2021 Utah legislative session
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← 2020
2022 →
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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 |
| 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.
Leadership in 2021[edit]
Utah State Senate[edit]
- Senate president: Stuart Adams (R)
- Majority leader: Evan Vickers (R)
- Minority leader: Karen Mayne (D)
Utah House of Representatives[edit]
- Speaker of the House: Brad R. Wilson (R)
- Majority leader: Francis Gibson (R)
- Minority leader: Brian King (D)
Partisan control in 2021[edit]
- 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[edit]
| Party | As of January 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 6 | |
| Republican Party | 23 | |
| Total | 29 | |
Utah House of Representatives[edit]
| Party | As of January 2021 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 17 | |
| Republican Party | 58 | |
| Total | 75 | |
Regular session[edit]
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[edit]
Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.
To learn more about the redistricting process in Utah after the 2020 census, click here.
Standing legislative committees[edit]
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[edit]
- Business and Labor Committee, Utah State Senate
- Education Committee, Utah State Senate
- Ethics Committee, Utah State Senate
- Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee, Utah State Senate
- Health and Human Services Committee, Utah State Senate
- Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee, Utah State Senate
- Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee, Utah State Senate
- Retirement and Independent Entities Committee, Utah State Senate
- Revenue and Taxation Committee, Utah State Senate
- Rules Committee, Utah State Senate
- Transportation and Public Utilities and Technology Committee, Utah State Senate
- Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Committee, Utah State Senate
House committees[edit]
- Business and Labor Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Education Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Ethics Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Government Operations Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Health and Human Services Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Judiciary Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Political Subdivisions Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Public Utilities and Technology Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Retirement and Independent Entities Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Revenue and Taxation Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Rules Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Transportation Committee, Utah House of Representatives
- Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Committee, Utah House of Representatives
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments[edit]
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 in which the Utah Constitution can be amended:
[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[edit]
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[edit]
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.
2023 measures:
- See also: 2023 ballot measures
Certified:
- The following measures were certified for the ballot.
No measures to list
2022 measures:
Below is a list of measures that were referred to the 2022 ballot by the legislature.
- See also: Utah 2022 ballot measures
Certified:
- The following measures were certified for the ballot.
Historical partisan control[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
| Elections | Utah State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
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