All Roll Calls
Yes: 162 • No: 29
UtahH.B. 682026 General SessionHouseWALLET
Housing and Community Development Amendments
Sponsored By: Calvin Roberts (Republican)
Signed by Governor
Economic DevelopmentHousingDepartment of Workforce ServicesWorkforce ServicesHomelessnessIndependent EntitiesCommunity DevelopmentGovernor's Office of Economic OpportunityGrant Programs and IncentivesUtah Housing CorporationAffordable Housing
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
38 provisions identified: 21 benefits, 10 costs, 7 mixed.
Manufacturers get reserved financing and help
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah reserves at least 50% of the Small Issue Bond Account for manufacturing from January 1 through June 30. It also reserves at least 50% of the Pool Account from July 1 through August 15; the specified unused carryover capacity is exempt. The state can help qualified small manufacturers learn about bond financing, apply, and qualify. It can arrange lower-cost professional services when it can supply providers with many applicants or bond issues.
Development-affected communities get state funding priority
Beginning July 1, 2026, specified mineral lease revenues and bonus funds must prioritize communities designated as affected by resource development. Mineral lease revenue in the Permanent Community Impact Fund supports loans, grants, or both to affected Utah public agencies and subdivisions. Uses must follow the Mineral Leasing Act and state fund rules. Money appropriated under the trust-land provision funds grants to local governments for impacts from developing or using school and institutional trust lands. No community award amount is guaranteed.
Medicaid housing coordination supports community living
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah's Medicaid long-term support services housing coordinator must work with state agencies and other listed partners. Partners include the Division of Community Services and the Division of Housing and Community Development. They must identify and promote community-based settings for Medicaid recipients. The law does not set a new benefit amount or change who qualifies.
State agencies coordinate affordable housing help
Beginning July 1, 2026, state agencies must work together on affordable housing services and funding. Workforce Services must help applicants qualify, and application services may include information about special housing programs. The housing division coordinates state programs with the Utah Housing Corporation. With federal permission and within legislative funding, it may administer federal housing or homeless programs with partner agencies. These changes do not guarantee new household payments or change eligibility rules.
Utah creates a central housing division
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah creates a housing division in the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, led by the state housing coordinator. It develops the state housing plan, helps local governments and housing authorities, and assists with accessible housing when requested locally. It sets standard housing-report rules, studies housing data, and reports findings annually to legislative committees. The Utah Housing Corporation must coordinate with the division. For July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, the division receives $345,000 more, offset by an equal cut to Governor's Office Operations.
Utah requires yearly homeless services planning
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah's homelessness coordinator must maintain and update a statewide homeless services budget and plan each year. The plan must set measurable goals, identify service gaps and improvements, and coordinate providers. The Utah Homeless Services Board must give final approval. By October 1 annually, the coordinator must report the budget, plan, funding disbursements, and related data to the department.
Dedicated money supports commuter rail improvements
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah creates a commuter rail account within its transit transportation investment fund. It receives specified contributions, appropriations, private contributions, donations, and grants, and keeps its investment earnings. Money can pay only for Utah commuter rail improvements, including crossings that separate trains from other traffic. The transportation commission must prioritize projects, or the Legislature must direct them.
Dedicated transportation funding for Cottonwood Canyons
Beginning July 1, 2026, a dedicated fund supports transportation and public transit projects in Salt Lake County's Cottonwood Canyons. It receives specified deposits, legislative funding, private contributions, donations, and grants, and keeps its interest. The Legislature can appropriate money for canyon projects. The transportation department can use up to 2% of revenue deposited under Section 59-12-103(4)(f) for related local public-safety enforcement contracts.
New state fund supports regional trails
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah creates the Active Transportation Investment Fund for regional paved trails, statewide trail planning, and administration. It receives specified deposits, appropriations, donations, and grants, and keeps its investment earnings. Trail projects must serve a regional purpose and fit an approved active-transportation plan or the specified statewide plan. Projects must also follow the transportation commission's priority process.
Special districts can save for projects
Beginning July 1, 2026, special district boards can reserve expected revenue or existing balances for named future capital projects. Projects must appear in a formally adopted long-range capital plan. The reserve can grow across several years. Spending still requires a budget appropriation and compliance with budget controls.
Special districts can use excess reserves
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah special districts can use general-fund balances above 5% of total general-fund revenues for budgeting. This gives districts more flexibility over money above that threshold. Any effect on households depends on district budget choices.
