H.B. 59 Identification Verification Amendments

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Every vote

• 13 yes, 0 no, 3 absentHouse Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee: vote to approve it · Feb 20, 2026Who voted how
• 68 yes, 0 no, 7 absentFinal House vote · Feb 25, 2026Who voted how
• 5 yes, 0 no, 3 absentSenate Business and Labor Committee: vote to change the bill · Mar 2, 2026Who voted how
• 6 yes, 0 no, 2 absentSenate Business and Labor Committee: vote to approve it · Mar 2, 2026Who voted how
• 5 yes, 0 no, 3 absentSenate Business and Labor Committee: Consent Calendar Recommendation · Mar 2, 2026Who voted how
• 25 yes, 0 no, 4 absentFinal Senate vote · Mar 6, 2026Who voted how
• 66 yes, 0 no, 9 absentHouse vote to accept the other chamber's changes · Mar 6, 2026Who voted how

Hearings and debates

• Feb 18, 2026 House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee
• Feb 20, 2026 House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (33 turns)

  1. Rep. Steve Eliason32:23

     Um, I, uh, want to give you a little bit of background on the, the genesis of this bill. So, uh, last session, uh, the legislature passed, uh, a bill entitled Interdicted Persons. That Bill, uh, I think was an extremely important bill. Uh, one of our colleagues texted me a link and some of that, I don't know, had posted about it on Instagram. And last I looked at it, had over a third of a million likes. And what that bill did is it said, if somebody has a history, a criminal history, a serious criminal history related to alcohol, uh, offenses, like an extreme DUI or automobile homicide, during the time of their probation, they would be listed as an INTERDICTED person and they would be issued a new driver's license that would say no alcohol sale, uh, with the, the belief that alcohol is obviously, uh, at the root of, uh, the issue that has led to their conviction. And, uh, the bill also sought to address, uh, a very important issue related to the use of fake IDs. Uh, you probably saw the, the, the news stories about the State Bureau of Investigation going to a pub and sugar house. And, uh, I think there was upwards of a hundred citations issued for minors in that establishment. A friend of mine frequents that establishment, and he said he was really happy to see that news because he just thought he was getting really old really fast because there were so many young people in that establishment. Um, that, uh, incident, uh, really brought to light the proliferation of fake IDs. And so that bill also, uh, required that, um, bars and the way it was drafted. Restaurants and other establishments use technology that would, uh, be able to, uh, scan for fake IDs. Um, with, with the chair's permission. I'm gonna have my intern pass this box around. Uh, this is a small sampling of the thousands of fake IDs that have been confiscated by the State Bureau of Identification at Utah. Bars being used by minors to gain admittance to those, uh, uh, in those, those, uh, restaurants bars. So before she does that, did, did you count all those and make sure you get all of them Back? Yes. It's similar to when Kanosh Ivory passed around gold coins. I'm sure he had a very good accounting of them because, uh, those were worth far more than these fake IDs. I know. Thank you. So, but the genesis of this bill, um, in the, the, the drafting of the bill last session, uh, there was an inadvertent, um, reference to other facilities that serve alcohols beyond bars and taverns. The bill had a delayed effective date until January 1st. It took several months to I identify, uh, the issue. But the end result was, uh, individuals also going into restaurants and social clubs. They were required to do a hundred percent Id check, um, and scan of those IDs. That was actually never the intent of the bill to very complicated session of code. And there was also some challenges, as you may remember, in, in the Senate, it's always the Senate's fault, right? Uh, where there was a bill that, uh, uh, kind of got substituted and things got moved around. And I picked up part of this policy from another bill. Um, anyway, um, so this bill seeks to do, uh, a few things. It will, uh, move us back for, uh, all in all establishments that serve alcohol minus bars and taverns to the previous standard of if an individual appears to be 35 or younger, then they will check for id, um, if, if they look like they're 35, no reason to check for ID as evidenced by the the SBI incident at the Sugar House Pub. The, the biggest issue is young people are, are going to to bars. And a lot of times if we look at our annual DOI report, we can see that typically bars are the greatest source of individuals that are committing DUI offenses. So that's where our focus wants to be. This bill brings it back to just focusing on, on bars and restaurants. Um, the, the bill, uh, also includes, uh, very carefully crafted component that if an individual presents a fake ID that in, in the past, they just had to give it back and the individual would leave before law enforcement can be involved. Presenting a fake ID is a crime to try to gain admittance into a a bar. And so this, we try to te uh, carefully, uh, tailor language here that says that the bar may optional hold the ID if the in and then call law enforcement. If law enforcement can't respond within 30 minutes, which is a very short window, then they have to return the id. And at any time during that process, they can return the id. The belief is, is that if an individual who presents a fake ID is told, if they challenge it and say, no, it's not fake, and they say, well, we can have law enforcement validate it with the use of the use c just database. That's a way to quickly clear the issue up. We believe in probably 99.999% of the cases that individual will flee the scene when they're told law enforcement's going to be involved. And that way that individual is not going to the next bar down the street to try again to gain admittance with their fake id. Um, is, uh, I, I think, do you have quorum now, Mr. Chair?

