Utah 2016 Legislative Session: What You Need to Know

I00004z1pMToTZ2sby John Young, Young Hoffman, LLC

The 2016 Utah Legislative session adjourned late on the final day, Thursday, March 10th, after lawmakers considered 488 House Bills and 259 Senate Bills, together with various resolutions.  Among the long list of bills presented, the UMCA addressed the 14 bills summarized in the Bill Tracker which can be found here.

House Bill 251, that initially proposed the elimination of all non-compete agreements between employers and employees, topped the list of bills concerning the Construction Industry. This controversial legislation had numerous amendments proposed, many of which were adopted, then later deleted, resulting in 10 substitute bills being submitted.  At the end of the session, HB251 Sub 10 was adopted and Governor Herbert signed the bill on March 22, 2016.  The bill was opposed not only by the UMCA, but by a broad segment of the Business Community, with some success in finally amending the bill to include some limitations and exemptions from coverage under the Act.  Those elements are summarized in the Bill Tracker.

Also of particular interest to the UMCA were House Bills 108, which would have allowed certain exemptions for payment of license application fees, and 109, which would have placed restrictions on Contractor Continuing Education provisions, both of which were opposed by the UMCA.  These bills failed to pass.  On the other hand, House Bill 112 which expanded the list of providers of Continuing Education to include State Executive agencies, the Workers Compensation Fund and recognized colleges and universities was supported by the UMCA.  It passed.  House Bill 171, that would have created an Apprentice Executive Board within the Department of Work Force Services, was also opposed by the UMCA and it failed to pass.

The UMCA supported Senate Bill 33 which amended the Occupational Health and Safety Act to preclude employer retaliation against employees reporting or testifying as a witness regarding an alleged violation of the Act.  This bill passed early in the session. The UMCA will continue to monitor and work with the Utah Legislature during the Interim Sessions where the Legislature meets once per month throughout most of the year.