Tax growth funds Big Cottonwood transit
The transportation department must use sales and use tax growth above fiscal year 2025 collections for a Big Cottonwood Canyon transit hub. The money pays for hub construction and projects providing access into and out of the hub. The funding direction starts with the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. The provision takes effect July 1, 2026.
Utah establishes permanent community impact funding
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah establishes the Permanent Community Impact Fund as an enterprise fund. It holds specified appropriations, federal mineral lease bonus payments, loan repayments, and other money provided by the Legislature. Investment earnings stay in the fund. Money available for loans, grants, administration, or other uses is limited to legislative appropriations.
Utah sets yearly bond financing shares
Beginning July 1, 2026, Utah sets rules for dividing its annual bond-financing limit each January 1. Single-family housing receives 42%, student loans 33%, exempt facilities 1%, and small-issue bonds 24%. The review board can move unallocated, unused, or uncollected capacity among accounts, including pool and carryforward accounts, within account eligibility rules and time limits. Eligible housing and student-loan issuers can provide written notice that capacity will not be used so it can be transferred.
County housing plans can boost transportation priority
Beginning July 1, 2026, transportation projects in qualifying counties' unincorporated areas can receive priority consideration. A county must file a compliant report showing plans to carry out at least five moderate-income housing strategies. Covered counties are first- through third-class counties with more than 5,000 residents in unincorporated areas. Priority ends when the transportation department receives notice that the county no longer qualifies. Priority does not guarantee funding.
Housing needs guide bond financing allocations
Beginning July 1, 2026, the review board can direct up to 50% of each bond financing limit increase to quality growth areas. It must weigh those areas' needs against other account allotments. Allocation criteria must consider financing need, project effects, and jobs. For rental projects, the board must also consider lower-income targeting and accessible housing. Issuing authorities must apply with the information the board requires; no project award is guaranteed.
Housing strategies can boost transportation priority
Beginning July 1, 2026, covered municipalities can receive priority consideration for transportation projects through compliant housing reports. Reports must show plans for at least five housing strategies, or six with a fixed guideway transit station. Priority continues until the transportation department receives notice that the municipality no longer qualifies. It does not guarantee project funding.
State funds support moderate-income housing projects
Beginning July 1, 2026, the housing coordinator can fund approved projects that include moderate-income homes. Money comes from the Economic Revitalization and Investment Fund and Rural Housing Fund. Eligible work includes buying, repairing, or constructing buildings, buying land, and related work before development. Developers or project sponsors receive the money, not households directly. The provision states no award amount.
Station-area housing gets priority review
Beginning July 1, 2026, municipalities must give first priority to certain residential applications, including building permits, near transit stations. This applies where station-area planning requirements remain unmet and approval requires a zoning change. Regional planning organizations using the specified state economic-development funds must also prioritize help requests for station-area plans required through qualifying land-use petitions. Neither priority guarantees project approval or planning assistance.
Supportive housing owners gain tax relief
Beginning July 1, 2026, more supportive housing owners can qualify for a property tax exemption. This includes qualifying housing organizations owned by a nonprofit or housing authority. Jointly owned properties need Utah Housing Corporation certification and a qualifying nonprofit or housing authority owner. They need public funding for support services and rental subsidies, plus federal low-income housing tax credits. They must commit to rent subsidies for 15 years and provide supportive services. Tenants must have been homeless immediately before leasing, with rent capped at 30% of household income. The property must be intended for transfer by the compliance period's end to a qualifying owner that continues supportive housing.
Athlete training organizations gain tax eligibility
Beginning July 1, 2026, qualifying national sports governing bodies can count competitive-athlete teaching, training, and conditioning as educational uses for property tax exemption. Supporting or related activities also qualify. The governing body must be recognized by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and qualify as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. This expands organizations' exemption eligibility, not household tax breaks.
Housing enforcement lawsuits cannot award damages
Beginning July 1, 2026, plaintiffs cannot recover money damages in lawsuits enforcing or alleging violations of two specified housing provisions. These are Sections 17-80-202 and 17-79-404(5)(c). Courts can still issue injunctions or other equitable relief, such as orders requiring action.
Two housing loan programs end
Beginning July 1, 2026, the law repeals the low-income accessory dwelling unit loan guarantee pilot. It also repeals the subordinate shared appreciation mortgage loan program. The housing fund loses authority to provide these guarantees or distribute these mortgage funds. The law states no replacement programs, loan amounts, or affected household counts.
