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39
23A-3-214
59-5-202
59-5-207
59-23-4
65A-5-1
65A-17-306
0
Great Salt Lake Related Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Raymond P. Ward
Senate Sponsor: Scott D. Sandall
Cosponsor:
Rosalba Dominguez
Ashlee Matthews
Carl R. Albrecht
Jake Fitisemanu
Verona Mauga
John Arthur
Stephanie Gricius
Hoang Nguyen
Stewart E. Barlow
Sahara Hayes
Clinton D. Okerlund
Kay J. Christofferson
Ken Ivory
Doug Owens
Paul A. Cutler
Michael L. Kohler
Nicholeen P. Peck
Jennifer Dailey-Provost
Anthony E. Loubet
Jason E. Thompson
Ariel Defay
Matt MacPherson
Stephen L. Whyte
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses activities that are related to the Great Salt Lake.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
directs revenue generated by the brine shrimp royalty tax to the Sovereign Lands
Management Account instead of the Species Protection Account under certain
circumstances;
modifies the rate of the brine shrimp royalty tax;
modifies a provision concerning calculation of severance tax related to certain Great Salt
Lake extraction operators;
addresses the timing of certification of information related to severance taxes and certain
Great Salt Lake extraction operators;
provides for the deposit of proceeds from a judgment, settlement, or compromise into the
Sovereign Lands Management Account;
provides for how the revenue in the Sovereign Lands Management Account is to be spent;
and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
This bill provides retrospective operation.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
23A-3-214
Effective
07/01/26
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 258
59-5-202
Effective
05/06/26
Applies beginning
01/01/25
, as last amended by Laws of
Utah 2024, Chapter 25
59-5-207
Effective
05/06/26
Applies beginning
01/01/25
, as last amended by Laws of
Utah 2024, Chapter 25
59-23-4
Effective
07/01/26
Applies beginning
01/01/26
, as last amended by Laws of
Utah 2024, Chapter 88
65A-5-1
Effective
07/01/26
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 277
65A-17-306
Effective
05/06/26
Applies beginning
01/01/25
, as enacted by Laws of
Utah 2024, Chapter 25
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
23A-3-214
is amended to read:
23A-3-214
Effective
07/01/26
. Species Protection Account -- Reporting.
(1)
There is created within the General Fund a restricted account known as the "Species
Protection Account."
(2)
The Species Protection Account shall consist of:
(a)
revenue remitted by a county to the Division of Finance in accordance with:
(i)
Title 17, Chapter 56
Title 17E, Chapter 4, Part 2
, Species Protection Funding
Act; or
(ii)
Section
59-2-924.5
;
(b)
revenue generated by the brine shrimp tax
provided for in Title 59, Chapter 23,
Brine Shrimp Royalty Act
and deposited in accordance with Section
59-23-4
;
(c)
tax revenue deposited into the Species Protection Account in accordance with
Section
59-24-105
;
(d)
tax revenue collected in accordance with Title 59,
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
, Wind or
Solar Electric Generation Facility Capacity Tax;
(e)
revenue collected in accordance with Title 79, Chapter 6,
Part 11
Part 14
, Energy
Project Assessment; and
(f)
interest earned on money in the Species Protection Account.
(3)
Money in the Species Protection Account may be appropriated by the Legislature to:
(a)
develop and implement species status assessments and species protection measures;
(b)
obtain biological opinions of proposed species protection measures;
(c)
conduct studies, investigations, and research into the effects of proposed species
protection measures;
(d)
verify species protection proposals that are not based on valid biological data;
(e)
implement Great Salt Lake wetlands mitigation projects in connection with the
western transportation corridor;
(f)
pay for the state's voluntary contributions to the Utah Reclamation Mitigation and
Conservation Account under the Central Utah Project Completion Act, Pub. L. No.
102-575, Titles II-VI, 106 Stat. 4605-4655; and
(g)
pay for expenses of the State Tax Commission under Title 59, Chapter 23, Brine
Shrimp Royalty Act.
