Cox allows flag ban to go into effect without signature, acts on remaining bills

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Governor Spencer Cox has taken action on the remaining 104 bills of the 2025 General Session, issuing vetoes for several bills, and allowing some to go into effect without his signature, including the controversial flag ban bill.

In a late-night press release Mar. 27, Cox announced that he had signed 78 bills into law, issued four vetoes, two line-item vetoes, and allowed three bills to go into effect without his signature.

Flag ban bill moves forward without signature, among others

Among the three bills that Cox didn’t sign was H.B. 77 — or Flag Display Amendments — which the governor called “the most divisive bill” of the 2025 General Session. The governor said he did not veto the bill as it had a veto-proof majority.

“I am deeply disappointed that it did not land in a better place,” Cox’s letter to lawmakers began. ” I deeply believe that our classrooms need to be a place where everyone feels welcome — free from the politics that are fracturing our country. Parents are rightly upset when they bring their kids to publicly funded schools and see culture-war symbols in a place that should be apolitical … Unfortunately, this bill does not do that … To those legislators who supported this bill, I’m sure it will not fix what you are trying to fix.”

The governors letter goes on to share that he believes the bill goes too far when applied to local governments, believing that elections have consequences, and that this bill would impose will on voters. Although the governor said he agreed with the intent of the bill in establishing political neutrality around the state, he believed many of the policies established by local school districts accomplished this.

Though he critiqued activists in saying he didn’t believe that students needed a rainbow flag hung in order for students to feel welcomed, he issued a special note to those in the LGBTQ community, saying he is grateful to them.

“I know that recent legislation has been difficult. Politics can be a bit of a blood sport at times, and I know we have had our disagreements,” Cox wrote. “I want you to know that I love and appreciate you and I am grateful that you are part of our state. I know these words may ring hollow to many of you, but please know that I mean them sincerely.”

Without the governor’s signature the law will be passed into law at midnight Mar. 28. Along with two other bills he didn’t sign. Those bills are:

• H.B. 353 — or Criminal Code Amendments — which mandates that each state agency review the criminal code and offer suggestions to the legislature to make the code more effective. The governor said that he didn’t believe the bill went far enough, and issued an executive order to create a task force to help with police decesions.
• H.B. 69 — or Medication Amendments — seeks to extend federal 340B discounts to for-profit contract pharmacies. The governor had concerns that the bill doesn’t do what it set out to do, and thought the solution should come from the federal level as it is a federal program.

Governor issues four vetoes, two-line item vetoes

Four vetoes were issued by the governor in his final actions in the 2025 session. Among those was S.B. 197 — or Property Tax Amendments — a bill that was seeking to reform and shape policy around Utah’s property tax policies.

“A number of our county government leaders expressed concerns and asked for a veto due to administrative challenges with this policy change,” Cox’s letter to law makers read. “They also expressed concerns about the impact this would have on our senior population. I agree with both of those concerns.”

“I’m disappointed in the governor’s decision to veto legislation aimed at keeping Utah strong by helping prevent escalating property taxes. As property tax burdens rise, I remain committed to finding solutions to these issues,” Sen. Dan McCay (R-Riverton) said in a statement to ABC4.com.

The three other bills issues by the governor are as follows:

• H.B. 306 — or Precious Metals Amendments — which was a bill that sought to create a precious metals-backed electronic payment system for the state and would have allowed state vendors to be paid in precious metals. The governor expressed concerns over issues with implementation, and impracticality.
• H.B. 315 — or Elected Official Vacancy Modification — was a bill seeking to address how to break a tie among three or more candidates in municipal offices. The governor expressed concerns over the bills use of “a game of chance” in order to decide these races. In caution to the Utah Constitutions provision prohibiting the legislature from authorizing games of chance, he issued his veto.
• S.B. 106 — or Utah-Ireland Trade Commission — sought to establish a commission of trade with Ireland to increase trade between the state and Ireland. The governor shared thoughts that his office already does many of the duties the proposed commission would have done, the fact that the state doesn’t have commission with trade partners that the state does more trade with, and cautioned adding to the already existing 400 commissions in the state.

The governor also issued two line-item vetoes. Which are vetoes of specific line items within a bill, that doesn’t result of a veto of a whole bill. These vetoes involved bills that didn’t pass, and bills the governor vetoed to prevent funding to those programs.

Two bills signed with conditions, special session looms

The governor signed two bills with an expectation that the legislature will call a special session to fix concerns there are with the bills. The more controversial of the two was H.B. 263 — or Election Record Amendments — which requires several new transparency measures that 28 out of 29 county clerks in Utah opposed.

“This bill had many veto requests from our county clerks and the Utah Association of Counties. I agree with much of Rep. Thurston’s intent with his focus on enhanced election transparency, which is why I’m signing the bill,” Cox letter continued. “I am grateful that Rep. Thurston was willing to sit down and work through those concerns with county clerks and elections officials, and that he has reached an agreement on some important changes to the bill. I appreciate legislative leadership’s willingness to implement that agreement in a special session.”

The second bill was H.B. 356 — County Governance Amendments — which reforms governmental functions of certain classes of counties.

“Again, while I agree with much of the original intent of the bill, I believe the final version of the bill creates some unintended consequences,” Cox wrote. “I have worked with the sponsor and legislative leadership to make arrangements for these changes to avoid the unintended consequences. Again, more to come soon in a special session.”

Bills of note that were signed

Among the 78 bills that Cox announced in his late-night press release, some have gained state-wide and national attention. Here are two of note.

