HB0419 • 2026

Environmental Legal Action Amendments

Energy

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Rep. Jack, Colin W.
Last action: 2026-03-25
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.

Environmental Legal Action Amendments

This bill modifies provisions relating to bond requirements in environmental legal actions.

What This Bill Does

This bill modifies provisions relating to bond requirements in environmental legal actions.

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

2026-03-25 Lieutenant Governor's office for filing
Governor Signed
2026-03-11 Clerk of the House
House/ received enrolled bill from Printing
2026-03-11 Executive Branch - Governor
House/ to Governor
2026-03-06 Clerk of the House
Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
2026-03-06 Clerk of the House
House/ enrolled bill to Printing
2026-03-02 Legislative Research and General Counsel / Enrolling
Bill Received from House for Enrolling
2026-03-02 Legislative Research and General Counsel / Enrolling
Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
2026-02-26 House Speaker
House/ received from Senate
2026-02-26 Legislative Research and General Counsel / Enrolling
House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
2026-02-26 Senate 3rd Reading Calendar
Senate/ 3rd reading
2026-02-26 Senate President
Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2026-02-26 House Speaker
Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House
2026-02-26 House Speaker
Senate/ to House
2026-02-25 Senate 2nd Reading Calendar
Senate/ 2nd reading
2026-02-25 Senate 3rd Reading Calendar
Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2026-02-19 Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee
Senate/ committee report favorable
2026-02-19 Senate 2nd Reading Calendar
Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
2026-02-18 Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
2026-02-17 Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee
Senate/ to standing committee
2026-02-12 Senate Rules Committee
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2026-02-11 House Consent Calendar
House/ 3rd reading
2026-02-11 Senate Secretary
House/ passed 3rd reading
2026-02-11 Senate Secretary
House/ to Senate
2026-02-11 Waiting for Introduction in the Senate
Senate/ received from House
2026-02-09 House Consent Calendar
House/ 2nd reading
2026-02-09 House Public Utilities and Energy Committee
House/ comm rpt/ placed on Consent Calendar
2026-02-06 House Public Utilities and Energy Committee
House Comm - Consent Calendar Recommendation
2026-02-06 House Public Utilities and Energy Committee
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
2026-02-05 House Public Utilities and Energy Committee
House/ to standing committee
2026-02-02 Released
LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0419
2026-02-02 Version Sponsor
LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0419
2026-01-29 House Rules Committee
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2026-01-29 Clerk of the House
House/ received bill from Legislative Research
2026-01-28 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Bill Numbered but not Distributed
2026-01-28 Legislative Fiscal Analyst
LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0419
2026-01-28 Legislative Fiscal Agency
LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0419
2026-01-28 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed

Official Summary Text

This bill modifies provisions relating to bond requirements in environmental legal actions.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

3
78B-5-828
0
Environmental Legal Action Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Colin W. Jack
Senate Sponsor: David P. Hinkins
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies provisions relating to bond requirements in environmental legal actions.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
expands the definition of environmental action to include judicial review of certain
permits issued by the Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
78B-5-828
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 149
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
78B-5-828
is amended to read:
78B-5-828
. Bond required in an environmental action.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Administrative stay" means a stay or other temporary remedy issued by an agency
under Section
63G-4-405
.
(b)
(i)
"Environmental action" means a cause of action that:
(A)
(i)
is filed on or after May 10, 2011; and
(B)
(ii)
seeks judicial review of a final agency action to issue a permit by
the
Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation, or the
School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.
:
(A)
the Department of Natural Resources;
(B)
the Department of Transportation; or
(C)
the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration.
(ii)
"Environmental action" does not include a cause of action that seeks judicial
review of a final agency action to issue a permit by the Division of Oil, Gas, and
Mining under Title 40, Chapter 10, Coal Mining and Reclamation.
(c)
"Ultimately prevail on the merits" means, in the final judgment, the court rules in the
plaintiff's favor on at least one cause of action.
(2)
A plaintiff who obtains a preliminary injunction or administrative stay in an
environmental action, but does not ultimately prevail on the merits of the environmental
action, is liable for damages sustained by a defendant who:
(a)
opposed the preliminary injunction or administrative stay; and
(b)
was harmed by the preliminary injunction.
(3)
A court may not issue a preliminary injunction and an agency may not grant an
administrative stay in an environmental action until the plaintiff posts with the court or
the agency a surety bond or cash equivalent:
(a)
in an amount the court or agency considers sufficient to compensate each defendant
opposing the preliminary injunction or administrative stay for damages that each
defendant may sustain as a result of the preliminary injunction or administrative stay;
(b)
written by a surety licensed to do business in the state; and
(c)
payable to each defendant opposing the preliminary injunction or administrative stay
in the event the plaintiff does not prevail on the merits of the environmental action.
(4)
If there is more than one plaintiff, the court or agency shall establish the amount of the
bond required by Subsection
(3)
for each plaintiff in a fair and equitable manner.
(5)
(a)
If the plaintiff does not ultimately prevail on the merits of the environmental
action, the court shall execute the bond and award damages to each defendant who:
(i)
opposed the preliminary injunction or administrative stay; and
(ii)
was harmed as a result of its issuance.
(b)
If the amount of money secured by the surety bond or cash equivalent:
(i)
exceeds the damages awarded, the court or agency shall return the excess to the
plaintiff; and
(ii)
is less than the damages awarded, the court or agency shall order the plaintiff to
pay the remaining damages.
(6)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a court's or agency's refusal to require the
posting of a surety bond or cash equivalent as required by this section is subject to
immediate appeal.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
3-6-26 12:01 PM