(4)
The purposes specified in Subsections
(3)(a)
through
(3)(d)
may be accomplished by the
state or, in an appropriation act, the Legislature may authorize the department to award
grants to political subdivisions of the state to accomplish those purposes.
(5)
Money in the Species Protection Account may not be used to develop or implement a
habitat conservation plan required under federal law unless the federal government pays
for at least 1/3 of the habitat conservation plan costs.
(6)
The division shall report to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental
Quality Appropriations Subcommittee by no later than November 30, 2026, concerning:
(a)
the amount of revenue deposited into the Species Protection Account under each
revenue source outlined in Subsection
(2)
; and
(b)
how the division spent the money deposited.
Section 2. Section
59-5-202
is amended to read:
59-5-202
Effective
05/06/26
Applies beginning
01/01/25
. Severance tax -- Rate
-- Computation -- Annual exemption.
(1)
A person engaged in the business of mining or extracting metalliferous minerals in this
state shall pay to the state a severance tax equal to 2.6% of the taxable value of all
metals or metalliferous minerals sold or otherwise disposed of.
(2)
If the metals or metalliferous minerals are shipped outside the state, this constitutes a
sale, and the finished metals or the recoverable units of finished metals from the
metalliferous minerals shipped are subject to the severance tax. If the metals or
metalliferous minerals are stockpiled, the tax is not applicable until they are sold or
shipped out of state. For purposes of the tax imposed by this chapter, uranium
concentrates shall be considered to be finished metals. The owner of the metals or
metalliferous minerals that are stockpiled shall report to the commission annually, in a
form acceptable to the commission, the amount of metalliferous minerals so stockpiled.
Metals or metalliferous minerals that are stockpiled for more than two years, however,
are subject to the severance tax.
(3)
An annual exemption from the payment of the tax imposed by this chapter upon the first
$50,000 in gross value of the metalliferous mineral is allowed to each mine.
(4)
These taxes are in addition to all other taxes provided by law and are delinquent, unless
otherwise deferred, on June 1 next succeeding the calendar year when the metalliferous
mineral is produced and sold or delivered.
(5)
(a)
As used in this Subsection
(5)
:
(i)
"Great Salt Lake element or mineral" means a metalliferous mineral, metal, ore,
chloride compound, potash, or salt mined or extracted from the brines of the Great
Salt Lake.
(ii)
"Great Salt Lake elevation" means the same as that term is defined in Section
65A-17-101
.
(iii)
"Great Salt Lake extraction operator" means a person who
is engaged in the
business of mining or extracting Great Salt Lake elements or minerals or
metalliferous compounds from the brine of the Great Salt Lake.
(iv)
For purposes of each tax imposed under Subsection
(5)(b)
, "incremental revenue"
means the difference between the sum of the revenue collected for the fiscal year
from each of the tax rates imposed under Subsection
(5)(b)
and the revenue
collected for the fiscal year from the tax rate imposed under Subsection
(1)
.
(v)
"Metalliferous compound" means a metalliferous mineral or a chloride compound
or salt containing a metalliferous mineral.