  2. Committee chair (presiding)38:25

     Yes, we do. Okay, well then I'm gonna talk faster. Okay.

  3. Rep. Steve Eliason38:27

     Okay. Uh, briefly, as part of my presentation, which will also limit public comment, I'm gonna briefly, uh, allow Art Brown and, uh, Michelle Cor Corigliano. Did I say it right? Michelle? You don't have to say. Okay. Alright. I can't even say it. Okay. Thank you. I've been mispronouncing my last name for centuries. Um, Michelle got that. Normally we got that. I wouldn't be joined probably at, uh, the witness stand by these two individuals on an alcohol issue. 'cause sometimes they're on opposite sides. In this case, you'll see that we are united. But go ahead.

  4. Committee chair (presiding)38:56

     Art. And then Michelle

  5. Art Brown, President, Mothers Against Drunk Driving38:57

     Art Brown. I've been involved with the, uh, minors in underage drinking for nearly two decades in this state. Couple things that you should be aware of when a minor drinks they're at, uh, elevated crash risk nearly twice that of adults. So for them to go to bars, drink and get on the highway presents a very large crash cash risk to them and their friends. Second of all, I wanna thank Representative Eliason and this, uh, committee for, um, really moving this I issue forward because a couple of years ago, really, we got a lot of pressure. I did, what are we gonna do about all these false IDs, because they are very, very good. And our current scanners did not really capture the false IDs. So really they would go from bar to bar. Most of them you could get 24 of for $25 from China. He, a lot of them had various, um, uh, IDs in their wallet ready to go. So it was really, uh, something he tackled. And this thing has been worked on for a couple of years now. And I think this bill, just to summarize, uh, Mr. Chairman, this bill is in a very good place. And if we should pass this bill, it will really cut down and really solve this problem. Not just for law enforcement, but for the liabilities that the licensees, uh, will have if they happen to have a minor. Nobody wants a minor where they shouldn't go and they don't want 'em drinking, and it's a liability. So it's a bill that really helps the licensee, just not law enforcement, but it helps the minor really with excess, you know, the consumption we don't want. So it's in a good place. Uh, I would urge your support. Thank you.

  6. Michelle Corigliano, Executive Director, Salt Lake Area Restaurant Association40:44

     My name is Michelle Corigliano. I'm the Executive Director of the Salt Lake Area Restaurant Association. We represent the independently owned restaurants and bars in Utah. We support this bill. We thank the representative for putting in all the time he did to research and to verify a lot of this information. Um, on, first, thank you so much for making the changes, because if I get one more call from an owner entrepreneur saying that they had to turn away a large party because the group brought in their grandfather who was 80 years old and didn't have an ID and wasn't allowed on premise, oh my gosh. People are turning away large parties. And even if they're not drinking, if they can't go in without the idea, it's super difficult. The ID scenario has been a problem forever. These IDs scan and SBI prohibited the establishment from holding those IDs. So that was always problematic because they, they're kind of getting a little brave where they'd say, well, I am allowed in and this is a good id, and there's no way to verify that. So to be able to hold onto that ID and call law enforcement is a great addition to this. Um, we think it's a good bill. We appreciate that problem. Drinkers now hold some of the responsibility, um, by having the interdicted license. Um, owners can only do so much, and to be able to identify problem drinkers and to prohibit them from drinking is a big deal. So we appreciate this bill. We support it, and we appreciate the time put into it.

  7. Rep. Steve Eliason42:34

     Tha thank you, Juab. Just in conclusion, I, I do wanna thank the industry. Uh, I took that, I obtained that box of fake IDs from the State Bureau of Investigation, of which they have boxes and boxes and boxes of them. And I met with a number of lobbyists. We Uintah a, a local, uh, bar for lunch, and we scanned that box of IDs using two types of software they have before the Bill Uintah effect January 1st. And it caught almost all of them. Uh, I benchmarked that against the states software that they use and found the results to be almost identical. Uh, one last thing the bill does is on starting on line 80, it just clarifies that anytime ID is required to be checked, regardless of, you know, which type of establishment, which again has different thresholds, they have to make sure the picture matches that they're 21 and that they're not an INTERDICTED person. Just to clarify that, actually, one of the IDs in that box did scan and was a legitimate id. It's just that the picture didn't match the person using it. And so that was confiscated. And so hopefully this will kind of, uh, clarify things, uh, work closely with Representative Burton on this issue and with the industry. And that will conclude my presentation. Mr. Chair.

  8. Committee chair (presiding)43:51

     Thank you very much. Okay. We'll bring it to the committee for clarifying questions. Representative Wilcox, who's playing solitaire with the fake IDs. I

  9. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox44:01

     Mean, this is fun. All right. I gotta admit it. It has, the box hasn't made its way past me. Um, but one of the, one of the questions that I have about this is, as I'm, as I'm looking through these, there's varying levels of quality Yes, right. That you would expect. Um, but there's also one here, um, from La Republic. Do, Yes. So foreign one. Mm-hmm. Is this fake or we just don't accept foreign licenses?

