HB0012 • 2026

Outdoor Recreation Accessibility Amendments

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Rep. Welton, Doug
Last action: 2026-02-27
Official status: Governor Signed
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Outdoor Recreation Accessibility Amendments

This bill addresses recreational infrastructure for accessibility in state parks.

What This Bill Does

This bill addresses recreational infrastructure for accessibility in state parks.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-02-27 Lieutenant Governor's office for filing
Governor Signed
2026-02-24 Clerk of the House
House/ received enrolled bill from Printing
2026-02-24 Executive Branch - Governor
House/ to Governor
2026-02-20 Clerk of the House
Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
2026-02-20 Clerk of the House
House/ enrolled bill to Printing
2026-02-05 Legislative Research and General Counsel / Enrolling
Bill Received from House for Enrolling
2026-02-05 Legislative Research and General Counsel / Enrolling
Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
2026-02-03 House Speaker
House/ received from Senate
2026-02-03 Legislative Research and General Counsel / Enrolling
House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
2026-02-03 Senate Consent Calendar
Senate/ 3rd reading
2026-02-03 Senate President
Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2026-02-03 House Speaker
Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House
2026-02-03 House Speaker
Senate/ to House
2026-01-29 Senate Consent Calendar
Senate/ 2nd reading
2026-01-29 Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee
Senate/ comm rpt/ placed on Consent Calendar
2026-01-27 Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee
Senate Comm - Consent Calendar Recommendation
2026-01-27 Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
2026-01-23 Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee
Senate/ to standing committee
2026-01-21 Senate Rules Committee
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2026-01-20 House Rules Committee
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2026-01-20 House 3rd Reading Calendar for House bills
House/ 2nd reading
2026-01-20 House 3rd Reading Calendar for House bills
House/ Rules to 3rd Reading Calendar
2026-01-20 Senate Secretary
House/ passed 3rd reading
2026-01-20 Senate Secretary
House/ to Senate
2026-01-20 Waiting for Introduction in the Senate
Senate/ received from House
2026-01-14 Clerk of the House
House/ received bill from Legislative Research
2026-01-14 Clerk of the House
House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
2026-01-08 Released
LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0012
2026-01-08 Version Sponsor
LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0012
2025-12-02 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Bill Numbered but not Distributed
2025-12-02 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed
2025-09-15 Version Sponsor
LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0012
2025-09-02 Legislative Fiscal Analyst
LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0012
2025-09-02 Legislative Fiscal Agency
LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0012

Official Summary Text

This bill addresses recreational infrastructure for accessibility in state parks.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

3
79-8-102
1
Outdoor Recreation Accessibility Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Doug Welton
Senate Sponsor: Derrin R. Owens
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses recreational infrastructure for accessibility in state parks.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
modifies the term "outdoor recreation project" to include construction of trails or
facilities, improvements of trails or facilities, or acquisition of equipment for disabled or
adaptive users; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
79-8-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 68, 274
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
79-8-102
is amended to read:
79-8-102
. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1)
"Accessible to the general public" in relation to the awarding of an infrastructure grant,
means:
(a)
the public may use the infrastructure in accordance with federal and state regulations;
and
(b)
no community or group retains exclusive rights to access the infrastructure.
(2)
"Advisory committee" means the Utah Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Advisory
Committee created in Section
79-7-206
.
(3)
"Children," in relation to the awarding of a UCORE grant, means individuals who are
six years old or older and 18 years old or younger.
(4)
"Director" means the director of the Division of Outdoor Recreation.
(5)
"Division" means the Division of Outdoor Recreation.
(6)
"Executive director" means the executive director of the Department of Natural
Resources.
(7)
"Infrastructure grant" means an outdoor recreational infrastructure grant described in
Section
79-8-401
.
(8)
(a)
"Recreational infrastructure project" means an undertaking to build or improve an
approved facility or installation needed for the public to access and enjoy the state's
outdoors.
(b)
"Recreational infrastructure project"
may include
includes
the:
(i)
establishment, construction, or renovation of a trail, trail infrastructure, or a trail
facility;
(ii)
construction of a project for a water-related outdoor recreational activity;
(iii)
development of a project for a wildlife watching opportunity, including bird
watching;
(iv)
development of a project that provides a winter recreation amenity;
(v)
construction or improvement of a community park that has an amenity for
outdoor recreation;
and
(vi)
construction or improvement of a naturalistic and accessible playground
.
; and
(vii)
construction of a trail or facility, improvement of a trail or facility, or acquisition
of equipment that improves access for disabled or adaptive users.
(9)
"UCORE grant" means a children's outdoor recreation and education grant described in
Section
79-8-302
.
(10)
(a)
"Underserved community" means a group of people, including a municipality,
county, or American Indian tribe, that is economically disadvantaged.
(b)
"Underserved community" includes an economically disadvantaged community
where in relation to awarding a UCORE grant, the children of the community,
including children with disabilities, have limited access to outdoor recreation or
education programs.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-5-26 9:25 AM