Legislative and Government Affairs

Key Legislative Initiatives

The 2026 Legislative General Session yielded significant outcomes for UDAF, particularly concerning passed legislation.

• HB 63 Livestock Watering Amendments (Rep. Chew): Allows a person to submit a sub-basin livestock watering claim. A water right holder may construct a small pond without a change application. Expands the definition of a small pond to 2 acre-feet or less.
• HB 179S03 Milk Amendments (Rep. Chevrier): Creates a three-tiered raw milk program. Tier 1 facilities are permitted by UDAF, regularly inspected, and milk is regularly tested; it may be sold in registered food establishments. Milk must be labeled and kept separate from pasteurized products. Tier 2 allows farm sales after notifying UDAF. The milk is subject to simplified labeling and production requirements and must be tested monthly by the producer. Tier 3 allows farm sales of up to 500 gallons per month after notifying UDAF but is subject to no additional regulation. UDAF retains the authority to issue a cease and desist at any level in the event of an outbreak.
• HB 369 Agriculture and Food Amendments (Rep. Albrecht): UDAF "clean-up bill": Updates the USU position name on the Agriculture Advisory Board. Creates a special revenue fund to be used for the maintenance, repair, and purchase of large equipment under the Weights and Measures program. Clarifies statutory language limiting the use of ARDL loans for disaster relief. Revises the definition of "brand" to remove the use of tattoos as an identifiable mark. Allows the Commissioner to remove a Conservation District board member for cause. Removes the requirement for applicants to complete a pre-filing consultation with Water Resources when applying for a water optimization grant and transfers primary reporting responsibilities for the program from the Division of Water Resources (DWRe) to UDAF.
  
• HB 376 Land Management Funding Amendments (Rep. Albrecht): Creates the Utah Forest Restoration Institute to work with USU to research and study how the state can improve the health of forests, woodland ecosystems, and watersheds, and monitor the long-term effectiveness of watershed and forest restoration projects funded by the state. The institute will coordinate funding with the Watershed Restoration Initiative.
  
• HB 389S03 Medical Cannabis Amendments (Rep. Daily-Provost): Cannabis program changes: Moves all medical cannabis regulation and funding to UDAF from DHHS. Replaces the current licensing board with a 3-member professional licensing board with board members hired and fired by the UDAF commissioner. The new board will be responsible for licensing, hearings and appeals, the MCPAB and CUB, and department responsibilities that were previously overseen by DHHS. Creates a new medical cannabis transaction fee under the production enterprise fund to support specialized product enforcement. Allows for unused patient enterprise funds to be used for medical cannabis research. Amends the definition of cannabis products to include low THC products (defined).
• HB 410S01 Water Leasing Amendments (Rep. Koford): Creates the Great Salt Lake Preservation program to lease agricultural water for the benefit of the Great Salt Lake. Creates a board, consisting of 3 voting members: an agriculture representative, DNR executive director, UDAF Commissioner, and 2 non-voting members: the state engineer, and the GSL Commissioner's designee. The board shall set rates for leasing and accept annual applications for the program. Under the program, producers cannot lease their water for more than two out of five irrigation seasons. The program is set to sunset on July 1, 2030. Hemp program changes (from HB 469): Requires state law be followed in waste disposal. Removes video surveillance requirement for cannabinoid product retailers and replaces it with affirmative ID check requirement for the sale of products containing THC.
• HB 493 Consumer Products Amendments (Rep. Sawyer): Establishes a schedule and timeline of civil penalties for Weights and Measures Program violations. The new schedule provides for escalating fines and allows UDAF to charge for the cost of follow up inspections and fine up to $10,000. Requires at least 30 days between penalty assessments.
• SB 26 Pest Control Amendments (Sen. Stratton): Repeals several definitions and creates an "ornamental and turf technician" definition. Adds rulemaking authority to establish training and supervision requirements for an ornamental and turf technician or salesperson and a fine for ornamental and turf technician violations. Requires UDAF to report to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee by November 2026 on the new rules. Replaces “pesticide applicator” with “certified applicator” throughout the Pesticide Act.
  
• SB 45S04 Kratom Adjustments (Sen. McKell): Makes all kratom products illegal with the exception of pure leaf products (defined) sold in specialty
  tobacco retailers. Restricts sales to age 21 and up. Allows for non-compliant products to be produced, but not sold, in Utah until March 6, 2027. Schedules 7-hydroxymitragynine and pseudoindoxyl.
  
• SB 66 Medical Cannabis Pharmacy License Amendments (Sen. Vickers): Allows UDAF to create at least four regions for medical cannabis pharmacies (this was inadvertently deleted from statute last year). Clarifies that pharmacies may not move outside of these regions.
  
• SB 101 Specialized Product Amendments (Sen. Vickers):
  Renames cannabinoid product tax as “specialized product tax” and adds kratom products to that tax. Changes tax structure to an excise tax (decreases amount and reinstates sales tax on affected items). Allows UDAF to charge a fee to register cannabinoid and kratom products until January 1, 2029 to allow programs to operate while tax is rolled out.
  
• SB 121S01 Medical Cannabis Program Amendments (Sen. Vickers): Gives the licensing board 60 days to act on a change of ownership application. Allows licensees to remediate products through radiation and other methods if department rules are followed. Allows
  product names to contain the word “hash”. Allows product labels to contain physiological descriptors like “sleep.” Requires UDAF to deny or revoke an agent card for background check violations. Sets storage standards for home delivery pharmacies and couriers. Adds tribal ID to the acceptable forms of ID needed to enter a medical cannabis pharmacy.

Important Funding:

• $1,300,000 one-time funding for the Agriculture Voluntary Incentive Program (AgVIP).
• $695,300 in ongoing funding for the Future Farmers of America (FFA) Association.
• $11 million in one-time federal funding through DHHS and the Federal Rural Health Transformation Program for Utah Food Security Grants.

For additional information see le.utah.gov