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2020 Utah legislative session

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Some states made changes to 2020 state legislative sessions and legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
For a full list of changes, visit: Changes to state legislative session dates in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020.
Utah: Special sessions were convened on April 16, 2020, April 23, 2020, and June 18, 2020. The legislature adjourned on June 20, 2020. Another special session convened on August 20, 2020, and adjourned later that same day.
Utah State Legislature

Seal of Utah.svg.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 27, 2020
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:  
Stuart Adams (R)
House Speaker:  Brad R. Wilson (R)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Evan Vickers (R)
House: Francis Gibson (R)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Karen Mayne (D)
House: Brian King (D)
Structure
Members:  29 (Senate), 75 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art VI, Utah Constitution
Salary:   $273/day + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Redistricting:  Redistricting Committee of the Utah Legislature handles redrawing boundaries

In 2020, the Utah State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 27 and adjourn on March 12.

Several state legislatures suspended their sessions or otherwise limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Utah State Legislature adjourned on March 12, 2020. Special sessions were convened on April 16, 2020, April 23, 2020, and June 18, 2020. The legislature adjourned on June 20, 2020. A special session convened on August 20, 2020, and adjourned later that same day.[1][2]

Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2019. Following the 2018 election, Republicans had a 23-6 supermajority in the Senate and a 58-17 supermajority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a veto-proof supermajority in the Utah state House and state Senate.
  • Utah was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Utah’s governor was Republican Gary Herbert.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2020

    See also: State government trifectas

    Utah was one of 21 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2020 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Utah was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Utah State Legislature in the 2020 legislative session.

    Utah State Senate

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 6
         Republican Party 23
    Total 29

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Utah State Senate shifted in favor of the Republican Party. As a result of the 1992 elections, Republicans held an 18-11 majority. That Republican majority would steadily expand to a 23-6 majority in 2018. The table below shows the partisan history of the Utah State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Utah State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 11 10 9 11 9 7 8 8 8 7 5 4 5 6
    Republicans 18 19 20 18 20 22 21 21 21 22 24 23 24 23

    Changes in the partisan balance of the state Senate were minor between 1992 and 2018. In four elections—1998, 2000, 2002, and 2012—one of the two major parties gained two seats. Of those four elections, 1998 was the only year that Democrats made gains. Between 2010 and 2018, Republicans expanded their majority by one seat.


    Utah House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2020
         Democratic Party 16
         Republican Party 59
    Total 75

    Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the Utah House of Representatives shifted in favor of the Republican Party. As a result of the 1992 elections, Republicans held a 49-26 majority. That Republican majority would steadily expand to a 62-13 majority in 2016. The table below shows the partisan history of the Utah House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Utah House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 26 20 20 21 24 19 19 20 22 16 14 13 13 17
    Republicans 49 55 55 54 51 56 56 55 53 59 61 62 62 58

    Most of the gains made by Republicans were the result of a few elections. Republicans gained six seats in both the 1994 and 2010 elections. The GOP picked up another five seats in the 2002 elections. Democrats' largest gains came in 2018 when they picked up four seats.


    Leadership in 2020

    Utah State Senate

    Utah House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2020 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2020. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Utah state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2020 legislative session, there were 27 standing committees in Utah's state government, including no joint legislative committees, 12 state Senate committees, and 15 state House committees.

    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Utah Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Article XXIII of the Utah Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Utah

    The Utah Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process, and a state constitutional convention. Utah requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

    Legislature

    See also: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

    According to Article XXIII, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A two-thirds majority vote in both the legislative chambers vote is required during one legislative session for the Utah State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 50 votes in the Utah House of Representatives and 20 votes in the Utah State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

    Convention

    See also: Convention-referred constitutional amendment

    According to Section 2 of Article XXIII, a ballot question about whether to hold a convention can go on the ballot if two-thirds of the members of the Utah State Legislature vote to put it on the ballot.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Utah.

    Utah Party Control: 1992-2024
    No Democratic trifectas  •  Thirty-three years of Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
    Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
    House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

    See also

    Elections Utah State Government State Legislatures State Politics
    Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
    Utah State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Multistate, "2020 Legislative Session Dates," last updated April 16, 2020
    2. ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, "Utah Legislature calls historic special session to address coronavirus impacts," April 13, 2020
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