Community Services loses housing support powers
Beginning July 1, 2026, the Division of Community Services loses two stated assistance powers. It can no longer use that authority to offer nonprofit and government groups loans or grants for domestic violence shelter development. That includes building or improving shelters. It also loses the stated authority to help counties and cities develop accessible housing when they request help. These repeals do not state replacement support.
Mineral bonus assistance requires loan repayment
Beginning July 1, 2026, bonus-payment money in the Permanent Community Impact Fund can support authorized assistance only through interest-bearing loans. The restriction also covers repayments and interest from that money. Recipient agencies, local governments, or interlocal agencies must repay the fund. It does not create a repayment duty for households.
Bond issuers face deadlines and penalties
Beginning July 1, 2026, bond-allocation certificates last 90 days after approval; unused capacity then returns for reassignment. Issuers must report bond issuance within 15 days using Form 8038 or a board-prepared copy. They must also report non-issuance within 15 days of the earlier final decision not to issue or certificate expiration. Missing notices can block future applications, and carryforward applicants can be excluded when lack of diligence prevents capacity from being used. Bonds without valid certificates, and amounts above certificate limits, receive no allocation.
Cities must plan housing near transit
Beginning July 1, 2026, municipalities with fixed guideway transit stations must adopt station-area plans and land-use rules. Plans address affordable housing, sustainability, access to opportunities, and transportation choices, with stakeholder input and regional planning review. New-station plans are due before service starts; the existing-station schedule generally specifies December 31, 2025, with phased deadlines for cities with over four stations. Qualifying prior actions or documented impracticability can affect the requirement, and one qualifying 12-month extension is available. Follow-up reports are due every five years for up to 15 years after certification.
Housing reporting failures block transportation funds
Noncompliant municipalities and covered counties lose access to specified state transportation project funds, including transit investment funds. Triggers include missing reports, failing to fix deficiencies within 90 days, missing applicable 10-day appeal deadlines, or losing an appeal. The department cannot program these funds for projects within the municipality or the county's unincorporated areas. The block ends when the housing division notifies the local government and transportation department that it no longer applies. The county provision takes effect July 1, 2026.
Local governments must report housing progress
Beginning July 1, 2026, covered municipalities and counties must submit initial housing reports and annual progress reports. A newly covered government must file its initial plan by August 1 of its first qualifying calendar year. Annual reports are due August 1 in later years. Reports must cover housing strategies, land-use actions, barriers, zoning maps, accessory dwelling permits and rental licenses, and approved units without building permits. They also cover market response and requests for state support.
Local housing-report failures trigger financial penalties
Municipalities and covered counties owe $250 daily for missed housing-report or correction deadlines, beginning with reports submitted in 2024. For consecutive-year failures, the fee rises to $500 daily beginning with reports submitted in 2025. Fees go to the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, and all outstanding fees must be paid to regain compliance. County fees continue until the housing division gives notice that funding restrictions no longer apply. Beginning July 1, 2026, the new division makes distribution-eligibility decisions; affected county-option sales tax distributions are redirected starting the calendar quarter after 90 days' notice.
School projects face impact funding limits
Beginning July 1, 2026, the impact board cannot fund education projects a school district could reasonably fund itself. District funding methods include annual budgets, capital budgets, bonds, and special assessments. These projects must rely on funding outside this impact fund assistance.
Housing workers face different job protections
For covered housing-division transfers on or after July 1, 2026, job protections depend on the worker's status and position. Career-service workers moving to exempt positions keep those protections while staying in the same position, unless they voluntarily switch. Exempt workers transferring to the same position remain at-will. Probationary career-service workers transferring to exempt positions on July 1, 2026, become exempt if probation was incomplete before that date. People hired by the new housing division after July 1, 2026, are at-will and lack career-service protections.
Homeless funding favors results, requires data
Beginning July 1, 2026, homeless-services funding must favor providers with documented success reducing homelessness or moving people into lasting housing. Providers must sign agreements to collect and share Homeless Management Information System data before funding approval. Providers serving domestic violence victims are exempt; this provision does not directly require clients to submit data. The coordinator must use a steering committee funding formula once the Homeless Services Board approves it. Federal money outside that formula follows federal rules.
