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Read. Follow. Verify.Utah creates School Meals Debt Relief Fund funded by voluntary individual income tax return contributions
Last action · March 19, 2026: Governor SignedSponsors: Matt MacPherson and 1 other
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What This Bill Does
Utah establishes the School Meals Debt Relief Fund, allowing individual taxpayers to designate voluntary contributions on their state income tax returns to pay off outstanding school meal balances. The State Board of Education will collect debt data from annually and distribute funds proportionally by September 1, while the State Tax Commission will transfer collected donations by August 15.
will receive dedicated state funds to clear unpaid school meal accounts, provided they submit verified debt data annually and use the distributed money exclusively for debt relief.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
local education agencies
Local education agencies must submit annual school meal debt data, maintain supporting records for five years, and use distributed funds solely to pay off school meals debt.
resident and nonresident individual taxpayers
Taxpayers may voluntarily designate contributions on their state income tax returns to fund the School Meals Debt Relief Fund.
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
How are the funds distributed to local education agencies?
What happens if a tax return contribution fails to raise enough money over three years?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
44 actions- Mar 19, 2026Lieutenant Governor's office for filingEnrolledGovernor Signed
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse/ to Governor
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse/ received enrolled bill from Printing
- Feb 25, 2026HouseHouse/ enrolled bill to Printing
- Feb 25, 2026Clerk of the HouseEnrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
- Feb 24, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingDraft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
Show 38 earlier actions
- Feb 24, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingBill Received from House for Enrolling
- Feb 20, 2026HouseHouse/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
- Feb 20, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Feb 20, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Feb 20, 2026SenateSenate/ signed by President/ returned to House
- Feb 20, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 20, 2026SenateSenate/ 3rd reading
- Feb 19, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 2nd reading
- Feb 19, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd reading
- Feb 18, 2026SenateSenate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
- Feb 18, 2026SenateSenate/ committee report favorable
- Feb 17, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 12, 2026SenateCommitteeSenate/ to standing committee
- Feb 9, 2026SenateIntroducedSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 9, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Feb 9, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Feb 9, 2026HouseFloorHouse/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 9, 2026HouseHouse/ uncircled
- Feb 5, 2026HouseHouse/ circled
- Feb 5, 2026HouseHouse/ 3rd reading
- Jan 28, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0148S01
- Jan 27, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0148S01
- Jan 27, 2026HouseHouse/ 2nd reading
- Jan 27, 2026HouseHouse/ comm rpt/ substituted
- Jan 26, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Jan 26, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Substitute Recommendation
- Jan 26, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0148S01
- Jan 26, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0148S01
- Jan 23, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
- Jan 20, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Jan 20, 2026HouseHouse/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Jan 16, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0148
- Jan 16, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0148
- Jan 14, 2026HouseHouse/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Jan 5, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0148
- Jan 5, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0148
- Jan 5, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Jan 5, 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 →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.
Integration of School Meal Debt into Tax Return Contributions
The bill adds school meal debt relief to the specific category of voluntary contributions on state income tax returns that are subject to automatic sunset review if revenue falls below $30,000 for three consecutive years.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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