  10. Rep. Steve Eliason44:27

      Um, there is a process in place before my bill last session. This bill does not alter that. Where, um, an establishment, if they present, uh, a foreign ID including passport, um, they can, uh, write that information down, which they're required to, to retain for seven days. And then it's up to them to make the judgment call. Um, whether or not they gain admittance. I, I cannot speak to whether or not that one, the origin of it, because it,

  11. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox44:56

      I'm just wondering like if the, I mean, we don't know that its specifics, but does our software, does this solution Capture it?

  12. Rep. Steve Eliason45:03

      It, no, it, it, it is not programmed to capture foreign driver's licenses.

  13. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox45:07speaker not certain

      Okay. So, and, and the software that they're now using, uh, imp uh, utilizes the components of the real ID act. Right. To make sure that, you know, the ID appears to be to the best of their knowledge, uh, legitimate. And that's Why I did it in airports and all the other things. Correct? Yeah. Alright. Thank you. Thank you.

  14. Unknown speaker45:24speaker not certain

      Thank you. And one of those pictures looks from suspiciously like you, I'm just kidding. Are you Being serious? Because, because this, another representative from a neighboring county may have asked if there was one that looked like him that he might purchase for me. Yeah. No, they're Not for, I'm not saying. Okay. Just checking. Alright.

  15. Committee chair (presiding)45:42

      Not from me. Thank you Representative Ballard. Yes.

  16. Rep. Melissa G. Ballard45:44

      Two questions. So, lane 77 says, purchases beer from an off-premise beer retailer. So does that include a gas station? Okay.

  17. Rep. Steve Eliason45:53

      Th th thank you that, that was a, again, an issue addressed last year where there was a compromise struck kind of in the omnibus bill, which I wasn't the sponsor of that off-premise beer retailers such as grocery stores that do parking lot delivery, um, could start offering delivery of, of beer to customers in their cars. The, the, the agreement that was agreed to is that they would scan those IDs and that got left out of the menagerie bill's last session. So this is trying to restore that saying, if we're going to allow parking lot delivery to a vehicle, which we just hope that they don't open the product while they're driving, of course, but that they are using the scanning technology to make sure that that is a legitimate id.

  18. Rep. Melissa G. Ballard46:40

      So my, my two questions are if I was at a gas station and I, and are they also allowed to take the IED? And my second question is, regardless of which of these premises we're talking about, what are they supposed to do with the IDs if they do confiscate them?

  19. Rep. Steve Eliason46:56

      Yeah. Thank you, uh, Mr. Chair. So, uh, at, at, uh, grocery stores and convenience stores, they are required to do a hundred percent Id check to check for inter dtic status. Uh, at this point in time, they are not required to use the enhanced software. Uh, we hope to get into the a point in the future where, uh, maybe the state could make available to every retailer software that accomplishes all of these objectives. However, this is a step in the right direction to, uh, check for that. The confiscation language in the bill only applies to bars and taverns. Uh, we have not waited into that category of, uh, convenience stores and restaurants left, but Representative Burton has assured me he's gonna fix all of these issues in the future in one of his omnibus bills. So, and what are they supposed to do with the id once they get it? They, they would just be required to return it. They could still, they could still call the police, but the person would probably leave. So,

  20. Committee chair (presiding)47:54

      Thank you, representative Wynn.

  21. Rep. Wynn (not matched to roster)47:57

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, I really do appreciate the work that the sponsors put on, uh, in this, this was from the build last year to now, it really did have huge impact on restaurants having to ID everyone. And, and I know it did create quite a bit of heartburn for areas where there's high tourists like Summit County downtown, Salt Lake City, where people from other state are just not, especially, you know, much older folks are not used to having to always carry the ID to walk into a restaurant and have to be shown their id. So this, this, fix it for sure. And, and the part of the interdicted license, I think it makes it stronger too. So I do appreciate the, the thoughtfulness going in there. The only thing, and I don't know if it necessarily lives in this bill, but I just wanna get this on the records. As someone who does have several bars and restaurant licenses, we invest a lot of money into our business and we into developing our business, developing the reputation that we have to be able to keep it a, a viable business. We never want to be in the position that we are serving an underage minor ever, because once that happens, we, you know, our license is suspended, we're losing the revenue. We have to pay, you know, thousands of dollars in fines. We, as an, as the licensee holder, we are training our employees to make sure they are IDing. When, you know, every time when they suspect that they're under 35 in bars when they're walking in, they should be, we pay for those scanners and making sure that they're scanning every single id. I would like to see, you know, later on, a little bit more str um, stronger policy around when an, an employee who is trained, who have signed to the paperwork that they've been trained, they know what the proper laws and protocols are for ID, and if they still do not choose to not id, and then we as the licensee holder are on the hook for them not following their protocol. I think there needs to be stronger penalties for the employees who choose to not follow what they've been trained as well. So that's, like I said, great, bill. It's something I think future policy should also look at as well.

