# Utah H.B. 38: Local Government Amendments Utah H.B. 38, Local Government Amendments, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by James A. Dunnigan (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-HB38-2026GS - 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. 38 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Local Government Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-12-16 - Last action: 2026-03-18, Governor Signed - Sponsor: James A. Dunnigan (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Counties, Local Government Boundaries, Limited Purpose Local Government Entities, Political Subdivisions (Local Issues), Special Service Districts, Annexation, County and Municipal Finance, County Officers, Fiscal Procedures, Form of Local Government, Local Government Classification, Local Government Employees, Local Taxation and Fees - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 10 (122 yes, 22 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 42 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Descendants can use affidavits for military records: benefit, low. People requesting an ancestor’s military record can submit an affidavit explaining their direct family line. A county recorder can accept it as proof for a free certified copy. Acceptance is allowed, not required. - Jurors and witnesses use finance officers: benefit, low. Holders of covered juror or witness certificates can present them to the county finance officer for payment. The certificate must be presented within one year after issuance. After that deadline, it is invalid and unpaid. - Voters get emails about disqualified candidates: benefit, low. County election officials must email eligible voters when a candidate is disqualified 65 or fewer days before an election. This applies to voters whose email addresses are on file. The email must explain that the candidate is disqualified and votes for that candidate will not count. - Counties provide needed replacement survey markers: benefit, low. When permitted construction disturbs a government survey monument or public land survey corner, the county must provide the needed monument. The permit holder receives it for the work. The replacement no longer has to be a brass monument, ring, and lid. - District home liens clear before inspection: benefit, low. For homes assessed by an infrastructure financing district under the Assessment Area Act, the district must ensure the home's assessment is fully paid. Any assessment lien must also be satisfied and released. Both steps must happen before the final inspection required for a certificate of occupancy… - Property owners can get recording alerts: benefit, low. Beginning January 1, 2025, county recorders must offer electronic alerts for deeds or mortgages recorded on an owner's property. Property owners must sign up. Notice is due within 30 days after recording. The recorder may use another delivery method at the owner's request. - Recorder services accept electronic payment authorization: benefit, low. County recorders can provide recording, copies, and other services after payment or authorization for electronic payment. The fee remains due; electronic authorization is another way to arrange payment before service. - Career council members can hold office: benefit, low. County career service council members can now hold another government office. The separate ban on being employed by the county remains. - Counties gain clerk-auditor staffing flexibility: benefit, low. Clerks in counties with taxable value below $100 million no longer must also serve as auditor without extra pay. The county covered by Section 17-70-103 can combine its clerk and auditor offices by ordinance at any time. That county can also pay a clerk serving as auditor despite the usual combined… - County finance officers handle payment claims: benefit, low. County finance officers review goods and service claims, recommend approval or rejection, and keep claim and payment-order records. Payment requires county executive approval, a certified claim list, and completion of the required review. A separate statutory exception applies to claims covered by… - County government plans get election deadlines: benefit, low. A proposed optional county government plan goes to voters after the county attorney finds no statutory or constitutional violation. The county must use the next regular general election no later than 180 days after the attorney’s report reaches the clerk. - Districts cannot take property or shift debts: benefit, low. Infrastructure financing districts cannot use eminent domain to take property. This does not change other entities' eminent-domain powers. A district alone bears its debts, obligations, and other financial burdens. Those burdens do not belong to Utah or its other local governments. - Finance officers oversee county debt controls: benefit, low. County finance officers certify that county bonds, payment orders, and other debt meet legal limits and issuance rules. County findings about debt interest, salaries, or current expenses protect finance officers on those facts when certifying related payment orders. Counties must maintain financial… - New counties use active-voter petition counts: benefit, low. New-county petitions count an area’s active voters when measuring voter support. Civil and criminal cases pending in territory that becomes a new county can continue there through judgment and enforcement. Continuing those cases in the new county is allowed, not required. - Residents get clearer county financial access: benefit, low. Finance officers must post audit-completion notice on the county website within 10 days after receiving the independent auditor’s report. This replaces twice-published newspaper notices and also follows state publication rules. The public can inspect audits and adopted budgets at the auditor’s offi… - County surveys require licensed professionals: benefit, low. Licensed land surveyors must perform county surveyor duties, even when that office is combined with another elected office. Counties can hire or contract with one when no elected surveyor exists or the combined-office holder