# Utah S.B. 240: Higher Education Institutional Governance Utah S.B. 240, Higher Education Institutional Governance, is a 2026 General Session Senate bill sponsored by Chris H. Wilson (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-19 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB240-2026GS - 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. 240 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Higher Education Institutional Governance - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-02-03 - Last action: 2026-03-19, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Chris H. Wilson (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Education, Higher Education, Technical Colleges, Utah Board of Higher Education, Government Operations (State Issues), Attorney General, Colleges and Universities, Constitutional Officers, Governance, Higher Education Students, Utah System of Higher Education - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 9 (129 yes, 4 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - College trustees gain oversight and support: benefit, low. College trustees must align with the Utah Board of Higher Education and prepare and track plans informed by regional groups. Trustees recommend tuition and general fees, help with budgets, approve specified programs and policies, and report to the state board. Presidents manage institutional financ… - College trustees must oversee internal audits: benefit, low. Utah higher education trustee boards must oversee their institutions’ internal audits. At institutions covered by the internal-audit requirement, trustees must serve as the audit committee or create a trustee subcommittee. The law sets no direct household payment or benefit. - Technical colleges coordinate with local schools: benefit, low. Technical college trustees must consult regional colleges, school districts, charter schools, and the state higher education board on technical education. Technical college boards include one appointee from each of no more than four local school boards. Regions with more than four school districts… - College pay funds reserved for employees: benefit, low. The Utah Board of Higher Education must include employee compensation in its combined budget recommendation for qualifying institutions. Institutions qualify by showing they meet the board’s faculty teaching and instructional workload measures. Institutions must use money appropriated under that co… - College leaders face at-will job rules: cost, low. College presidents can hire administrative officers, cabinet members, and general counsel as at-will employees. These employees serve at the president’s pleasure and can be removed at any time. The law does not set their pay. - State agencies face lawyer hiring limits: cost, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah’s attorney general controls state agency lawyer hiring unless the state constitution or a statute specifically authorizes otherwise. The attorney general remains an agency’s sole counsel unless hiring outside counsel or authorizing the agency to do so. Separate agency la… - Colleges face tighter rules for lawyers: cost, low. The Utah Board of Higher Education must define appointed college attorneys’ duties and guide presidents on who those attorneys answer to. Attorneys at degree-granting institutions must stay within the authority set by those rules. They cannot hold administrative roles unless those roles are mainly… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Chris H. Wilson (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Casey Snider (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-04 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 68 | 0 | | | 2026-02-27 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 8 | 0 | | | 2026-02-24 | Senate | Senate/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 21 | 2 | | | 2026-02-23 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd reading | pass | 25 | 1 | | | 2026-02-23 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-23 | Senate | Senate/ floor amendment | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-20 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-06 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 4 | 1 | | | 2026-02-06 | Senate | Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 3 | 0 | | ## Actions (38) - 2026-03-19: Governor Signed - 2026-03-13: Senate/ to Governor (Senate) - 2026-03-13: Senate/ received enrolled bill from Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-11: Senate/ enrolled bill to Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-11: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-06: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-06: Bill Received from Senate for Enrolling - 2026-03-04: Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-04: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-03-03: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-03-03: House/ Rules to 3rd Reading Calendar (House) - 2026-03-02: House/ return to Rules due to fiscal impact (House) - 2026-03-02: House/ committee report favorable (House) - 2026-02-27: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-25: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-02-24: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-02-24: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-02-24: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Senate/ passed 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ passed 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ floor amendment (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2026-02-20: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2026-02-20: Senate/ 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-02-06: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-06: Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-02-05: Senate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (Senate) - 2026-02-04: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-03: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-03: Senate/ received bill from Legislative Research (Senate) - 2026-02-03: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/SB0240.pdf) - Amended 2/23/2026 12:02:574, 2026-02-23: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_SB0240S01_2026-02-23_12-04-37.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-02-06: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0240S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-02-03: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0240.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/SB0240.pdf) - [Amended 2/23/2026 12:02:574 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_SB0240S01_2026-02-23_12-04-37.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0240S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0240.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-SB240-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).