  22. Committee chair (presiding)50:21

      Thank you. Great. Thank you. Okay. Uh, okay. Uh, I don't see any other clarifying questions. We're gonna open it up to the public. How many people would like to comment on this? Raise your hands, please. Oh, okay. I don't see any representative, so, uh, anybody on line? Okay. We don't have anybody that wants to speak from the public, so we'll bring it back to the committee for clarifying or for further discussion. And action. Representative Burton.

  23. Rep. Burton50:55

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. We have a sub to move, correct?

  24. Committee chair (presiding)50:59

      I don't think. No Rules.

  25. Rep. Burton51:01

      Alright. So then I would make the motion that we favorably pass out, uh, this, uh, first substitute house bill 59.

  26. Committee chair (presiding)51:10

      Okay. Thank you. We have a motion to pass out favorably HB 50 nines first substitute identification verification amendments. I'll go to the sponsor to respond to the motion.

  27. Rep. Steve Eliason51:22

      I, I, I support that Juab. Just in closing, I'll say that I appreciate working with the industry, the prevention advocates on this issue, last session and this session. And I do apologize for some of the challenges that have been created in the, the meantime. The bill does have a retroactive effective date to January 1st. So if any establishment had an issue with this due to the confusion, that would really not be prosecutable because it has a retroactive date. So we've tried to be, this wasn't a unanimous interim bill, we hope to get on an, uh, special session, which didn't happen. But I will say for those that have been inconvenienced, um, because of an ID check, it pales in significance to the call that so many families get every year that their loved one has been killed by a drunk or impaired driver. So I'll make no excuse for the steps we're taking to make sure that the public is safe from individuals and or institutions, of which I think there's very few that don't safely serve. And in the, the few individuals that do not safely consume. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

  28. Committee chair (presiding)52:27

      Thank you. Appreciate your comments. Um, any further discussion? Seeing now, we'll go back to the maker of the motion.

  29. Rep. Burton52:35

      Just real quick, uh, Mr. Chair, I want to thank the sponsor of this bill. He's worked very hard to thread the needle to not damage commerce while, uh, protecting our, our children and, uh, and, and, and capturing interdicted persons that shouldn't be drinking. And so I think he's done a fantastic job with the bill. Thank you.

  30. Committee chair (presiding)52:52

      Thank you. Okay, we're going to go ahead and take a roll call. Vote

  31. Committee clerk (roll call)52:59

      Representatives. Ballard? Yes. Burton? Yes. Dunnigan? Yes. Ivory? Yes. Winn? Yes. Peterson? Yes. Roberts? Yes. Sawyer? Yes. Tuscher? Yes. White. Yes. Wilcox. Aye. Chair? Malloy. Yes. Chair. Kyle? Yes.

  32. Committee chair (presiding)53:17

      Okay. So the, uh, motion passes unanimously. Thank you, representative.

  33. Unknown speaker53:22speaker not certain

      Thank. Thank you. Can I get my fake IDs back? I think they're gone. And Wilcox is 25 Piece. Wilcox has created a game of some kind. Alright.

• Feb 25, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (13 turns)

  1. Speaker (presiding)1:10:14

     First substitute house bill 59, identification verification amendments by representative Stevie, listen, this bill heard in business and labor with a vote of 13 0 3. Representative Elison.

  2. Rep. Steve Eliason1:10:27

     Thank you Mr. Speaker, pro tem. Motion to move. Second substitute in my name to HB 59. Motion is to adopt second substitute house bill 59.

  3. Speaker (presiding)1:10:35

     That's in order. We'd like to speak to it.

  4. Rep. Steve Eliason1:10:38

     Uh, yes, that, uh, makes a few modifications that we've been working on with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services.

  5. Speaker (presiding)1:10:46

     For Thank you. The motion is to adopt second substitute house bill 59. Discussion to the motion. Seen none be listen for summation Waive Place the motion to adopt second substitute house bill 59. All in favor say aye. Aye. The opposed say no. Motion carries. The substitute is adopted. Representative Eliason.