lacks a license. Contracted surveyors use their own seal unless the contra… - Property records get updated search indexes: benefit, low. Recorders must mark recorded documents with an entry number, recording date and time, and fee. Indexes must include entry numbers, document types, applicable parties and property descriptions, and water-right numbers when applicable. Recorders can use parcel numbers, addresses, or references to rec… - Public agencies receive completed district infrastructure: benefit, low. Infrastructure financed by an infrastructure financing district must meet the requirements of the public entity that will own and operate it. Once complete, it must transfer at no cost to that county, municipality, special district, or special service district. - Construction permits lose $250 refund: cost, low. Counties no longer must refund $250 after permitted construction ends and a government survey monument or corner remains undisturbed. Permit holders who qualified for that refund lose the required $250 payment. - District tax challenges face short deadline: cost, low. Anyone challenging an infrastructure financing district's creation, property tax, or fee must sue and serve summons within 30 days. The clock starts when the challenged action takes effect. Someone who misses the deadline cannot later challenge that action or seek to stop related tax or fee collect… - Extra recording fee in some counties: cost, low. Second- through sixth-class counties must charge an extra $5 for each covered recorder service when their restricted recording-fee account has no balance. The extra fee does not apply while that account has a balance. It also excludes the $2 charge for each additional description or mining claim. - County examination appeals lose binding rulings: cost, low. Applicants rejected from a county examination can appeal in writing. A career service council or administrative law judge reviews the appeal and sends written recommendations to county lawmakers. The council or judge no longer issues a final, binding decision. - County boundary petitions need voter majorities: cost, low. Joining adjoining counties requires petition signatures from a majority of active voters in each county. The petition must reach both county legislative bodies before the first Monday in June of any year. Transferring territory to an adjoining county requires signatures from a majority of active vo… - County leaders face narrower authority rules: cost, low. An appointed county administrative officer no longer qualifies as a county executive under these rules. Elected county executives and appointed county managers still qualify. County legislative bodies can investigate county matters and business. They can investigate a county officer’s actions only… - County officers must meet qualification rules: cost, low. In first- and second-class counties, a person holding a combined county office must qualify for every office included. This includes any required state license or certification. County assessor candidates must meet the filing qualifications referenced in the law. - Infrastructure districts face formation and expansion limits: cost, low. Infrastructure financing districts must follow the referenced special-district rules for creation, annexation, and withdrawal, with statutory exclusions. Creation documents must describe planned infrastructure and address development agreements and expansion areas when applicable. Residential distr… - Career councils lose removal and fee protections: cost, low. A county executive can remove a career service council member after offering an appeal to the county legislative body. Removal no longer requires cause, charges, or an opportunity for a public hearing. Councils also lose express authority to pay witnesses at justice court rates. Witnesses cannot re… - County nuclear-waste indemnity provision is repealed: cost, low. The law repeals a provision for state indemnification of a county that refuses to host nuclear waste. The supplied text does not describe the covered costs or conditions. It provides no amount for estimating the financial effect. - County resource-development spending authority is repealed: cost, low. The law repeals a statutory authorization to spend county money on developing county resources. The supplied text does not identify the resources, projects, or spending limits involved. No spending reduction or household financial effect is specified. - Infrastructure districts face tighter borrowing limits: cost, low. Infrastructure financing districts may issue bonds only under the Assessment Area Act and Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Act. Assessment Area Act provisions allowing assessment proceeds for infrastructure operation, maintenance, or economic promotion do not apply to these districts. - New local governments pay survey fees: cost, low. After a new local government receives its incorporation certificate, the county surveyor may charge it for formation-related survey work. The new government must pay those fees. Charges may include qualifying work completed before the certificate was issued. The law sets no fee amount. - Counties can sell record subscriptions: mixed, low. County recorders may offer records or information from records through a subscription service. County lawmakers may set a reasonable subscription fee by ordinance or resolution. Subscribing is optional. - Recorded documents give notice, limit lawsuits: mixed, low. Recorded documents give everyone legal notice of their contents from recording, rather than limiting that rule to certified copies. Documents indexed in all or part of the required indexes also give legal notice. Indexing does not fix a failure of notice caused by an error, omission, or defect. Peo… - County workers face revised appeal rules: mixed, low. Counties with career service systems must provide a council or personnel-trained judge to hear suspension, transfer, demotion, and dismissal appeals. General unresolved grievances are no longer listed for this review. An affected person must appeal a council or judge's decision to the county govern… - Counties gain spending approval flexibility: