# Utah H.B. 279: Higher Education Code Amendments Utah H.B. 279, Higher Education Code Amendments, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by Val L. Peterson (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-19 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB279-2026GS - As of: 2026-10-14 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah H.B. 279 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Higher Education Code Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-16 - Last action: 2026-03-19, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Val L. Peterson (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Education, Higher Education, Colleges and Universities - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 13 (228 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 8 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Tuition help reaches private-campus officer families: benefit, high. Beginning May 6, 2026, survivor tuition waivers cover qualifying peace officers employed by law enforcement agencies run by private colleges. The officer's death must directly result from a traumatic injury suffered in the line of duty. A surviving spouse or natural or adopted child must apply thro… - Private-college health systems gain treatment authority: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah health systems closely affiliated with private colleges can offer qualifying psilocybin or MDMA treatments. The drugs must be in FDA Phase 3 testing, and patients must be at least 18. Systems must find broad scientific and medical research supporting treatment and keep i… - Private colleges join school computing partnerships: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah's required science, technology, engineering, and math coordination includes private colleges. School districts and charter schools can also apply jointly with private colleges for competitive computer science grants. The school must submit a plan to encourage an educator… - Private colleges gain hydrogen research support: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah's Hydrogen Advisory Council can promote hydrogen research at private colleges. These institutions join other higher education institutions in the council's research-promotion activities. The change does not provide a specific funding amount. - Colleges can consider vendor sponsorship offers: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, covered Utah colleges can request contributions, sponsorships, or other offerings during a standard purchasing process. Colleges can consider those offers when evaluating vendor responses. Vendors can respond to these requests despite the usual restrictions on gratuities and… - Private colleges gain state geology advice: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, the Utah Geological Survey must assist and advise private colleges on geology, fossils, and minerals. This extends its advisory duties to those institutions. The change specifies no funding amount. - Private campuses gain police help and protections: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Highway Patrol must help private colleges requesting assistance when unrest exists or develops on campus or related sites. Willfully blocking lawful campus access, movement, facility use, staff duties, or student learning is a class C misdemeanor. Damaging private-college pro… - Private colleges enter property forfeiture rules: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah's seized-property forfeiture law includes legally defined private colleges as law enforcement agencies. This expands which institutions fall under that law and can participate in forfeiture actions. It also affects owners whose property is involved in those actions. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Val L. Peterson (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Ann Millner (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-20 | House | House/ concurs with Senate amendment | pass | 72 | 0 | | | 2026-02-19 | Senate | Senate/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 26 | 0 | | | 2026-02-19 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-19 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-18 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd reading | pass | 26 | 0 | | | 2026-02-18 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-18 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-12 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2026-02-12 | Senate | Senate Comm - Amendment Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2026-02-05 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 71 | 0 | | | 2026-02-05 | House | House/ substituted | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-01-27 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 12 | 0 | | | 2026-01-27 | House | House Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 11 | 0 | | ## Actions (45) - 2026-03-19: Governor Signed - 2026-03-03: House/ to Governor (House) - 2026-03-03: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2026-02-26: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2026-02-26: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-02-25: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-02-25: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2026-02-23: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2026-02-23: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-20: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ concurs with Senate amendment (House) - 2026-02-19: House/ placed on Concurrence Calendar (House) - 2026-02-19: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ to House with amendments (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ passed 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Senate/ passed 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Senate/ 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ comm rpt/ amended (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-12: Senate Comm - Amendment Recommendation - 2026-02-09: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-06: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-05: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-05: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ substituted (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-01-28: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-01-28: House/ comm rpt/ substituted (House) - 2026-01-27: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-01-27: House Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-01-23: 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) - 2026-01-16: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-02-26: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0279.pdf) - Amended 2/13/2026 11:02:472, 2026-02-13: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0279S02_2026-02-13_11-00-48.pdf) - Substitute #2, 2026-02-05: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0279S02.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-01-27: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0279S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-16: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0279.pdf) ## Related bills - H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments (signed) - H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments (signed) - H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments (signed) - H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments (signed) - H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments (signed) - H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0279.pdf) - [Amended 2/13/2026 11:02:472 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0279S02_2026-02-13_11-00-48.pdf) - [Substitute #2 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0279S02.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0279S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0279.pdf) ## Related - [H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB94-2026GS) - [H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB101-2026GS) - [H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB178-2026GS) - [H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB134-2026GS) - [H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB136-2026GS) - [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-HB279-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).