  6. Rep. Steve Eliason1:11:08

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Pro Tem. Uh, last session, the legislature passed, uh, a very important bill to address, uh, a couple of issues. Uh, one, uh, is the issue of fake driver's licenses, which is extremely prevalent in the state of Utah and across the country. They're easily obtained. If you wanna see some examples, uh, later, you can ask me, and I've got a lot that I can share with you. Um, the other issue related to a new policy called Interdicted Persons. Uh, this was a policy that an individual convicted of an extreme DUI or automobile homicide during the terms of their probation, uh, would be given, uh, a new Utah driver's license that indicates, uh, do not sell alcohol to this pro, this individual, uh, because that is related in in criminal behavior and they're still on probation, uh, that bill passed. But, uh, since the, the passage of that bill, which had an effective date of January 1st, some additional issues came to light. Uh, one of the key components was for the Interdicted license that, uh, Rega relates to the checking of those IDs by retailers to know whether or not they're allowed to sell alcohol. Uh, this bill makes some important changes. This was a unanimous interim bill that, uh, will adjust some of the issues that have surfaced. Uh, for, for starters, it changes the policy for, uh, basically every, uh, liquor retailer, uh, other than bars and taverns to where unless the individual, uh, looks for restaurants, if the individual looks 35, uh, under 35, they have to ask for the id. If they look at 35 or older, then there's not a requirement to, to check for the ID for off-premise, uh, beer retailers, uh, it corrects an issue that was agreed to last year that if they are doing parking lot delivery, which was a, a new policy that they have to use, uh, a scanner to determine if the ID is fake, uh, clarifies that for, uh, off-premise brew retailers, convenience stores, grocery stores. It does not require the use of the, uh, advanced scanner, but it does require the checking of IDs, uh, for all individuals for the interdicted status. So those are the basics of what this bill has done. I've worked with the Department of College Beverage Services with our tourism industry, our restaurant association, uh, associations. And I believe at this point that it's a consensus bill. Common sense changes to keep the public safe as well as also, uh, accommodate, uh, the, the industries that, uh, retail, uh, alcoholic beverages. So that's my presentation. Mr. Speaker.

  7. Speaker (presiding)1:14:28

     Thank you, Representative Eliason discussion to the bill Representative Burton.

  8. Rep. Burton1:14:33

     Thanks, Mr. Speaker one, rise support of the bill. Um, we worked very closely with Representative Ellison from the, uh, alcohol policy perspective to, uh, to clean up the bill, but also to put some teeth in in ID checks. I think this is a good compromise. It, uh, allows international travelers to visit the state, uh, without too much difficulty and it keeps commerce flowing, but it also interdict or finds interdicted persons and, and keeps them from over consuming. And it's very, very effective at finding false ID cards. So I would encourage the body to support this bill. Thank you.

  9. Speaker (presiding)1:15:09

     Thank you, Representative Burton. Further discussion of the bill. Representative Ivory

  10. Rep. Ken Ivory1:15:13

      Thank Mr. Speaker. I also wanna rise in support of this bill and applaud the good sponsor. His work has been tireless in this area, and my constituents have benefited tremendously. It was, uh, my constituent, uh, goodness four years ago this year, that 13-year-old young man walking his bike across a crosswalk home was run over by a five time DUI driver and, and killed, left for dead. And, uh, good sponsor has worked tirelessly with my constituents, with others and on these bills and, uh, can't thank him enough for the effort that he has made and encourage a body support.

  11. Speaker (presiding)1:15:54

      Thank you, Representative Ivory. Further discussion to the bill. Back to your representative. Stevie, listen,

  12. Rep. Steve Eliason1:16:00

      Uh, thank you. In, in summary, there's, there's one last change that actually a relative of mine thanked me for in the bill last year. An individual who is trying to maintain their sobriety, uh, could go in and pay a fee to get an INTERDICTED license. Uh, this bill also waives the, the small fee. So if an individual is wanting to take a step in advance to, uh, maintain their sobriety, that this makes it even easier to get that id. So thank you Mr. Speaker.

  13. Speaker (presiding)1:16:31

      Thank you. Representative Monson voting will now be open on second substitute seeing all President Watkins, would you like to vote? Um, seeing all president having voted Hanson, or would you like to vote? All present having voted vote, he is now closed. Second substitute P 59 passed this by 68. Yes, vote zero, no votes will be sent to the Senate for its consideration. Representative Clancy,

• Feb 25, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (11 turns)

  1. Rep. Steve Eliason1:10:27

     Thank you Mr. Speaker, pro tem. Motion to move. Second substitute in my name to HB 59. Motion is to adopt second substitute house bill 59. That's in order. We'd like to speak to it. Uh, yes, that, uh, makes a few modifications that we've been working on with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services.

  2. Speaker (presiding)1:10:46

     For Thank you. The motion is to adopt second substitute house bill 59. Discussion to the motion. Seen none be listen for summation Waive Place the motion to adopt second substitute house bill 59. All in favor say aye. Aye. The opposed say no. Motion carries. The substitute is adopted.

  3. Speaker (presiding)1:11:05

     Representative Eliason.