mixed, low. An ordinance can authorize finance officers, executives, managers, or appointed county hospital or mental health district administrators to approve routine spending. It can also authorize payroll checks that follow an established salary schedule. Routine spending must appear in the budget and have… - County assessors face licensing and exceptions: mixed, low. Elected county assessors must meet state qualifications and generally hold a state appraiser license or certification. Fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-class counties have a limited exception for candidates without that credential. It applies only when no credentialed appraiser files during the first thr… - County member expulsion protection is repealed: mixed, low. The law repeals a section prohibiting member expulsion, with an exception for disorderly conduct. The supplied text does not identify the covered county bodies or members. It also does not explain which procedures apply after repeal. - County seat petitions need active-voter majorities: mixed, low. A petition to move a county seat needs signatures from a majority of the county’s active voters. This replaces a count based on votes cast in the previous general election. A qualifying petition received at least 180 days before the next general election goes on that ballot. Later petitions go to t… - Districts gain contracts but limit board pay: mixed, low. Infrastructure financing districts may contract with another government entity for administrative services. Districts cannot pay board members for board service unless those members live within the district. - Origin counties pay transferred civil-case costs: mixed, low. When a civil case moves counties, the original county must reimburse the receiving county for the proceeding's costs and expenses. This does not apply when the case moved because it should have been filed in the receiving county. The receiving county's attorney certifies the amount to the original… - Disability residence licensing section is repealed: mixed, low. The law repeals a section titled 'Licensing of residences for persons with a disability.' The supplied text does not describe the removed licensing rules or any replacement rules. It does not establish how the repeal changes access, costs, or protections for residents. - Counties gain collection options with expense limits: mixed, low. Counties and special districts may arrange for county treasurers to bill and collect district assessments, with the treasurer's approval. When a taxpayer moves counties after a personal-property assessment, the county finance officer may deduct collection expenses from taxes collected. That deducti… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: James A. Dunnigan (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Michael K. McKell (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-20 | Senate | Senate/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 19 | 4 | | | 2026-02-19 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-19 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd reading | pass | 24 | 4 | | | 2026-02-19 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 6 | 0 | | | 2026-02-09 | House | House/ substituted | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-09 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 56 | 13 | | | 2026-01-29 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 8 | 1 | | | 2026-01-29 | House | House Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 9 | 0 | | | 2026-01-20 | House | House/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | ## Actions (38) - 2026-03-18: Governor Signed - 2026-03-16: House/ to Governor (House) - 2026-03-16: 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 - 2026-02-23: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-02-23: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2026-02-20: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-02-20: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-02-20: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2026-02-20: Senate/ passed 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-20: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ passed 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ committee report favorable (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-12: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-09: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-09: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-09: House/ substituted (House) - 2026-01-30: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-01-29: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-01-29: House Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-01-21: House/ lifted from calendar sent to standing comm (House) - 2026-01-20: House/ circled (House) - 2026-01-20: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-01-20: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-01-20: House/ Rules to 3rd Reading Calendar (House) - 2026-01-20: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-01-14: House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (House) - 2026-01-14: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House) - 2025-12-16: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0038.pdf) - Substitute #3, 2026-02-04: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0038S03.pdf) - Substitute #2, 2026-01-29: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0038S02.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-01-28: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0038S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2025-12-16: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0038.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/HB0038.pdf) - [Substitute #3 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0038S03.pdf) - [Substitute #2 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0038S02.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0038S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0038.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-HB38-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).