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2021 Utah legislative session

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2021 Utah legislative session
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General information
Session start:    January 19, 2021

Session end:    March 5, 2021

Leadership
Senate President
Stuart Adams (R)

House Speaker
Brad R. Wilson (R)
Majority Leader
Senate: Evan Vickers (R)
House: Karen Mayne (D)
Minority Leader
Senate: Francis Gibson (R)
House: Brian King (D)

Elections
Next Election:    November 8, 2022

Last Election:    November 3, 2020

Previous legislative sessions
2020 • 2019 • 2018
Other 2021 legislative sessions

In 2021, the Utah State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 19 and adjourn on March 5.

The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 23-6 majority in the Senate and a 58-17 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, Utah was one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.

The Utah State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, Utah was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.

At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session:
  • Republicans held a majority in the Utah state House and state Senate.
  • Utah was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas.
  • Utah's governor was Republican Spencer Cox.

    • Leadership in 2021

    Utah State Senate

    Utah House of Representatives

    Partisan control in 2021

    See also: State government trifectas

    Utah was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2021 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 2021 legislative session.

    Utah State Senate

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 6
         Republican Party 23
    Total 29

    Utah House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2021
         Democratic Party 17
         Republican Party 58
    Total 75

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 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 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Redistricting

    See also: Redistricting in Utah after the 2020 census

    Utah's four United States representatives and 104 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.

    Congressional districts
    Litigation over congressional redistricting in Utah after the 2020 census is ongoing.

    On March 16, 2022, the Utah League of Women Voters and Mormon Women for Ethical Government sued the Utah State Legislature, arguing the legislature violated the state constitution when it repealed and replaced the citizen-approved Proposition 4, a 2018 ballot measure that established a redistricting commission to draw congressional, state legislative, and school board district boundaries for the legislature to consider.[1][2] The groups also argued the congressional map adopted in 2021 was a partisan gerrymander.[3]

    The Utah Supreme Court ruled on July 11, 2024, that the legislature's override of Proposition 4 likely violated voters' constitutional right to participate in government.[4] The Court returned the case to Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson to determine whether the legislature's changes to the ballot initiative were "narrowly tailored to advance a compelling government interest."[2] On August 25, 2025, Gibson struck down the state's congressional map, writing, "The nature of the violation lies in the Legislature’s refusal to respect the people’s exercise of their constitutional lawmaking power and to honor the people’s right to reform their government."

    Click here for more information about the congressional maps enacted in Utah after the 2020 census.

    Legislative districts
    State legislative redistricting in Utah after the 2020 census has concluded.

    Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed new state legislative districts for both chambers into law on November 16, 2021. After Cox called a special session to begin on November 9, 2021, the Utah legislature voted to approve the House and Senate district maps on November 10, 2021. The House districts proposal passed the House in a 60-12 vote and cleared the Senate in a 25-3 vote. The House voted 58-13 to approve the Senate map and the Senate approved the proposal in a 26-2 vote. [5][6] These maps took effect for Utah's 2022 legislative elections.

    Click here for more information about the state legislative maps enacted in Utah after the 2020 census.

    To learn more about the redistricting process in Utah after the 2020 census, click here.

    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 2021 legislative session, there were 27 standing committees' in Utah's state government, including 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

    Historical Senate control

    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: 1992-2020

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

    Changes in the partisan balance of the state Senate were minor between 1992 and 2020. 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 2020, Republicans expanded their majority by one seat.

    Historical House control

    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 2020. 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: 1992-2020

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18 '20
    Democrats 26 20 20 21 24 19 19 20 22 16 14 13 13 17 17
    Republicans 49 55 55 54 51 56 56 55 53 59 61 62 62 58 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 Republican Party picked up another five seats in the 2002 elections. Democrats' largest gains came in 2018 when they picked up four seats. Republicans held a 58-17 advantage following the 2020 elections.

    See also

    Elections Utah State Government State Legislatures State Politics
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    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The American Redistricting Project, "League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature," accessed August 26, 2025
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Utah News Dispatch, "Judge orders Utah Legislature to draw new congressional maps," August 25, 2025
    3. ↑ Associated Press, "Judge rules Utah’s congressional map must be redrawn for the 2026 elections," August 25, 2025
    4. ↑ New York Times, "Utah’s Gerrymandered House Map Ignored Voters’ Will, State Supreme Court Says," July 11, 2024
    5. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "S.B. 2006 Utah State Senate Boundaries and Election Designation," accessed November 17, 2021
    6. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "H.B. 2005 Utah State House Boundaries Designation," accessed November 17, 2021
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