# Utah H.B. 373: Higher Education Innovation Utah H.B. 373, Higher Education Innovation, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by Karen M. Peterson (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-18 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB373-2026GS - 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. 373 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Higher Education Innovation - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-26 - Last action: 2026-03-18, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Karen M. Peterson (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Education, Higher Education, School Finance, Utah Board of Higher Education, Colleges and Universities, Governance, Utah System of Higher Education - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 7 (172 yes, 8 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 8 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Nucleus supports state and corporate research: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the Nucleus Institute must support research sponsored by the state and corporations. The research aims to address state initiatives and create opportunities to bring ideas to market. This requirement sets no funding amount or direct household payment. - Innovation board and committee service becomes unpaid: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah's higher education innovation board members cannot receive pay or benefits for board service. The rule includes the executive director's board service, removing the prior exception. Nucleus Fund investment committee members also cannot receive pay or benefits for commit… - Nucleus Fund assets can cover incentive pay: cost, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the Nucleus Fund can charge fees against the assets it manages. Fees can cover only reasonable and necessary fund costs, including annual audits and performance-based pay incentives. The law sets no fee rate or dollar amount. These charges can leave less money available to i… - Public safety scholarships carry service commitments: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah officials set Karen Mayne Public Safety Officer Scholarship amounts based on legislative funding. Awards cannot exceed tuition, fees, and required textbooks for peace officer training and related college education. Support is limited to that training and a maximum of fo… - Opportunity scholarships have yearly amounts and caps: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah officials set Opportunity Scholarship amounts each year based on eligible students and available program money. The board distributes legislative funding to eligible institutions; the law sets no fixed student award. Institutions reduce awards so combined state aid does… - Students get yearly first credential awards: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah officials set the first credential scholarship amount each year. Awards depend on the number of eligible students and legislative funding; the law sets no fixed dollar amount. Scholarships can pay tuition, fees, books, supplies, and other approved education expenses, al… - Education and agency space at The Point: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the Nucleus Institute oversees facility development, programming, and operations on Point of the Mountain state land. The facility includes shared work areas, classrooms, college offices, public education opportunities, and retail space. The development authority can also co… - Utah colleges get time-limited research funding: mixed, low. The law provides $50 million in one-time research pilot funding from the Income Tax Fund for July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027. Utah's higher education board awards competitive grants: 75%–85% for research institutions and 15%–25% for regional institutions' applied research. College presidents rank applic… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Karen M. Peterson (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Ann Millner (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-05 | House | House/ concurs with Senate amendment | pass | 64 | 5 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate/ substituted | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 28 | 1 | | | 2026-02-26 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 3 | 0 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 66 | 1 | | | 2026-02-12 | House | House Comm - Amendment Recommendation | pass | 6 | 0 | | | 2026-02-12 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 1 | | ## Actions (40) - 2026-03-18: Governor Signed - 2026-03-12: House/ to Governor (House) - 2026-03-12: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2026-03-11: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2026-03-11: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-06: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-06: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2026-03-05: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ concurs with Senate amendment (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ placed on Concurrence Calendar (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ to House with amendments (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ 2nd Reading Calendar to Rules (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senate/ committee report favorable (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-24: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-20: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-20: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-13: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-02-13: House/ comm rpt/ amended (House) - 2026-02-12: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-12: House Comm - Amendment Recommendation - 2026-02-10: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-02-10: Bill Substituted by Sponsor in House Rules Comm - 2026-01-26: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-01-26: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House) - 2026-01-26: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0373.pdf) - Substitute #2, 2026-03-03: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0373S02.pdf) - Amended 2/13/2026 10:02:704, 2026-02-13: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0373S01_2026-02-13_10-18-09.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-02-02: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0373S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-26: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0373.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/HB0373.pdf) - [Substitute #2 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0373S02.pdf) - [Amended 2/13/2026 10:02:704 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0373S01_2026-02-13_10-18-09.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0373S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0373.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-HB373-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).