  4. Rep. Steve Eliason1:11:08

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Pro Tem. Uh, last session, the legislature passed, uh, a very important bill to address, uh, a couple of issues. Uh, one, uh, is the issue of fake driver's licenses, which is extremely prevalent in the state of Utah and across the country. They're easily obtained. If you wanna see some examples, uh, later, you can ask me, and I've got a lot that I can share with you. Um, the other issue related to a new policy called Interdicted Persons. Uh, this was a policy that an individual convicted of an extreme DUI or automobile homicide during the terms of their probation, uh, would be given, uh, a new Utah driver's license that indicates, uh, do not sell alcohol to this pro, this individual, uh, because that is related in in criminal behavior and they're still on probation, uh, that bill passed. But, uh, since the, the passage of that bill, which had an effective date of January 1st, some additional issues came to light. Uh, one of the key components was for the Interdicted license that, uh, Rega relates to the checking of those IDs by retailers to know whether or not they're allowed to sell alcohol. Uh, this bill makes some important changes. This was a unanimous interim bill that, uh, will adjust some of the issues that have surfaced. Uh, for, for starters, it changes the policy for, uh, basically every, uh, liquor retailer, uh, other than bars and taverns to where unless the individual, uh, looks for restaurants, if the individual looks 35, uh, under 35, they have to ask for the id. If they look at 35 or older, then there's not a requirement to, to check for the ID for off-premise, uh, beer retailers, uh, it corrects an issue that was agreed to last year that if they are doing parking lot delivery, which was a, a new policy that they have to use, uh, a scanner to determine if the ID is fake, uh, clarifies that for, uh, off-premise brew retailers, convenience stores, grocery stores. It does not require the use of the, uh, advanced scanner, but it does require the checking of IDs, uh, for all individuals for the interdicted status. So those are the basics of what this bill has done. I've worked with the Department of College Beverage Services with our tourism industry, our restaurant association, uh, associations. And I believe at this point that it's a consensus bill. Common sense changes to keep the public safe as well as also, uh, accommodate, uh, the, the industries that, uh, retail, uh, alcoholic beverages. So that's my presentation. Mr. Speaker.

  5. Speaker (presiding)1:14:28

     Thank you, Representative Eliason discussion to the bill Representative Burton.

  6. Rep. Burton1:14:33

     Thanks, Mr. Speaker one, rise support of the bill. Um, we worked very closely with Representative Ellison from the, uh, alcohol policy perspective to, uh, to clean up the bill, but also to put some teeth in in ID checks. I think this is a good compromise. It, uh, allows international travelers to visit the state, uh, without too much difficulty and it keeps commerce flowing, but it also interdict or finds interdicted persons and, and keeps them from over consuming. And it's very, very effective at finding false ID cards. So I would encourage the body to support this bill. Thank you.

  7. Speaker (presiding)1:15:09

     Thank you, Representative Burton. Further discussion of the bill. Representative Ivory

  8. Rep. Ken Ivory1:15:13

     Thank Mr. Speaker. I also wanna rise in support of this bill and applaud the good sponsor. His work has been tireless in this area, and my constituents have benefited tremendously. It was, uh, my constituent, uh, goodness four years ago this year, that 13-year-old young man walking his bike across a crosswalk home was run over by a five time DUI driver and, and killed, left for dead. And, uh, good sponsor has worked tirelessly with my constituents, with others and on these bills and, uh, can't thank him enough for the effort that he has made and encourage a body support.

  9. Speaker (presiding)1:15:54

     Thank you, Representative Ivory. Further discussion to the bill. Back to your representative. Stevie, listen,

  10. Rep. Steve Eliason1:16:00

      Uh, thank you. In, in summary, there's, there's one last change that actually a relative of mine thanked me for in the bill last year. An individual who is trying to maintain their sobriety, uh, could go in and pay a fee to get an INTERDICTED license. Uh, this bill also waives the, the small fee. So if an individual is wanting to take a step in advance to, uh, maintain their sobriety, that this makes it even easier to get that id. So thank you Mr. Speaker.

  11. Speaker (presiding)1:16:31

      Thank you. Representative Monson voting will now be open on second substitute seeing all President Watkins, would you like to vote? Um, seeing all president having voted Hanson, or would you like to vote? All present having voted vote, he is now closed. Second substitute P 59 passed this by 68. Yes, vote zero, no votes will be sent to the Senate for its consideration.

• Mar 2, 2026 Senate Business and Labor Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (18 turns)

  1. Committee chair2:16:10

     House bill 59 second substitute identification verification amendments.

  2. Unknown speaker2:16:18speaker not certain

     And just to clarify, looking, um, you're on the second sub and you've got multiple choice between third, fourth, and fifth. I'm gonna be Speaking to the fifth Sub. Okay. Thank you. And for the record, the fourth and fifth sub are exactly identical except for one minor comment in the highlighted provisions. That's just a reference. There is a fiscal note for the fourth sub that shows it's zero. And so the fiscal analyst and drafting attorney said that the fiscal note will be identical for the fifth sub, which is zero. It just hasn't cranked out yet. But you can, you can look at the comparison between four and five and see one line on highlighted provisions that's changed. Okay. Sounds good. Thank you.