• H.B. 81 — Fluoride Amendments — This bill would ban fluoridation of public water supplies throughout the state. A national first among the 50 states.
• H.B. 104 — Firearm Safety in Schools Amendments — which will require schools to teach firearm safety throughout a student’s K-12 education.
• S.B. 277 — Government Records Management Amendments — which reforms several provisions of Utah’s public record laws, including replacing the state records committee with “The Director of the Government Records Office.” Who will create rules and regulations around public record requests in Utah.

For a complete list of bills signed by the governor today, see below.

Concern about the volume of bills

In the end of his letter, Cox shared concerns with law makers about the sheer volume of bills that the legislature sent for his consideration. Voicing concerns that the increase in paper loads and volume of bills places a burden on public officials and local governments in implementation of those laws.

“I am worried about the additional burden this places on the public, state entities, local governments, and others to understand and effectively implement all these new laws,” Cox continued. “Rather than focusing on serving the people of our state, I am worried they are focusing on implementing another year’s worth of legislation. I support your work and I recognize your well-meaning efforts to build a better state for all Utahns. As we look to the 2026 Session, I hope we can work together and make a concerted effort to thoughtfully examine the wide-reaching impact of each bill.”

In total, the governor signed 552 bills, vetoed 6, and allowed 3 to pass into law without his signature. A total of 582 measures were passed by the legislature this year.

Governors letter to lawmakers and executive order

Complete list of the bills the governor signed today

1. H.B. 3 Current Fiscal Year Supplemental Appropriations
2. H.B. 44 Private Airport Notice Amendments
3. H.B. 81 Fluoride Amendments
4. H.B. 104 Firearm Safety in Schools Amendments
5. H.B. 109 Municipal Election Amendments
6. H.B. 110 Combined Basic Tax Rate Reduction
7. H.B. 148 Child Sexual Abuse Amendments
8. H.B. 157 Energy Education Amendments
9. H.B. 177 Glass Recycling Amendments
10. H.B. 246 Statewide Online Education Program Amendments
11. H.B. 257 Pharmacy Benefit Amendments
12. H.B. 263 Election Record Amendments
13. H.B. 266 Veteran Housing Amendments
14. H.B. 268 Nonresident Online School Amendments
15. H.B. 290 Bicycle Lane Safety Amendments
16. H.B. 313 Construction Industry Amendments
17. H.B. 329 Homeless Services Amendments
18. H.B. 334 Guardianships and Supported Decision-Making Agreements Amendments
19. H.B. 356 County Governance Amendments
20. H.B. 388 Antiquities Protection Amendments
21. H.B. 402 Foods Additives in Schools
22. H.B. 403 SNAP Funds Amendments
23. H.B. 418 Data Sharing Amendments
24. H.B. 434 Health and Human Services Amendments
25. H.B. 435 Building Code Amendments
26. H.B. 437 Interdicted Person Amendments
27. H.B. 444 Data Privacy Amendments
28. H.B. 447 Statewide Catalyst Campus Model
29. H.B. 463 Child Support Modifications
30. H.B. 471 Transportation Procurement Amendments
31. H.B. 474 Regulatory Oversight Amendments
32. H.B. 477 School Trespass Amendments
33. H.B. 479 Student Athlete Revisions
34. H.B. 481 Ballot Proposition Requirements
35. H.B. 482 Health and Human Services Reporting Requirements
36. H.B. 483 School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration Modifications
37. H.B. 488 Federalism Amendments
38. H.B. 491 Behavioral Health Modifications
39. H.B. 493 Medical Examiner Amendments
40. H.B. 497 Public Education Compliance
41. H.B. 502 Transportation and Infrastructure Funding Amendments
42. H.B. 503 Medical Malpractice Modifications
43. H.B. 505 Homeless Services Revisions
44. H.B. 508 School Data Amendments
45. H.B. 530 Utah Innovation Lab Modifications
46. H.B. 534 Adult Protective Services Amendments
47. H.B. 537 Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind Amendments
48. H.B. 541 Olympic Legacy Liability Amendments
49. H.B. 542 Economic Development Amendments
50. H.B. 545 School District Governance Agreements
51. H.B. 562 Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Amendments
52. S.B. 3 Appropriation Adjustments
53. S.B. 34 Mineral Surety Study
54. S.B. 35 Statewide Online Education Program Modifications
55. S.B. 62 Spaceport Exploration Committee
56. S.B. 68 Child Welfare Worker Protections
57. S.B. 137 Course Choice Empowerment
58. S.B. 150 Nonpublic Personal Information Amendments
59. S.B. 174 Transit and Transportation Governance Amendments
60. S.B. 199 Guardianship Amendments
61. S.B. 226 Artificial Intelligence Consumer Protection Amendments
62. S.B. 262 Housing Affordability Modifications
63. S.B. 271 Unauthorized Artificial Intelligence Impersonation Amendments
64. S.B. 274 Health Insurance Preauthorization Revisions
65. S.B. 276 Utah Horse Racing Commission Amendments
66. S.B. 277 Government Records Management Amendments
67. S.B. 280 Retail Facility Amendments
68. S.B. 289 Community Development Amendments
69. S.B. 294 Finance Amendments
70. S.B. 295 Property Tax Modifications
71. S.B. 312 Pharmacy Practice Amendments
72. S.B. 315 Microenterprise Home Kitchen Amendments
73. S.B. 316 Military Installation Development Authority and Other Development Zone Amendments
74. S.B. 317 Dietitian Licensing Amendments
75. S.B. 326 Judgment Renewal Modifications
76. S.B. 330 Cosmetology Modifications
77. S.B. 333 Major Sporting Event Venue Financing Amendments
78. S.B. 336 Utah Fairpark Area Investment and Restoration District Modifications