The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Utah requires a unified public court record website and mandates free access up to 50 searches and downloads monthly
Last action · March 25, 2026: Governor SignedSponsors: Logan Monson and 1 other
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What This Bill Does
Utah enacts legislation requiring the to build and maintain a single public court record website, mandates audio recordings of all public court proceedings with free access for parties to the case, and requires annual judicial financial disclosures starting in 2026 and 2027.
Residents gain centralized online access to court documents and audio recordings without subscription fees for standard use, while judges must publicly disclose personal financial conflicts of interest.
- The Judicial Council is the governing policy-making body of the Utah state court system. context
- The Judiciary Interim Committee is a legislative committee that reviews judicial operations and proposed legal reforms between legislative sessions. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
general public
Residents gain free, centralized online access to public court records and search capabilities up to monthly limits.
judicial officers
Judges and court commissioners must submit annual financial disclosures and have their public court proceedings audio-recorded.
Judicial Council
The council must establish and maintain the unified court record website, issue financial disclosure rules, and report to legislative committees.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I have to pay to search court records on the new website?
Can I obtain audio recordings of court proceedings?
What financial transparency is required of judges under this law?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
58 actions- Mar 25, 2026Lieutenant Governor's office for filingEnrolledGovernor Signed
- Mar 12, 2026HouseHouse/ to Governor
- Mar 12, 2026HouseHouse/ received enrolled bill from Printing
- Mar 11, 2026HouseHouse/ enrolled bill to Printing
- Mar 11, 2026Clerk of the HouseEnrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
- Mar 6, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingDraft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
Show 52 earlier actions
- Mar 6, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingBill Received from House for Enrolling
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Mar 5, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Mar 5, 2026SenateSenate/ signed by President/ returned to House
- Mar 5, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ concurs with Senate amendment
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ placed on Concurrence Calendar
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Mar 4, 2026SenateSenate/ to House with amendments
- Mar 4, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
- Mar 4, 2026SenateSenate/ floor amendment
- Mar 4, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
- Mar 4, 2026SenateSenate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar
- Mar 4, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd Reading Calendar to Rules
- Mar 3, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0540S02
- Mar 2, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0540S02
- Mar 2, 2026SenateSenate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
- Mar 2, 2026SenateSenate/ comm rpt/ substituted
- Mar 2, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0540S01
- Mar 2, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0540S01
- Mar 2, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Mar 2, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Substitute Recommendation
- Feb 28, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0540S02
- Feb 28, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0540S02
- Feb 25, 2026SenateCommitteeSenate/ to standing committee
- Feb 24, 2026SenateIntroducedSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 23, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Feb 23, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Feb 23, 2026HouseFloorHouse/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 23, 2026HouseHouse/ uncircled
- Feb 23, 2026HouseHouse/ circled
- Feb 23, 2026HouseHouse/ substituted
- Feb 23, 2026HouseHouse/ 3rd reading
- Feb 23, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0540S01
- Feb 23, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0540S01
- Feb 17, 2026HouseHouse/ 2nd reading
- Feb 17, 2026HouseHouse/ committee report favorable
- Feb 13, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 13, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Reconsider actions
- Feb 13, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Held
- Feb 13, 2026HouseHouse/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Feb 12, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0540
- Feb 12, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0540
- Feb 11, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
- Feb 11, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 11, 2026HouseHouse/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Feb 11, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0540
- Feb 11, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0540
- Feb 11, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Feb 11, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselBill Numbered but not Distributed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Voting Record
House/ passed 3rd reading
Total
75
- Yes
- 57
- No
- 11
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 7
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (1)
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Centralized Digital Court Access
The legislation shifts Utah court records from fragmented or subscription-heavy models to a unified public website with a free tier up to 50 searches or downloads per month.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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