Senate clerk lists dozens of bills on first reading; many will go to committee

The clerk read a long slate of measures on first reading during the Utah Senate’s opening session, placing the measures on the calendar and directing them to committee review.

The list included a broad array of topics and sponsors, among them: Senate Bill 1 (higher education budget), Senate Bill 13 (education entity amendments), Senate Bill 39 (Water Shareholder Amendments), Senate Bill 57 (Utah Constitutional Sovereignty Act), Senate Bill 85 (Medicaid doula services), Senate Bill 89 (social media modifications) and many others. The clerk announced that measures read for the first time will be transmitted to the Rules Committee and other standing committees for consideration.

Rules Committee Chair David Buxton reported the committee’s recommended assignments, and the Senate adopted the committee report. Leadership said several of the listed bills will be taken up that afternoon; the Senate recessed and planned to reconvene at 2 p.m. in the House chamber to hear Chief Justice Matthew Durant deliver the state of the judiciary.

The first‑reading list in this session covers a range of policy areas from budgets and education to criminal justice, water policy, and administrative changes. Sponsors and committee referrals were announced during the clerk’s reading; full bill text and committee hearing schedules will be available through the Legislature’s online bill tracking system.