(b)
Notwithstanding the exclusion for chloride compounds or salts from the definition of
metalliferous minerals under Section
59-5-201
and
59-5-201
and
in lieu of the
severance tax imposed under Subsection
(1)
, beginning with calendar year 2025, a
Great Salt Lake extraction operator shall pay to the state a severance tax in
accordance with the following:
(i)
for a Great Salt Lake extraction operator that is not a party or a third-party
beneficiary to a voluntary agreement for water rights with an approved beneficial
use by a division as defined in Section
73-3-30
, a severance tax equal to 7.8% of
the taxable value of Great Salt Lake elements or minerals or metalliferous
compounds sold or otherwise disposed of;
(ii)
for a Great Salt Lake extraction operator that is not a party or a third-party
beneficiary to a voluntary agreement for water rights with an approved beneficial
use by a division as defined in Section
73-3-30
, but does not use evaporative
concentrations of Great Salt Lake brines in any stage of the extractive process, a
severance tax equal to 2.6% of the taxable value of Great Salt Lake elements or
minerals or metalliferous compounds sold or otherwise disposed of;
or
(iii)
for a Great Salt Lake extraction operator that is a party or a third-party
beneficiary to a voluntary agreement for water rights with an approved beneficial
use by a division as defined in Section
73-3-30
or beginning with calendar year
2025, for a Great Salt Lake extraction operator that enters a voluntary agreement
with the state relating to water rights owned by the state
:
(A)
a severance tax equal to 2.6% of the taxable value of Great Salt Lake elements
or minerals sold or otherwise disposed of, if the Great Salt Lake elements or
minerals are extracted during a calendar year when the Great Salt Lake
elevation recorded
pursuant to
in accordance with
Section
65A-17-306
was at
or above 4,198 feet in the prior calendar year; or
(B)
a severance tax does not apply to the taxable value of Great Salt Lake
elements or minerals sold or otherwise disposed of, if those Great Salt Lake
elements or minerals are sold or otherwise disposed of in a calendar year when
the Great Salt Lake elevation recorded
pursuant to
in accordance with
Section
65A-17-306
was below 4,198 feet in the prior calendar year;
and
or
(iv)
notwithstanding Subsection
(5)(b)(iii)
, for a Great Salt Lake extraction operator
that is a party or third-party beneficiary to a voluntary agreement for water rights
with an approved beneficial use by a division as defined in Section
73-3-30
, a
severance tax equal to 2.6% of the taxable value of a metalliferous compound sold
or otherwise disposed of under a royalty agreement issued under Subsection
65A-6-4(2)(d)
, entered into on or after May 1, 2024.
(c)
(i)
Subject to Subsection
(5)(c)(ii)
, the Division of Finance shall deposit the
incremental revenue in accordance with Section
51-9-305
.
(ii)
The Division of Finance shall consider the incremental revenue required to be
deposited under Subsection
(5)(c)(i)
to be the first revenue collected under this
chapter for the fiscal year.
(iii)
The Division of Finance shall deposit the incremental revenue that remains after
making the deposit required by Subsection
(5)(c)(i)
into the Sovereign Lands
Management Account created in Section
65A-5-1
.
(d)
This Subsection
(5)
may not be interpreted to:
(i)
excuse a person from paying a severance tax in accordance with the other
provisions of this part; or
(ii)
void a mineral lease or royalty agreement.
(e)
A person extracting metalliferous minerals, including a metalliferous compound,
from the brine of the Great Salt Lake is subject to the payment of a royalty agreement
under Section
65A-6-4
and the payment of a severance tax under this part.
Section 3. Section
59-5-207
is amended to read:
59-5-207
Effective
05/06/26
Applies beginning
01/01/25
. Date tax due --
Extensions -- Installment payments -- Penalty on delinquencies -- Audit.
(1)
The tax imposed by this chapter is due and payable on or before June 1 of the year next
succeeding the calendar year when the mineral is produced and sold or delivered.
(2)
The commission may, for good cause shown upon a written application by the taxpayer,
extend the time of payment of the whole or any part of the tax for a period not to exceed
six months. If an extension is granted, interest at the rate and in the manner prescribed
in Section
59-1-402
shall be charged and added to the amount of the deferred payment
of the tax.
(3)
Every taxpayer subject to this chapter whose total tax obligation for the preceding
calendar year was $3,000 or more shall pay the taxes assessed under this chapter in
quarterly installments. Each installment shall be based on the estimated gross value
received by the taxpayer during the quarter preceding the date on which the installment
is due.
(4)
The quarterly installments are due as follows:
(a)
for January 1 through March 31, on or before June 1;
(b)
for April 1 through June 30, on or before September 1;
(c)
for July 1 through September 30, on or before December 1; and
(d)
for October 1 through December 31, on or before March 1 of the next year.
