# Utah S.B. 229: State Employee Benefits Amendments Utah S.B. 229, State Employee Benefits Amendments, is a 2026 General Session Senate bill sponsored by Lincoln Fillmore (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-24 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB229-2026GS - As of: 2026-10-14 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah S.B. 229 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: State Employee Benefits Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-30 - Last action: 2026-03-24, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Lincoln Fillmore (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Labor and Employment, Division of Human Resource Management, Public Retirement and Insurance, Legislative Operations, Legislative Employees and Compensation, State Officers and Employees, Division of Finance, Public Employees Insurance and Benefits, Public Employees Retirement, Utah Retirement Systems (URS), Tier 1 Retirement, Tier 2 Retirement - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 18 (166 yes, 84 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - State workers can save unused leave: benefit, medium. When Utah state employees leave their job or retire, they can convert unused annual leave or paid time off into retirement savings. Employees must choose a Utah State Retirement Board-sponsored 401(k) or 457 account. The conversion uses their pay rate when they leave or retire. Federal annual contr… - State workers get tier-based retirement matches: benefit, medium. Qualifying Utah state employees must contribute their own money to receive an employer retirement match; specified reemployed workers are excluded. Before the Division of Finance's change date, the match is dollar-for-dollar, up to $26 every two weeks. After that date, qualifying Tier I members and… - Appointed state executives gain paid time off: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, paid time off is included in benefits fixed by the Legislature for covered appointed state executives. This also applies to covered board or commission executives. The provision does not specify how many paid time off hours they receive. - State leave fund supports worker payouts: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, the State Employees' Leave Trust Fund can receive money set aside for eligible accrued paid time off. It can repay employers for paid time off employees use. It can also pay employees for accrued paid time off when they leave state employment. Fund assets are dedicated to lea… - State workers gain more leave options: benefit, low. Utah state employees can use eligible converted sick leave like paid time off. Existing uses remain, including annual leave, sick leave, and buying continuing medical and life insurance after retirement. Each state agency must also run a centralized leave bank. Employees can voluntarily donate paid… - Termination payouts excluded from public employee pensions: cost, medium. Utah's Tier II public employee pension system excludes termination payments from pay used to calculate retirement benefits. This includes unused leave, severance, compensatory time, and other special payments. These payments do not boost the employee's pension calculation. - New state hires automatically save retirement money: mixed, medium. Qualifying Utah state employees hired on or after July 1, 2023, are automatically enrolled in the state retirement board's 401(k). Each two-week contribution is the lesser of the applicable employer contribution amount or $26, with an equal employer match. This puts money into retirement savings bu… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Lincoln Fillmore (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Norman K Thurston (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-05 | Senate | Senate/ concurs with House amendment | pass | 23 | 6 | | | 2026-03-05 | House | House/ motion to reconsider | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-05 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 57 | 17 | | | 2026-03-05 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-05 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-05 | House | House/ substituted | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | House | House/ failed | fail | 34 | 40 | | | 2026-03-04 | House | House/ substituted | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | House | House/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | House | House/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-02 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 7 | 3 | | | 2026-02-26 | Senate | Senate/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 18 | 9 | | | 2026-02-26 | Senate | Senate/ substituted | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-26 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-24 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-23 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd reading | pass | 19 | 9 | | | 2026-02-11 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 4 | 0 | | | 2026-02-11 | Senate | Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 4 | 0 | | ## Actions (53) - 2026-03-24: Governor Signed - 2026-03-13: Senate/ to Governor (Senate) - 2026-03-13: Senate/ received enrolled bill from Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-12: Senate/ enrolled bill to Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-12: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-06: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-06: Bill Received from Senate for Enrolling - 2026-03-06: Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ concurs with House amendment (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ placed on Concurrence Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ substituted (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ motion to reconsider (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ failed (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ substituted (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ uncircled (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ circled (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ Rules to 3rd Reading Calendar (House) - 2026-03-03: House/ return to Rules due to fiscal impact (House) - 2026-03-03: House/ committee report favorable (House) - 2026-03-02: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-27: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-02-26: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-02-26: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-02-26: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Senate/ passed 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Senate/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ passed 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-02-11: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-11: Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-02-06: Senate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (Senate) - 2026-02-03: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-02: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-02: Senate/ received bill from Legislative Research (Senate) - 2026-01-30: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-12: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/SB0229.pdf) - Substitute #4, 2026-03-05: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229S04.pdf) - Substitute #3, 2026-03-04: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229S03.pdf) - Substitute #2, 2026-02-24: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229S02.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-02-10: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-30: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229.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/SB0229.pdf) - [Substitute #4 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229S04.pdf) - [Substitute #3 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229S03.pdf) - [Substitute #2 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229S02.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0229.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-SB229-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).