  3. Rep. Steve Eliason2:17:07

     Okay. Thank you. So, uh, thank you Mr. Chair. This, this was actually, uh, an interim bill. You can see it was numbered very early in this session. Uh, it was, uh, actually, I believe to this committee during interim it was unanimous. This bill is meant to address, uh, some issues that arose last year from the Interdicted person's bill. Um, that was the bill that created the INTERDICTED status, which is, uh, somebody who's committed an extreme DUI or been ordered by, uh, a judge that during the terms of their probation, that they're not allowed to purchase alcohol in Utah. They are given a new license that says no alcohol sale. Uh, approximately from, uh, the, the start of this year and six hours into the new year, we had 60 DUI arrests based on past averages. Approximately a third of those were extreme DUIs. So by the time you woke up on New Year's Day, probably 20 people had earned a, a new license that that's, that's old policy that's in place. Um, but coupled in that bill was to make, we, we had to require that, uh, licenses are checked. And the other issue we tried to address in that bill were fake driver's licenses. I'm happy to, actually, I have my intern pass these around to the committee. This is just a very small sample of fake IDs that I obtained from the State Bureau of Investigation. Yeah, she can bring 'em up to her staff. Okay. Thank you. Here in this court. Thank You. Will be able to. Thank you. Pass those. Okay. Thank you. Um, they are prolific and the bill last year required, uh, enhanced scanning of certain, uh, certain software to determine fake IDs. And, um, well, suffice it to say the bill had a delayed effective date of January 1st. And before, during interim, we realized that there were some, some drafting, we'll just say drafting issues during the, uh, the bill last year that needed to be fixed. So in the meantime, if you go into a restaurant, they're having to check everybody's id, which actually was not the intent. So this bill restores the old practice that we had for many years that in, uh, uh, basically every venue other than, um, well in, in, in, in restaurants and kind of social clubs that if the person looks like they're 35 or younger, then they check for their ID if they check an id. Did you check These to make sure my granddaughter's not in there? Or, Um, no, I haven't. Sorry. I'm sorry. Um, so they, uh, anytime they check an id, the bill specifies, they have to make sure the picture matches that they're of age and they're not an interdicted person. Um, the one of the compromises last year is that we would start allowing parking lot delivery to off-premise beer retailers such as grocery stores, but they had to use the scanning software and have the area videotaped. Um, that detail was left outta the bill last year that compromised that this bill fixes that issue. Um, so now the only place that they would have to check, um, a hundred percent of IDs with this bill are bars and taverns. Uh, we've modified the language to make sure that they have flexibility on the software that they use. It doesn't specify a certain vendor. The IDs that you're looking at are just a small sample of a large block of IDs that myself and Art Brown that's presenting here with me, uh, used the SBI software that's very effective at determining fake IDs. Then we Uintah a bar with a bunch of lobbyists and, uh, we got scanned going in, of course. Um, and then they, we used two softwares. They have to scan those same IDs. Found that their software was basically as effective as a SBI software. So we know what we're doing is working. But this bill makes some very important, uh, true ups to the, the age and some of the details about which, uh, settings need to have it, uh, uh, checked and how they need to check that the bill supported, uh, to my knowledge by everybody tourism, um, the restaurant hospitality. Uh, I've worked very closely with, uh, one of our former colleagues, Eric Evans, who's now the head of, uh, department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. And I'm just to finish my presentation 'cause I know you're short on time. I'm just gonna let Art Brown take one minute to say his, his, uh, a few things.

  4. Art Brown2:21:39

     Um, art Brown, this, um, ID of false IDs have plagued everybody, not just law enforcement, but licensees and the liability to have a minor where they shouldn't be and, uh, even serve alcohol where they shouldn't have. And this bill has been worked on a lot, uh, my compliments to everybody, and it's in a very, very good place where we can really close down on the false IDs and, uh, shut down on the liability that really is transferred to the licensee. And, uh, I would urge your vote, uh, on it because it's a major step forward, uh, to addressing the, uh, false ID problem. Thank you.

  5. Committee chair2:22:20

     Thank you. Does that conclude your

  6. Rep. Steve Eliason2:22:21

     Presentation? Yes, it does. Mr. Chair. Thank you. Okay. We'll

  7. Committee chair2:22:23

     Come back to the committee for any clarifying questions. Seeing none, is there anyone in the audience who wants to test testify on this bill? Seeing none, we'll come back to the committee for any line. We'll come back to the committee for further deliberation or action. Senator Musselman?

  8. Sen. Ann Musselman2:22:38

     Yeah, we move. We favorably recommend hb, uh, Let's do this. Uh, first motion. Motion to be replace second sub with fifth sub. Is that correct? So moved. Yes. Yes. The motion be forced is to delete entitled, embody second substitute Hospital 59. Replace it with fifth sub second house Bill. 59. Discussion of that motion.

  9. Committee chair2:22:57

     Seeing none summation waive Senator Motion one waive. Place the motion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Say nay rule Let passes unanimous. Four to zero. Will You record me as an aye? Mr. Chair? Five to zero. Senator Weiler is online.

  10. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman2:23:14

      Uh, Senator Musselman Further motion? Yeah. Motion to favorably recommend HB 59. Uh, fifth sub Motion to favorably recommend HP 59 fifth sub discussion

  11. Committee chair2:23:24

      to that motion saying none Representative Aye. Waive a waive. Waive. We'll place the motion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Say nay. Roll. It passes Unanimous. Uh, six to zero. Thank you. Appreciate it.