Oil charges affect Uintah Basin deposits
Beginning July 1, 2026, specified Uintah Basin Revitalization Fund deposits depend on county and tribal oil and gas charges. Deposits occur only when neither a county nor the Tribe imposes business or activity fees or gross-receipts taxes on those activities. Counties and the Tribe retain authority to charge gathering, transmission, or local distribution pipelines in which they own an interest.
Temporary coverage changes for public borrowing
From July 1, 2026, through July 1, 2027, state public-borrowing rules expressly cover two additional entities or accounts. The Utah Fairpark Area Investment and Restoration District counts as a bonding political subdivision. Water Development Security Fund subaccounts count as revolving loan funds. These definitions determine coverage under Chapter 63C-25, not new household payments, loan terms, or tax changes.
Transit district pays for cleaner trains
A large public transit district must pay the transportation department $5 million annually for 15 years, totaling $75 million. The agreement supports purchases of zero- or low-emission rail engines and trainsets for regional rail systems. The statutory deadline to enter the agreement was before July 1, 2022. The law does not specify rider fare changes.
Transit funding comes with local match
Beginning July 1, 2026, a transit investment fund within the state's transportation fund supports prioritized transit projects and innovation grants. It receives public and private funding, specified tax transfers, and interest; transit studies are capped at $500,000 yearly. Transit districts and local governments generally must provide at least 30% of eligible transit or connected walking and cycling project costs. A commission-approved State Infrastructure Bank loan can count toward the match for a prioritized project. Department-proposed projects and projects funded by transfers under Section 59-12-2220(11)(b) or (c) are exempt.
Local governments get housing planning options
Beginning July 1, 2026, covered municipalities must plan realistically for housing needs over five years, with timelines and benchmarks. They need at least three strategies, or five with a fixed guideway transit station, subject to required strategy combinations. Without such a station, one qualifying strategy adopted through an ordinance or development agreement can count as three. That credit lasts for the report year and the next two years. First-, second-, and third-class counties with over 5,000 unincorporated residents can choose one newer strategy instead of three traditional strategies. Options include housing investment zones, eligible housing projects, and affordable homeownership density bonuses.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Calvin Roberts
Republican • House
Cosponsors
Lincoln Fillmore
Republican • Senate
Roll Call Votes
Senate vote • 3/5/2026
Senate/ uncircled
Yes: 0 • No: 0
House vote • 3/5/2026
House/ concurs with Senate amendment
Yes: 54 • No: 10
Senate vote • 3/5/2026
Senate/ substituted
Yes: 0 • No: 0
Senate vote • 3/5/2026
Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
Yes: 25 • No: 3
Senate vote • 3/5/2026
Senate/ circled
Yes: 0 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/25/2026
Senate/ substituted
Yes: 0 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/25/2026
Senate/ passed 2nd reading
Yes: 19 • No: 2
Senate vote • 2/23/2026
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
Yes: 3 • No: 0
House vote • 2/13/2026
House/ substituted
Yes: 0 • No: 0
House vote • 2/13/2026
House/ passed 3rd reading
Yes: 55 • No: 13
House vote • 2/4/2026
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
Yes: 6 • No: 1
Actions Timeline
Governor Signed
3/25/2026House/ to Governor
3/12/2026HouseHouse/ received enrolled bill from Printing
3/12/2026HouseHouse/ enrolled bill to Printing
3/11/2026HouseEnrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
3/11/2026Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
3/6/2026Bill Received from House for Enrolling
3/6/2026House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
3/5/2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
3/5/2026HouseSenate/ to House
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ signed by President/ returned to House
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ received from House
3/5/2026SenateHouse/ to Senate
3/5/2026HouseHouse/ concurs with Senate amendment
3/5/2026HouseHouse/ placed on Concurrence Calendar
3/5/2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
3/5/2026HouseSenate/ to House with amendments
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ uncircled
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ circled
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ substituted
3/5/2026SenateSenate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar
3/4/2026SenateSenate/ returned to Rules
3/4/2026SenateSenate/ placed on 3rd Reading Calendar table
2/25/2026SenateSenate/ 3rd reading
2/25/2026Senate
Bill Text
Enrolled
3/11/2026
Substitute #6
3/3/2026
Substitute #5
2/26/2026
Substitute #4
2/25/2026
Substitute #3
2/11/2026
Substitute #2
2/6/2026
Substitute #1
1/30/2026
Introduced
12/22/2025