The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Utah requires state agencies, counties, municipalities, and school boards to evaluate proposed rules for family impacts
Last action · March 18, 2026: Governor SignedSponsors: Lincoln Fillmore and 1 other
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What This Bill Does
Senate Bill 232 requires state agencies, county legislative bodies, municipal governing bodies, and local school boards to explicitly consider the potential impact of proposed rules, ordinances, and policies on family health, stability, and formation before enactment. For state rules with measurable negative impacts, agencies must consider reasonable alternatives to reduce the harm. The measure takes effect on May 6, 2026.
Local and state governmental entities must alter their administrative and legislative adoption procedures to formally review family impacts, though failure to complete this review at the local level does not invalidate resulting ordinances or create new lawsuits.
- SB 232 was passed during the 2026 General Session of the Utah Legislature and signed into law by the governor on March 18, 2026. 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.
State agencies
State agencies must evaluate proposed rules for impacts on family health, stability, and formation, and consider mitigating alternatives for negative impacts.
Counties and municipalities
County and municipal legislative bodies must consider potential family impacts before passing ordinances, with an exception for emergency enactments.
Local school boards
Local school boards must consider the impact of proposed policies and formal actions on family health, stability, and formation.
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
Does this bill allow residents to sue a city if it passes an ordinance without considering family impacts?
Are emergency ordinances exempt from these family impact considerations?
When does this law go into effect?
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
46 actions- Mar 18, 2026Lieutenant Governor's office for filingEnrolledGovernor Signed
- Mar 13, 2026SenateSenate/ to Governor
- Mar 13, 2026SenateSenate/ received enrolled bill from Printing
- Mar 11, 2026SenateSenate/ enrolled bill to Printing
- Mar 11, 2026Senate SecretaryEnrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
- Mar 6, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingDraft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
Show 40 earlier actions
- Mar 6, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingBill Received from Senate for Enrolling
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate
- Mar 5, 2026HouseFloorHouse/ passed 3rd reading
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ uncircled
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ circled
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ 3rd reading
- Mar 2, 2026HouseHouse/ 2nd reading
- Mar 2, 2026HouseHouse/ committee report favorable
- Feb 27, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 26, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
- Feb 26, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 25, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Feb 25, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ substituted
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ uncircled
- Feb 25, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0232S01
- Feb 25, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0232S01
- Feb 24, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0232S01
- Feb 24, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0232S01
- Feb 23, 2026SenateSenate/ circled
- Feb 23, 2026SenateSenate/ 3rd reading
- Feb 20, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 2nd reading
- Feb 20, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd reading
- Feb 9, 2026SenateSenate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
- Feb 9, 2026SenateSenate/ committee report favorable
- Feb 6, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 4, 2026SenateSenate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Feb 3, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0232
- Feb 3, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0232
- Feb 3, 2026SenateCommitteeSenate/ to standing committee
- Feb 3, 2026SenateIntroducedSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 2, 2026SenateSenate/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Feb 2, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0232
- Feb 2, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0232
- Feb 2, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Feb 2, 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.
Mandatory Family Impact Assessments
The legislation uniformly extends family impact consideration requirements across state rulemaking bodies, county governments, municipal councils, and local school boards.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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