(5)
(a)
If the taxpayer fails to report and pay any tax when due, the taxpayer is subject to
the penalties provided under Section
59-1-401
, unless otherwise provided in
Subsection
(6)
.
(b)
An underpayment exists if less than 80% of the tax due for a quarter is paid.
(6)
The penalty for failure to pay the tax due or underpayment of tax may not be assessed if
the taxpayer's quarterly tax installment payment equals 25% of the tax reported and paid
by the taxpayer for the preceding taxable year.
(7)
There shall be no interest added to any estimated tax payments subject to a penalty
under this section.
(8)
The commission may conduct audits to determine whether any tax is owed under this
section.
(9)
For
Subject to Subsection
65A-17-306(7)
, for
purposes of a Great Salt Lake extraction
operator under Subsection
59-5-202(5)
, the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands
shall provide the commission by January 15 of each year the information required by
Section
65A-17-306
, that the commission shall use to determine the amount due and
payable on June 1 of the year next succeeding the calendar year.
Section 4. Section
59-23-4
is amended to read:
59-23-4
Effective
07/01/26
Applies beginning
01/01/26
. Brine shrimp royalty
-- Royalty rate -- Commission to prepare billing statement -- Deposit of revenue.
(1)
A person shall pay for each tax year a brine shrimp royalty of
:
(a)
for a tax year ending on or before January 31, 2026,
3.25 cents multiplied by the total
number of pounds of unprocessed brine shrimp eggs that the person harvests within
the state during the tax year
.
; and
(b)
for a tax year beginning on or after February 1, 2026, 3.75 cents multiplied by the
total number of pounds of unprocessed brine shrimp eggs that the person harvests
within the state during the tax year.
(2)
(a)
A person that harvests unprocessed brine shrimp eggs shall report to the Division
of Wildlife Resources the total number of pounds of unprocessed brine shrimp eggs
harvested by that person for that tax year on or before the February 15 immediately
following the last day of that tax year.
(b)
The Division of Wildlife Resources shall provide the following information to the
commission on or before the March 1 immediately following the last day of a tax
year:
(i)
the total number of pounds of unprocessed brine shrimp eggs harvested for that
tax year; and
(ii)
for each person that harvested unprocessed brine shrimp eggs for that tax year:
(A)
the total number of pounds of unprocessed brine shrimp eggs harvested by
that person for that tax year; and
(B)
a current billing address for that person; and
(iii)
any additional information required by the commission.
(c)
(i)
The commission shall prepare and mail a billing statement to each person that
harvested unprocessed brine shrimp eggs in a tax year by the March 30
immediately following the last day of a tax year.
(ii)
The billing statement under Subsection
(2)(c)(i)
shall specify:
(A)
the total number of pounds of unprocessed brine shrimp eggs harvested by
that person for that tax year;
(B)
the brine shrimp royalty that the person owes; and
(C)
the date that the brine shrimp royalty payment is due as provided in Section
59-23-5
.
(d)
In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
commission may make rules prescribing the information required under Subsection
(2)(b)(iii)
.
(3)
Revenue generated by the brine shrimp royalty shall be deposited as follows:
(a)
the first
$125,000 of the revenue generated
in each fiscal year
by the brine shrimp
royalty shall be deposited
in
into
the Sovereign Lands Management Account created
in Section
65A-5-1
;
and
(b)
for fiscal year 2027 and fiscal year 2028,
the remainder of the revenue generated
in
each fiscal year
by the brine shrimp royalty
after the deposit under Subsection
(3)(a)
shall be deposited
in
into
the Species Protection Account created in Section
23A-3-214
, except that if the aggregate amount of revenue deposited under
Subsections
23A-3-214(2)(a)
, (c), (d), and (e):
(i)
equals or exceeds $800,000, the Division of Finance shall transfer all brine shrimp
royalty revenue collected under Subsection
23A-3-214(2)(b)
from the Species
Protection Account to the Sovereign Lands Management Account for the fiscal
year; and
(ii)
is less than $800,000, the Division of Finance shall:
(A)
retain brine shrimp royalty revenue in the Species Protection Account in an
amount equal to cover the shortfall below $800,000; and
(B)
once the $800,000 threshold is met, transfer any remaining brine shrimp
royalty revenue to the Sovereign Lands Management Account for the fiscal
year; and
(c)
on and after July 1, 2028, the remainder of the revenue generated in each fiscal year
by the brine shrimp royalty after the deposit under Subsection
(3)(a)
shall be
deposited into the Sovereign Lands Management Account
.
