The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Utah SB 180 allocates liquor revenue to fund free school lunches for low-income students and expands meal program eligibility
Last action · March 6, 2026: Senate/ filedSponsors: Luz Escamilla and 1 other
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
This bill amends funding and eligibility regarding the school lunch program.
Expands access to school meals by utilizing state liquor revenue and reserves up to $5,000,000 from the Public Education Economic Stabilization Restricted Account to cover shortfalls, directly altering funding mechanisms for local education agencies and meal cost responsibilities for qualifying families.
- The Utah Legislature holds regular general sessions annually to enact, amend, and repeal state statutes and appropriations. context
- The Uniform School Fund is a primary state funding mechanism dedicated to supporting public education across Utah school districts. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
local education agencies
Local education agencies must provide free meals to eligible students, submit expenditure reports to the state board by October 1, 2026, and restrict meal debt communications solely to parents.
State Board of Education
The state board administers the school meal program funds, establishes reimbursement systems, accepts private donations, and reports program information to interim legislative committees.
students
Eligible K-12 students receive lunches at no charge, and students are protected from public identification or stigmatization regarding meal debt.
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
Which students are newly eligible for free school lunches under this bill?
Where does the funding for the expanded school meal program come from?
Can schools publicly notify students that they have unpaid meal debt?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the Senate · in House committee.
Procedural history
39 actions- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ filed
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ strike enacting clause
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ comm rpt/ sent to Rules
- Mar 4, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Recommends Returned to Rules
Show 33 earlier actions
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Motion to Recommend Failed
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Held
- Feb 26, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
- Feb 26, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 26, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Feb 26, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Feb 26, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 26, 2026SenateSenate/ uncircled
- Feb 25, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0180S01
- Feb 25, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0180S01
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ circled
- Feb 25, 2026SenateSenate/ 3rd reading
- Feb 25, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0180S01
- Feb 24, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 2nd reading
- Feb 24, 2026SenateSenate/ floor amendment
- Feb 24, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd reading
- Feb 17, 2026SenateSenate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
- Feb 17, 2026SenateSenate/ comm rpt/ substituted
- Feb 13, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0180S01
- Feb 12, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 12, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Substitute Recommendation
- Feb 11, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0180S01
- Feb 11, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0180S01
- Jan 29, 2026SenateSenate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Jan 28, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0180
- Jan 27, 2026SenateCommitteeSenate/ to standing committee
- Jan 26, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0180
- Jan 22, 2026SenateIntroducedSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Jan 22, 2026SenateSenate/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Jan 22, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0180
- Jan 22, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0180
- Jan 22, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Jan 22, 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.
Dedicated Revenue Stream for School Nutrition
The legislation directly ties ongoing funding for K-12 school meal programs to commercial alcohol sales revenues via mandatory deposits into the Uniform School Fund.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools