# Utah H.B. 251: Diligence Claims Water Amendments

Utah H.B. 251, Diligence Claims Water Amendments, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by Scott H. Chew (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-25 (Governor Signed) (as of 2026-10-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB251-2026GS
- As of: 2026-10-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Utah H.B. 251
- State: Utah
- Session: 2026 General Session
- Title: Diligence Claims Water Amendments
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-03-25, Governor Signed
- Sponsor: Scott H. Chew (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Livestock, Animals, Natural Resources, Water Rights, Agriculture & Food, State Engineer, Water
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 6 (140 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Farm pond protections come with filing costs: mixed, medium. For claims submitted starting May 6, 2026, Utah presumes qualifying historic livestock ponds have water rights, even without certificates. Ponds must form from precipitation, not diverted water, and serve livestock watering or related care. They must support a federally patented homestead of 640 ac…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Scott H. Chew (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: David P. Hinkins (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Senate/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 19 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd reading | pass | 24 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 68 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-02 | House | House Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 12 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-02 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 12 | 0 |   |

## Actions (33)

- 2026-03-25: Governor Signed
- 2026-03-11: House/ to Governor (House)
- 2026-03-11: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House)
- 2026-03-04: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House)
- 2026-03-04: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
- 2026-03-02: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
- 2026-03-02: Bill Received from House for Enrolling
- 2026-02-26: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House)
- 2026-02-26: House/ received from Senate (House)
- 2026-02-26: Senate/ to House (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Senate/ passed 3rd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Senate/ passed 2nd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Senate/ 2nd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Senate/ committee report favorable (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- 2026-02-17: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Senate/ received from House (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: House/ to Senate (House)
- 2026-02-12: House/ passed 3rd reading (House)
- 2026-02-12: House/ 3rd reading (House)
- 2026-02-03: House/ 2nd reading (House)
- 2026-02-03: House/ comm rpt/ substituted (House)
- 2026-02-02: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- 2026-02-02: House Comm - Substitute Recommendation
- 2026-01-28: House/ to standing committee (House)
- 2026-01-20: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House)
- 2026-01-20: House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (House)
- 2026-01-20: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House)
- 2026-01-14: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed

## Bill text

- Enrolled, 2026-03-04: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0251.pdf)
- Substitute #1, 2026-02-02: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0251S01.pdf)
- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0251.pdf)

## Related bills

- H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments (signed)
- H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments (signed)
- H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments (signed)
- H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments (signed)
- H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments (signed)
- H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments (signed)

## Sources
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0251.pdf)
- [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0251S01.pdf)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0251.pdf)

## Related
- [H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB136-2026GS)
- [H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB101-2026GS)
- [H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB134-2026GS)
- [H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB178-2026GS)
- [H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB94-2026GS)
- [H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB220-2026GS)
- [Utah bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah/bills)
- [Utah state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB251-2026GS (as of 2026-10-19).