# Utah H.B. 394: Statutory Intent Amendments Utah H.B. 394, Statutory Intent Amendments, is a 2025 General Session House bill sponsored by Jordan D. Teuscher (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-03-25 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB394-2025GS - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah H.B. 394 - State: Utah - Session: 2025 General Session - Title: Statutory Intent Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-03 - Last action: 2025-03-25, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Jordan D. Teuscher (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Statutory Construction, Legislative Operations, Government Operations (State Issues) - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 7 (114 yes, 10 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 14 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Tuition waivers for older residents, veterans: benefit, medium. Utah residents age 62 or older, or qualifying veterans, can enroll tuition-free in public college classes with extra space. Students must qualify for the regularly scheduled class and follow enrollment rules. Tuition and other charges are waived, but a board-set quarterly registration fee remains p… - Land access and school trusts protected: benefit, low. Utah must ensure continued access to private and public lands for the public good. At the same time, the state must protect schoolchildren’s trust holdings against loss. The law does not create a specific access program or individual payment. - Utah must protect victims and witnesses: benefit, low. Utah must treat crime victims and witnesses with dignity, respect, courtesy, and sensitivity. The state must protect their rights under the victims’ rights law at least as vigorously as criminal defendants’ rights. - Emergency budget funds face tighter limits: benefit, low. Utah can release contingency budget funds only for unforeseeable emergencies. Agencies and the governor cannot use them to fix poor budgeting. Spending must also have an existing appropriation or authorization. - Mineral revenue prioritizes resource-affected communities: benefit, low. Utah directs federal mineral lease receipts and specified mineral lease bonuses toward public facilities and services. Uses include planning, construction, and maintenance. Communities designated as affected by covered resource development receive priority, subject to federal spending limits. - County audits lose legislative intent review: cost, low. County performance audits can check whether managers and staff follow laws, local ordinances, and policies. Legislative intent is no longer expressly listed as an audit topic. This narrows the stated scope of county oversight without directly changing household payments. - Utilities must fund state regulatory costs: cost, low. Regulated utilities must fund state utility regulators and related attorney general expenses. The funding cap is the greater of $50 or 0.3% of gross operating revenue for utilities other than electrical cooperatives. For electrical cooperatives, the percentage is 0.15%. The provision does not estab… - Extra crash claim payments have caps: mixed, high. For accidents on or after March 30, 2010, underinsured motorist insurers must pay awards exceeding the average of the claimant’s first written demand and the insurer’s first written response. Payment under this rule cannot exceed the policy limit plus $15,000. Insurers must also pay up to $5,000 in… - Crash benefits protected, with coverage exclusions: mixed, medium. Workers’ compensation and specified uninsured-employer benefits cannot reduce an otherwise covered uninsured motorist payment. Health insurers can seek repayment only after the injured person is fully compensated. Coverage generally excludes injuries while committing a felony or the specified vehic… - Crash claimants face strict disclosure deadlines: mixed, medium. For accidents on or after March 30, 2010, uninsured and underinsured motorist claimants must submit required information within 30 days of choosing arbitration or filing suit. This includes a written demand, supporting records, and signed authorizations. Underinsured claims require sworn disclosure… - Crash payment deadlines and lien deductions: mixed, medium. For underinsured motorist claims from accidents on or after March 30, 2010, insurers have up to 60 days after receiving required materials to respond and offer what they determine is owed. State or federal repayment liens reduce the offer, including liens tied to Medicare, Medicaid, or Utah CHIP be… - Limits on uninsured crash claim recovery: mixed, medium. For a no-contact crash, you must prove the uninsured vehicle existed with clear and convincing evidence beyond your testimony. You generally cannot add together uninsured motorist limits for multiple vehicles. Exceptions allow pedestrians and people using qualifying non-owned vehicles to draw on an… - Crash arbitration offers choices and limits: mixed, low. Uninsured motorist claimants can choose arbitration or court, subject to policy terms, and combine claims against multiple insurers in one hearing. After choosing court, switching to arbitration requires the insurer’s written consent. A new trial over an uninsured arbitration award requires corrupt… - State controls local sales tax enforcement: mixed, low. The Utah State Tax Commission has sole authority to administer and enforce local option sales and use taxes. Counties, cities, and towns cannot interfere with that work. They can join a hearing or appeal only when it may significantly reduce their own revenue. This provision does not directly chang… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Jordan D. Teuscher (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Calvin R. Musselman (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-03-07 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 20 | 7 | | | 2025-02-26 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 4 | 2 | | | 2025-02-24 | Senate | Senate Comm - Held | pass | 4 | 1 | | | 2025-02-14 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 71 | 0 | | | 2025-02-12 | House | House Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2025-02-12 | House | House Comm - Consent Calendar Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2025-02-12 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | ## Actions (34) - 2025-03-25: Governor Signed - 2025-03-17: House/ to Governor (House) - 2025-03-17: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2025-03-14: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2025-03-14: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2025-03-11: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2025-03-11: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2025-03-07: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2025-03-07: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2025-03-07: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2025-03-07: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2025-03-07: Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2025-03-07: Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2025-03-07: Senate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2025-03-05: Senate/ 2nd Reading Calendar to Rules (Senate) - 2025-02-26: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2025-02-26: Senate/ committee report favorable (Senate) - 2025-02-26: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation (Senate) - 2025-02-24: Senate Comm - Held (Senate) - 2025-02-19: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2025-02-18: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2025-02-14: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2025-02-14: House/ to Senate (House) - 2025-02-14: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2025-02-14: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2025-02-12: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2025-02-12: House/ comm rpt/ substituted/ Consent Calendar (House) - 2025-02-12: House Comm - Consent Calendar Recommendation (House) - 2025-02-12: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation (House) - 2025-02-12: House Comm - Substitute Recommendation (House) - 2025-02-05: House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (House) - 2025-02-04: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2025-02-04: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House) - 2025-02-03: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2025-03-14: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/enrolled/HB0394.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2025-02-11: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0394S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2025-02-03: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0394.pdf) ## Related bills - S.B. 199: Guardianship Amendments (signed) - H.B. 562: Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Amendments (signed) - H.B. 493: Medical Examiner Amendments (signed) - H.B. 482: Health and Human Services Reporting Requirements (signed) - S.B. 197: Property Tax Amendments (vetoed) - S.B. 3: Appropriations Adjustments (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/enrolled/HB0394.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0394S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/introduced/HB0394.pdf) ## Related - [S.B. 199: Guardianship Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB199-2025GS) - [H.B. 562: Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB562-2025GS) - [H.B. 493: Medical Examiner Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB493-2025GS) - [H.B. 482: Health and Human Services Reporting Requirements](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB482-2025GS) - [S.B. 197: Property Tax Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB197-2025GS) - [S.B. 3: Appropriations Adjustments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB3-2025GS) - [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-HB394-2025GS (as of 2026-10-17).