Section 5. Section
65A-5-1
is amended to read:
65A-5-1
Effective
07/01/26
. Sovereign Lands Management Account.
(1)
There is created within the General Fund a restricted account known as the "Sovereign
Lands Management Account."
(2)
The Sovereign Lands Management Account shall consist of the following:
(a)
the revenues derived from sovereign lands, except for revenues deposited into the
Great Salt Lake Account under Section
73-32-304
;
(b)
that portion of the revenues derived from mineral leases on other lands managed by
the division necessary to recover management costs;
(c)
revenues derived from the Great Salt Lake Preservation support special group license
plate
described in Sections
41-1a-418
and
41-1a-422
created in accordance with
Title 41, Chapter 1a, Part 16, Sponsored Special Group License Plates
;
(d)
fees deposited by the division;
(e)
amounts deposited into the account in accordance with Section
59-23-4
;
and
(f)
amounts deposited into the account in accordance with Section
59-5-202
.
; and
(g)
money received by the Department of Natural Resources or the division as a result of
any judgment, settlement, or compromise of claims pertaining to ownership of
sovereign lands in proximity to the Great Salt Lake.
(3)
(a)
The expenditures of the division relating directly to the management of sovereign
lands shall be funded by appropriation by the Legislature from the Sovereign Lands
Management Account or other sources.
(b)
Money in the Sovereign Lands Management Account may be used only for the direct
benefit of sovereign lands, including the management of sovereign lands.
(c)
In appropriating money from the Sovereign Lands Management Account, the
Legislature shall prefer appropriations that benefit the sovereign land from which the
money is derived unless compelling circumstances require that money be
appropriated for sovereign land other than the sovereign land from which the money
is derived.
(d)
The proceeds described in Subsection
(2)(g)
shall be spent in accordance with the
terms of the judgment, settlement, or compromise entered into by the state.
(4)
(a)
The
On or before June 30, 2026, the
division shall use the amount deposited into
the
account
Sovereign Lands Management Account
under Subsection
(2)(e)
for the
Great Salt Lake as described in Section
65A-17-201
as directed by the Great Salt
Lake Advisory Council created in Section
73-32-302
.
(b)
On or after July 1, 2026, the division shall use the amount deposited into the
Sovereign Lands Management Account under Subsection
(2)(e)
as follows:
(i)
the division shall expend $125,000 as directed by the Great Salt Lake Advisory
Council created in Section
73-32-302
for the benefit of the Great Salt Lake; and
(ii)
the division shall expend the remainder of the amount deposited under Subsection
(2)(e)
to benefit the Great Salt Lake by:
(A)
leasing a water right for water to be deposited into the Great Salt Lake; or
(B)
funding a project that directly benefits or maintains the health of the Great Salt
Lake brine shrimp population.
Section 6. Section
65A-17-306
is amended to read:
65A-17-306
Effective
05/06/26
Applies beginning
01/01/25
. Certification of
eligibility for tax rates.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Great Salt Lake element or mineral" means the same as that term is defined in
Subsection
59-5-202(5)
.
(b)
"Great Salt Lake extraction operator" means the same as that term is defined in
Subsection
59-5-202(5)
.
(2)
(a)
A
Subject to Subsection
(7)
, a
Great Salt Lake extraction operator shall by no
later than December 31 of each year certify to the division for purposes of
determining a severance tax imposed under Subsection
59-5-202(5)
during the next
succeeding calendar year, the information listed in Subsection
(2)(b)
.
