SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Legislature is planning to repeal a controversial bill that bans public employee unions from collective bargaining.
The repeal of the measure was included in a call for a special session of the Utah State Legislature, where lawmakers are also planning to make changes to the redistricting process including changing candidate filing deadlines for congress; consider a joint resolution of the House of Representatives and the Senate regarding constitutional authority, including in redistricting, and the redistricting process; to clarify that the Utah Supreme Court has exclusive and original appellate jurisdiction over election, voting, and redistricting cases.
"It’s clear that the heated debate around these issues has created unnecessary division, which was never the intent,” Senate President J. Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz said in a joint statement Sunday. “Repealing the bill allows us to reset the discussion and move forward to ensure we get this right. We’re committed to continuing conversations with all stakeholders to craft policies that support our public employees, protect public funds, and keep Utah’s government responsive and accountable to the people we serve.”
Lawmakers passed House Bill 267 earlier this year, prohibiting public employee unions from collective bargaining. Unions rallied, gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures to force a citizen referendum on the 2026 ballot.
In light of the redistricting ruling, lawmakers may have been reluctant to see the referendum on a ballot on the same year with a large number of legislators up for election and open congressional seats.
"The expected repeal belongs to the Utahns who stood up and signed the referendum," the Protect Utah Workers Coalition said in a statement to FOX 13 News on Sunday. "More than 320,000 people who signed the petition sent a clear message that public workers deserve a voice on the job. The coalition thanks legislative leadership for respecting the will of the people. This anticipated repeal preserves the rights of firefighters, police, nurses, public educators, transportation workers, airport staff, and all other critical public workers who improve the lives of Utahns every day."
Updates on this breaking news story on FOX 13 News and fox13now.com as information becomes available.