  12. Unknown speaker2:23:41speaker not certain

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. I might as well just roll the dice. It is actually not too late for consent. Well, it has to sit for three business days, so it won't go until tomorrow. And then it'd be read in tomorrow. I you gamble? I'm not sure we can do that. I'll, I don't, I don't know if it would be good or bad. Yeah, I don't either. There, there there is time. I just, I, Uh, you wanna risk it? I I'm willing to risk it. I can always pull it off. I think, I think that house leadership wiped the consent board last year, but I don't know that that means they'll Year. They they, they, they didn't. I, okay.

  13. Unknown speaker2:24:13speaker not certain

      Just one clarification. Has a retroactive date to January 1st because a lot of restaurants have been anxious for it to change, so, okay.

  14. Rep. Steve Eliason2:24:19speaker not certain

      I it's really important it makes it over the finish line. And us Poor House people have a lot more bills to pass than the Senate. So that's, that's why I'm asking. Or you can say is no. Um,

  15. Committee chair2:24:28

      Anyone wanted to make a motion to that?

  16. Sen. John D. Johnson2:24:31speaker not certain

      I'll make a motion put on Consent. Okay.

  17. Committee chair2:24:33

      Motion for is to place, uh, bill, the bill, um, ASPA 59 fifth substitute on the consent calendar. Discussion of that motion. We'll place it all in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Say nay. Rule That passes unanimous. Five to zeros on consent.

  18. Unknown speaker2:24:50speaker not certain

      Thank you. Can I get my fake IDs back? I don't need one. We'll, we'll watch that and maybe even double check in the morning and see if that's gonna work.

• Mar 6, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (7 turns)

  1. Senate President (presiding)44:47

     Senator Vickers. And again, there's no debate on these bills. Senator Vickers.

  2. Sen. Evan J. Vickers44:51

     Thank you Mr. President. This is correcting an issue that we kind of messed up last year. Uh, this corrects it going back for alcohol identification. When you go into a restaurant now it reverts back to the system where they don't have to, uh, identify your card Jew unless you appear to be 35 years or younger. So we, uh, inadvertently had that so that they moved it to the same as like in a bar or a tavern. We automatically have to, to identify everyone have scan everyone. And so this moves it back to the previous policy and, uh, with that I would make a motion that five fifth substitute house bill 59 pass. Thank you. The question is,

  3. Senate President (presiding)45:32

     shall fifth substitute house bill 59 pass. Roll call vote.

  4. Unknown speaker45:35speaker not certain

     Senator Vickers Spery. Lewin b Brammer Bus Aye. Willmore. Escamilla Fillmore Grover. Aye. Aye. Harper Hankins Ipson Johnson. Kwan McKay Mikel Milner Musselman Owens pitcher Plum Rebe Sandal Stevenson Stratton Vickers Byler Wilson Winterton McKay, president Adams Aye. Fifth

  5. Senate President (presiding)46:24

     substitute house Bill 59. Having received 25 yay votes, zero nay votes, four being absent passes his body will be, si will be returned to the house for further consideration.

  6. Senate President (presiding)46:35

     First substitute House Bill 3 58. First substitute house bill 3 58 School scheduling amendments. Senator Mikel, Senator Mikel To president.

  7. Sen. Michael K. McKell46:45

     This bill creates a minimum credit hour requirement rather than a day or an instructional hour. Um, this is a consensus Bill. I'm not aware of any opposition and I move to consent.

• Mar 6, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (9 turns)

  1. Speaker (presiding)5:24

     Let's go to Madam Marine Clerk, This substitute house bill 59. Identification verification amendments by representative Stevie. Listen, Representative Stevie listen.

  2. Rep. Steve Eliason5:37

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to concur with the Senate amendments.

  3. Speaker (presiding)5:40

     Thank you representative. That motion is in order as I speak to it.

  4. Rep. Steve Eliason5:43

     Uh, y Yes. We made, uh, one last recommendation based upon feedback from the, the restaurant industry to conform with what, uh, practice has been for, uh, identification, checking, uh, in restaurants.

  5. Speaker (presiding)6:02

     Thank you Representative Eliason.

  6. Speaker (presiding)6:04

     Discussion to the motion to concur with the Senate amendments on fifth substitute HP 59 Representative Burton.

  7. Rep. Burton (not on roster)6:10

     Thanks, Mr. Baker. Just wanna rise the support of the bill. I appreciate this good sponsor and his hard work throughout the session. Uh, this is gonna make Utah a safer place with regard to alcohol consumption. And, uh, just, just thanks to, to this representative and I support the bill.

  8. Speaker (presiding)6:25

     Thank you Representative Burton. Further discussion to the bill, or sorry, further discussion to the motion to Concur. Seeing none back to Representative Monson waive motion has been waived.

  9. Speaker (presiding)6:37

     Go ahead and place the motion. The motion be for Is the House concur with the Senate amendments on fifth substitute HB 59? All in favor, sa Aye. Any opposed? Will that motion passes? Voting is now open on fifth substitute HB 59 Representative Shallenberger. Representative Cutler, would you like to vote? Okay. Seeing all President having voted voting is now closed. This substitute HB 59 passes this body with 66. Yes vote zero, no votes will be sent to the Senate for the signature of the president. Madam Reading clerk,