Utah 2026 General Session Status: To Executive 2 R cosponsors

HB 302 — Government Speech Neutrality Amendments

Last action — House/ filed

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed House
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been sent to the executive. Introduced January 21, 2026. It awaits signature.

Next likely step: the executive signs it into law or issues a veto.

Prognosis

Advancing 46% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Moderate

How often bills like it became law.

  • To Executive

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (2 R).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

110 added · 104 removed

Plain-language change summary

The revised version of HB 302 introduces a change that allows a specific committee to review the official flags adopted by local governments. Additionally, there are minor technical adjustments made throughout the bill for clarity. This matters because it ensures local governments are subject to oversight regarding the flags they choose to display, promoting standardization and potentially addressing public concerns about symbols being used in government spaces.

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Previous
Latest
02-23 11:54 1st Sub.
HB0302S01 compared with HB0302 {Omitted text} shows text that was in HB0302 but was omitted in HB0302S01 inserted text shows text that was not in HB0302 but was inserted into HB0302S01 DISCLAIMER:
(Buff) H.B.
This document is provided to assist you in your comparison of the two bills.
302 Matt MacPherson proposes the following substitute bill:
Sometimes this automated comparison will NOT be completely accurate.
Therefore, you need to read the actual bills.
This automatically generated document could contain inaccuracies caused by:
limitations of the compare program;
bad input data;
or other causes.
Heidi Balderree 3 LONG TITLE General Description:
3 LONG TITLE General Description:
▸ allows the Rules Review and General Oversight Committee to review the official and other flags by certain local governments;
▸ allows the Rules Review and General Oversight Committee to review the {adoption of } official and other flags by certain local governments;
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
H Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None s Other Special Clauses:
B None 3 Other Special Clauses:
t None S Utah Code Sections Affected:
0 HB0302 compared with HB0302S01 None Utah Code Sections Affected:
u b AMENDS:
AMENDS:
H 63G-1-704, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 17 B .
63G-1-704 , as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 17 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1.
3 Section 1.
2 63G-1-704 .
63G-1-704.
1st Sub.
(a) "City" means the same as that term is defined in Section 10-1-104.
(Buff) H.B.
302 02-23 11:54 (a) "City" means the same as that term is defined in Section 10-1-104.
(3) The prohibition described in Subsection (2) does not apply to the following flags:
- 2 - HB0302 compared with HB0302S01 (3) The prohibition described in Subsection (2) does not apply to the following flags:
- 2 - 02-23 11:54 1st Sub.
(f) the National League of Families POW/MIA flag as described in 36 U.S.C.
(Buff) H.B.
302 (f) the National League of Families POW/MIA flag as described in 36 U.S.C.
[(m) a flag of an organization authorized to use a public school facility at the location and during the time in which the organization is authorized to use the public school facility.] (4)(a) A city, municipality, county, or political subdivision of the state may adopt and have only one official flag.
[(m) a flag of an organization authorized to use a public school facility at the location and during the time in which the organization is authorized to use the public school facility.] (4) (a) A city, municipality, county, or political subdivision of the state may adopt and have only one official flag.
(5)(a) A city, municipality, county, or political subdivision may display only an exempt flag described in Subsection (3) in the following locations under the control or jurisdiction of the city, municipality, county, or political subdivision:
- 3 - HB0302 compared with HB0302S01 {(d) {A flag described in Subsection (4)(a) or (b) is not the official flag of the city, municipality, county, or political subdivision of the state until the flag has been approved by the Rules Review and General Oversight Committee created in Section 36-35-102.} } (5) (a) A city, municipality, county, or political subdivision may display only an exempt flag described in Subsection (3) in the following locations under the control or jurisdiction of the city, municipality, county, or political subdivision:
(ii) a public airport;
{or} (ii) a public airport{.} ;
(6) This section does not apply to a private organization's ability to display a flag of the organization authorized to use a public Ĥ→ [school ] ←Ĥ facility at the location and during 94a the time in which the organization is authorized to use the public Ĥ→ [school ] ←Ĥ facility.
(6) This section does not apply to a private organization's ability to display a flag of the organization authorized to use a public school facility at the location and during the time in which the organization is authorized to use the public school facility.
- 3 - 1st Sub.
[(4)] (7) (a) The state auditor shall:
(Buff) H.B.
302 02-23 11:54 [(4)] (7)(a) The state auditor shall:
(iii) if a government entity, other than a school district or a school within the public education system, fails to cure a violation in accordance with Subsection [ (4)(a)(ii)(B)] (7)(a)(ii)(B), impose a fine of $500 per violation per day;
(iii) if a government entity, other than a school district or a school within the public education system, fails to cure a violation in accordance with Subsection [(4)(a)(ii)(B)] (7)(a)(ii)(B), impose a fine of $500 per violation per day;
(a) limits the authority of the agency related to student expression under applicable federal or state law;
- 4 - HB0302 compared with HB0302S01 (a) limits the authority of the agency related to student expression under applicable federal or state law;
Effective date.
- 4 -
1-28-26 10:34 AM - 5 -
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Amendments

1 amendment

Click Show changes on an amendment above to see how it modifies the bill.

Action History

  1. House/ filed

  2. House/ received from Senate

  3. Senate/ to House

  4. Senate/ strike enacting clause

  5. Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

  6. Senate/ received from House

  7. House/ to Senate

  8. House/ passed 3rd reading

  9. House/ 3rd reading

  10. House/ 2nd reading

  11. House/ comm rpt/ substituted/ amended [House Government Operations Committee]

  12. House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Government Operations Committee]

  13. House Comm - Amendment Recommendation [House Government Operations Committee]

  14. House Comm - Substitute Recommendation [House Government Operations Committee]

  15. House/ to standing committee [House Government Operations Committee]

  16. LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0302S01

  17. LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0302S01

  18. LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0302S01

  19. LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0302S01

  20. House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst

  21. LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0302

  22. LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0302

  23. House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

  24. House/ received bill from Legislative Research

  25. LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0302

  26. LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0302

  27. Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed

  28. Bill Numbered but not Distributed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 102 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (102)

102 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 102 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

civil-rights elections education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 302?
HB 302 is sponsored by Heidi Balderree (Republican) and Matt MacPherson (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 302?
This bill has been sent to the executive. Introduced January 21, 2026. It awaits signature.
Where can I track HB 302?
Track HB 302 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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