Utah Legislature 101
The Utah Legislature is made up of 29 Senators and 75 members of House of Representatives. A House member serves for two years. Senators serve for four years. Utah legislators are not subject to term limits.
Legislators are elected by their neighbors and come from all parts of Utah. They meet each year for 45 consecutive days starting the fourth Monday in January. On the 45th day of the legislature, all bills that have not passed both houses will die at midnight, unresolved issues start at the very beginning of the process during the next legislative session.
Legislators meet once a month throughout the year at the Capitol, in Salt Lake City to prepare for the next legislative session. During these meetings, they research, listen to citizens and prepare bills.
Countless meetings occur off of the Hill all year long where legislators (A) learn about bills, (B) talk to citizens, (C) debate topics, (D) assist constituents and help their communities. This is informal work.*
The formal** work occurs in Salt Lake City at the Capitol.
For a bill to become a law, the bill needs to pass through both bodies of the Legislature then, make its way to the Governor’s desk for a signature.
The majority of the members of each house must vote for the bill in order for it to pass. That means a bill needs 38 votes in the House of Representatives and 15 votes in the Senate.
A bill can start out in the Senate or in the House. Any member of the Legislature can introduce a bill.
When a bill comes before the Governor after going through the House and the Senate, the Governor has three choices:
1. sign the bill and it becomes a law,
2. do nothing, and the bill will become a law without his signature, or
3. veto the bill, and stop it from becoming a law in Utah.
When a bill is vetoed, it has one more chance to become a law. If the House and Senate think they have enough votes to override the Governor, they can bring the bill back in a veto override session. To override the Governor’s veto, a bill needs 51 votes in the House and 20 votes in the Senate.
Occasionally, some issues cannot wait until the next legislative session. The Governor may call the Legislature into a Special Session to do a small amount of legislative work. Only the items on the Governor’s call can be considered during a special session.
It is fun to visit the Capitol when the Legislature is in session. It is the People’s house, and it can be interesting to see the People’s work being done.
*Informal work is service and time given by members of the legislature. Legislative members are not paid for these efforts. Note: legislators are paid for about 55 days of work per year. Work done on the other 300+ days is unpaid work.
** Formal work is service and time given by members of the legislature for which the are paid. The Utah Legislature is considered a parti-time legislature. Most members have other work, are retired from careers, have spouses who are the breadwinners, or are independently wealthy.