# Utah H.B. 597: Alcohol Amendments Utah H.B. 597, Alcohol Amendments, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by Burton, Jefferson S.; status signed, last action 2026-03-13 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB597-2026GS - 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. 597 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Alcohol Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-02-24 - Last action: 2026-03-13, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Burton, Jefferson S. - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Business, Alcohol, Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 8 (190 yes, 5 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 15 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Patrons can carry drinks between venues: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, you can carry a drink from a bar to an adjacent restaurant with the same owner. The venues must be no more than 35 feet apart. A bar employee must escort you. You cannot enter, cross, or otherwise use a public walkway while carrying the drink. - Alcohol businesses gain easier storage rules: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, retail licensees no longer must keep liquor storage areas locked under the repealed requirement. On-premise banquet and reception center licensees can return saleable opened and unused alcohol to approved storage. They can also return alcohol in unopened containers. These ret… - Event organizers get simpler location approvals: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, event permittees must apply for and receive the director's approval before moving alcohol activity to another location. This covers storage, sales, furnishing alcohol, and allowing consumption away from the location on the permit. The specified subcommittee approval step is r… - Restaurants and hotels gain location exceptions: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah can license restaurants and hotels despite usual distance rules when local consent expressly authorizes the proximity. The exception does not apply near a school or church, and hotels must meet remaining license and bar-sublicense requirements. The local authority must h… - Smaller hotels can qualify for licensing: benefit, low. Utah lowers the hotel room requirement from 40 rooms to at least 30 for alcohol-license purposes. Hotels must still provide paid temporary lodging and be able to host conventions, conferences, and contracted food and beverage functions. They must also meet one of the listed kitchen or function-spac… - Some packaged drinks avoid metered pouring: benefit, low. Covered sellers can serve qualifying spirituous drinks without a calibrated metered dispensing system. Drinks must be 12 ounces or less, with no more than 10% alcohol by volume or 8% by weight. The front label must show alcohol by volume in lettering at least three millimeters high. The exception c… - Alcohol discipline requires consultation before delay: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah's alcohol department can hold off starting discipline to avoid significant interference with a criminal or civil case. Before deciding, it must consult the prosecutor, law enforcement, or the plaintiff's lawyer, as applicable. Its other grounds for not starting disciplin… - Alcohol warning signs update health contacts: benefit, low. Required alcohol warning signs now direct questions to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. State stores must display the sign. Package agencies must display it when liquor is displayed or stored where the public can see it. - Violation histories can block alcohol licenses: cost, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, the commission can deny retail licenses, conditional retail licenses, or sublicenses based on an applicant's violation history. It can also deny applications based on the listed legal review factors. It must treat substantially similar histories and apply those factors consis… - Wine subscribers pay a minimum markup: cost, low. Utah's wine subscription program uses a separate pricing rule instead of the general liquor markup rule. The state must add at least 88.5% above the subscription cost for the interval when it buys the wine. The law does not state whether this raises prices compared with the prior rule. - Restaurants and reception centers face food tests: mixed, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, full-service, limited-service, and beer-only restaurants and reception centers face a 70% food-sales revenue rule. They also meet the compliance test when annual markup cost is no more than 30% of food revenue plus markup cost. The calculation divides annual markup cost by an… - Alcohol buyers face revised ID checks: mixed, low. A valid foreign driver license with a birth date and photo now counts as proof of age. Covered restaurants check people who appear 35 or younger in dispensing areas; checks also cover bar or tavern entry and covered off-premise beer purchases. Checks must confirm age 21 or older and a matching phot… - Cash alcohol totals can be rounded: mixed, low. Cash liquor totals can be rounded up or down to the nearest five cents when needed to make exact change. Sellers must apply taxes before rounding. This applies to state stores, package agencies, retail licensees, and permittees, including single-event permittees. The rounding exception does not rem… - Reception center licenses get a population cap: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah sets the reception center license cap at state population divided by 251,693, plus four. The commission can issue licenses within that limit but cannot exceed it. The input does not state the prior cap or how many licenses are already issued. - Some malt drinks count as liquor: mixed, low. Utah classifies qualifying malt-based drinks as heavy beer, which it regulates as liquor. The definition covers listed alcohol-content or flavoring-agent criteria and products with labels or packaging rejected under the cited law. Certain product categories are excluded. Sellers must use this class… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Burton, Jefferson S. - Cosponsor: Jerry W Stevenson (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-05 | House | House/ concurs with Senate amendment | pass | 67 | 2 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate/ floor amendment | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 29 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 4 | 0 | | | 2026-03-03 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 65 | 3 | | | 2026-02-27 | House | House Comm - Amendment Recommendation | pass | 10 | 0 | | | 2026-02-27 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 10 | 0 | | ## Actions (41) - 2026-03-13: Governor Signed - 2026-03-12: House/ to Governor (House) - 2026-03-12: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2026-03-06: 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/ floor amendment (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) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-03-04: Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-03-03: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-03: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-03: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-03-03: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-03-02: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-03-02: House/ comm rpt/ amended (House) - 2026-02-27: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-27: House Comm - Amendment Recommendation - 2026-02-27: House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (House) - 2026-02-24: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-02-24: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-02-24: House/ received bill from Legislative Printing (House) - 2026-02-24: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-06: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0597.pdf) - Amended 3/4/2026 20:03:657, 2026-03-04: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0597S01_2026-03-04_20-09-49.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-03-04: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0597S01.pdf) - Amended 3/2/2026 11:03:931, 2026-03-02: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0597_2026-03-02_11-20-32.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-02-24: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0597.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/HB0597.pdf) - [Amended 3/4/2026 20:03:657 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0597S01_2026-03-04_20-09-49.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0597S01.pdf) - [Amended 3/2/2026 11:03:931 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0597_2026-03-02_11-20-32.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0597.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-HB597-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).