s fiscal performance over the past 10-15 years. Because of population growth and increased demands on government, the state budget has grown from $14.2 million in FY 2016 to $30 billion in FY 2026.
Yet over the past five years, the Legislature has cut taxes by $1.4 billion. Another $500 million in tax relief is being proposed.
But both Owens and Shelley said such a cut is not yet certain. “It’s possible, Owens says. “But I don’t want to raise expectations. I don’t know if it’s doable.”
Senate President Stuart Adams said lawmakers will “look at it really hard,” and Gov. Spencer Cox indicated he’ll only support another cut if February’s budget projections show room for it.
Elaborating on his bill to create a Gooseberry Narrows State Park, Owens said the measure could reopen negotiations with federal agencies about a water transfer from Carbon to Sanpete County.
In the mid 2010s, the Sanpete Water Conservancy District thought the reservoir project was on its way. Courts had ruled that 5,400 acre-feet of water located on the east slope of the Wasatch Plateau but inside the boundaries of Sanpete County belonged to the county.
The U.S. Forest Service had approved construction of the reservoir on Forest Service land. Multiple environmental impact statements had been completed. Then in 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a final permit to move water from Gooseberry Creek into the proposed reservoir.
Since then, the project has appeared to be dead. However, a new national administration is in place, Owens says. There’s a new appetite for high-elevation reservoirs. And Gooseberry is the highest priority on a state list of such reservoirs.
“This is our last chance at bat,” he says, but the dream is possible.
Another big topic in this year’s session is judicial reform, which is tied to the current battle around redistricting.
The Senate has already passed SB134, voting 21-8 to expand the Utah Supreme Court from five justices to seven. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris Wilson of Logan, also adds judges to the Court of Appeals and district courts across the state. Only one Republican senator voted against it. The measure now heads to the House, where Speaker Mike Schultz has signaled support.
Republican leaders say the expansion aligns Utah with similarly populated states and will help the courts handle cases more efficiently. Democrats and some legal professionals have questioned the timing, noting it follows a series of court rulings that went against the Republican-controlled Legislature, particularly in the ongoing redistricting battle.
In 2018, Utah voters approved a proposition setting up an independent redistricting commission. The independent commission proposed maps, which were then revised by the Legislature. That led to a court decision upholding maps proposed by the independent commission.
The court-ordered redistricting scheme is expected to make it easier for a Democrat from Salt Lake County to be elected to the U.S. Congress.
While the Legislature doesn’t have the power to overturn the court decision, Shelley maintains “the court stepped way beyond its bounds and started legislating from the bench.”
Currently, a petition is being circulated that would put another proposition on the 2024 ballot—this one to repeal the 2018 proposition and put redistricting back in the hands of the Legislature.
Owens cites a section of the Utah constitution that says, “The Legislature shall divide the state into congressional, legislative and other districts as provided by law.”
He says Americans pledge allegiance to the flag and “to the republic…,” a system of representative government. “If we start legislating by initiative—that’s California and Colorado.”
Housing affordability has also emerged as a top concern of voters statewide. A recent Deseret News poll found that roughly a third of Utah voters picked housing as their sole priority for lawmakers (more than double any other issue).
Shelley notes that a proposed House bill would create a new Division of Housing within the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to coordinate the state’s response.
Water is also getting attention, though not the kind lawmakers hoped for. With snowpack hovering just above 60% of normal, Cox said water conservation will be part of the discussion this session. The House majority website emphasizes long-term infrastructure investments and protection of the Great Salt Lake.
In his newsletter, Owens repeatedly talks about the enviable position Utah is in. In a recent study, “Social Mobility in the 50 States,” Utah was ranked first in the nation in social mobility (another term might be upward mobility) because of its high economic, educational and social performance.
Some of the factors considered in the study were social trust, family unity and a robust, diversified middle class.
The report was prepared by the Archbridge Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to promoting “human flourishing.”