SB0264 • 2026

Elected Official Publicity Amendments

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Sen. Pitcher, Stephanie
Last action: 2026-03-06
Official status: Senate/ filed
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.

Elected Official Publicity Amendments

This bill creates an exception to the 60-day restriction on certain publicly funded mass communications.

What This Bill Does

This bill creates an exception to the 60-day restriction on certain publicly funded mass communications.

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

2026-03-06 Clerk of the House
House/ strike enacting clause
2026-03-06 Senate Secretary
House/ to Senate
2026-03-06 Senate file for bills not passed
Senate/ filed
2026-03-06 Senate Secretary
Senate/ received from House
2026-03-02 House Rules Committee
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2026-02-27 Clerk of the House
House/ received from Senate
2026-02-27 Senate 3rd Reading Calendar
Senate/ 3rd reading
2026-02-27 Senate 3rd Reading Calendar
Senate/ circled
2026-02-27 Clerk of the House
Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2026-02-27 Clerk of the House
Senate/ to House
2026-02-27 Senate 3rd Reading Calendar
Senate/ uncircled
2026-02-26 Senate 2nd Reading Calendar
Senate/ 2nd reading
2026-02-26 Senate 3rd Reading Calendar
Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2026-02-19 Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
2026-02-19 Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee
Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation
2026-02-19 Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee
Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted
2026-02-19 Senate 2nd Reading Calendar
Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
2026-02-17 Released
LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0264S01
2026-02-17 Version Sponsor
LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0264S01
2026-02-17 Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee
Senate/ to standing committee
2026-02-13 Legislative Fiscal Analyst
LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0264S01
2026-02-13 Legislative Fiscal Agency
LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0264S01
2026-02-11 Released
LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0264
2026-02-11 Version Sponsor
LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0264
2026-02-11 Senate Rules Committee
Senate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
2026-02-06 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Bill Numbered but not Distributed
2026-02-06 Legislative Fiscal Analyst
LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0264
2026-02-06 Legislative Fiscal Agency
LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0264
2026-02-06 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed
2026-02-06 Senate Rules Committee
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2026-02-06 Waiting for Introduction in the Senate
Senate/ received bill from Legislative Research

Official Summary Text

This bill creates an exception to the 60-day restriction on certain publicly funded mass communications.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

3
20A-11-1203.5
0
Elected Official Publicity Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Stephanie Pitcher
House Sponsor: Jason B. Kyle
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill creates an exception to the 60-day restriction on certain publicly funded mass
communications.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
creates an exception to the 60-day restriction on certain publicly funded mass
communications to permit a public official's photograph to appear in a regularly
published public entity newsletter as part of a neutral, uniformly displayed candidate
profile that does not promote or oppose any candidacy; and
makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
20A-11-1203.5
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 96
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
20A-11-1203.5
is amended to read:
20A-11-1203.5
. Public official prohibited from expending public funds on
certain communications.
(1)
Except as provided in Subsection
(2)
, a public official may not make an expenditure
from public funds for a billboard or mass communication that:
(a)
(i)
includes a photograph, image, or likeness of the public official; or
(ii)
contains the name of the public official in a font size that is larger than any other
font size on the billboard or mass communication; and
(b)
is posted, displayed, or mailed less than 60 calendar days before the date of any
caucus, political convention, or election at which the public official is a candidate for
elective office.
(2)
A public official may make an expenditure from public funds for a mass communication
described in Subsection
(1)
if:
(a)
the mass communication is mailed to a person in response to that person making an
inquiry of the public official;
(b)
the mass communication is sent to another public official;
(c)
the mass communication is a news release sent to a news media organization;
or
(d)
the public official is legally required to mail the mass communication
.
; or
(e)
the mass communication:
(i)
is an informational newsletter or similar communication that a public entity
regularly publishes outside the period described in Subsection
(1)(b)
; and
(ii)
fails to comply with Subsection
(1)
solely because the mass communication
includes a photograph of the public official as part of a candidate profile that:
(A)
is displayed in the same time, place, and manner as the profiles of all other
candidates for the elective office for which the public official is a candidate;
and
(B)
does not promote or oppose any individual's candidacy.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-13-26 4:29 PM