(b)
The Great Salt Lake extraction operator shall certify the following for the calendar
year ending on the date the Great Salt Lake extraction operator submits the
certification for purposes of determining a severance tax imposed during the next
succeeding calendar year:
(i)
the Great Salt Lake extraction operator's name;
(ii)
the Great Salt Lake extraction operator's tax identification number;
(iii)
whether at the time a Great Salt Lake element or mineral is extracted, the Great
Salt Lake extraction operator is a party or a third-party beneficiary to a voluntary
agreement for water rights with an approved beneficial use by a division as
defined in Section
73-3-30
;
(iv)
if the Great Salt Lake extraction operator is not a party or third-party beneficiary
to a voluntary agreement for water rights with an approved beneficial use by a
division as defined in Section
73-3-30
, whether the Great Salt Lake extraction
operator uses evaporative concentrations of Great Salt Lake brines in any stage of
the Great Salt Lake extraction operator's extractive process;
(v)
whether the Great Salt Lake extraction operator extracted a Great Salt Lake
element or mineral when the Great Salt Lake elevation recorded under Subsection
(3)
is at or above 4,198 feet, and what the Great Salt Lake element or mineral
extracted was; and
(vi)
other information as determined by the division by rule made in accordance with
Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
(c)
A Great Salt Lake extraction operator shall submit the certification on a form
provided by the division and approved by the State Tax Commission.
(3)
The division shall record the Great Salt Lake elevation for purposes of this section and
Subsection
59-5-202(5)
as of June 15 to be applied during the next succeeding calendar
year.
(4)
The
Subject to Subsection
(7)
, the
division shall forward to the State Tax Commission
by no later than January 15 of the year for which the severance tax shall be determined:
(a)
the Great Salt Lake elevation level recorded under Subsection
(3)
;
(b)
a list of the Great Salt Lake extraction operators who are subject to a severance tax
under Subsection
59-5-202(5)
;
(c)
the Great Salt Lake extraction operator's tax identification number for each Great
Salt Lake extraction operator listed in Subsection
(4)(b)
; and
(d)
for each Great Salt Lake extraction operator subject to a severance tax under
Subsection
59-5-202(5)
:
(i)
each Great Salt Lake element or mineral or metalliferous compound extracted by
the Great Salt Lake extraction operator that is subject to the severance tax; and
(ii)
the rate of severance tax that is to be imposed under Subsection
59-5-202(5)
.
(5)
The division may audit a certification submitted under this section for completeness and
accuracy.
(6)
The division may take an enforcement action against a Great Salt Lake extraction
operator who violates this section.
(7)
For the tax year 2025 and tax year 2026:
(a)
a Great Salt Lake extraction operator that enters a voluntary agreement with the state
related to water rights owned by the state may make the certification required by
Subsection
(2)
on or before May 15, 2026; and
(b)
the division shall forward to the State Tax Commission an updated report required
under Subsection
(4)
by no later than June 1, 2026, to reflect the certification made
by a Great Salt Lake extraction operator described in Subsection
(7)(a)
.
Section 7.
Effective Date.
(1)
Except as provided in Subsection (2), this bill takes effect
May 6, 2026
.
(2)
The actions affecting the following sections take effect on
July 1, 2026
:
(a)
Section 23A-3-214
Effective
07/01/26
;
(b)
Section 59-23-4
Effective
07/01/26
Applies beginning
01/01/26
; and
(c)
Section 65A-5-1
Effective
07/01/26
.
Section 8.
Retrospective operation.
(1)
Except as provided in Subsections (2) and (3), this bill has retrospective operation to
January 1, 2025.
(2)
Section 59-23-4
Effective
07/01/26
Applies beginning
01/01/26
has retrospective
operation to January 1, 2026.
(3)
The following sections have no retrospective operation:
(a)
Section 23A-3-214
Effective
07/01/26
; and
(b)
Section 65A-5-1
Effective
07/01/26
.
3-11-26 11:04 AM