H.B. 68 Housing and Community Development Amendments

What this bill does

H.B. 68 would move about 40 housing policies and programs now spread across several state agencies into one housing office under the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, led by a Senate-confirmed deputy director who reports to legislative committees. It would also remove the Commission on Housing Affordability and the Community Housing Authority from the organization chart, with no new positions or new funding.

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Every vote

• 6 yes, 1 no, 3 absentHouse Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee: vote to approve it · Feb 4, 2026Who voted how
• 55 yes, 13 no, 7 absentFinal House vote · Feb 13, 2026Who voted how
• 3 yes, 0 no, 3 absentSenate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee: vote to approve it · Feb 23, 2026Who voted how
• 19 yes, 2 no, 8 absentFirst of two Senate votes · Feb 25, 2026Who voted how
• 25 yes, 3 no, 1 absentFinal Senate vote · Mar 5, 2026Who voted how
• 54 yes, 10 no, 11 absentHouse vote to accept the other chamber's changes · Mar 5, 2026Who voted how

Hearings and debates

• Feb 4, 2026 House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (20 turns)

  1. Committee vice chair (presiding)1:39:15

     This is HB 68. First substitute Housing and Community Development Amendments.

  2. Rep. Calvin Roberts1:39:22

     Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Can I plug in and just share?

  3. Unknown speaker1:39:26speaker not certain

     We would love you to plug in. Great. We've got a few people here. I'm worried about unplugging and, and they might be plugged out. This Will get 'em excited. Show 'em a few stats that they always like that. And economic development. Okay. I am ready. Okay. We can, we can see you here.

  4. Rep. Calvin Roberts1:39:55

     Okay, Mr. Vice chair. Um, well, thank you for having me. When I first started as a, as a legislator, I wanted to get involved in housing policy, but it's a challenge because right now over 40 housing policies are scattered across at least four different executive agencies. And so as a legislator, it's difficult to get your arms around how housing policy is currently being administered at the executive branch level. If you think about other major topics in our state, if you've got question about roads, who do you talk to? You know, Carlos Braceis, right? If you've got questions about homelessness, we know who it will be. It'll be our, our, our colleague Representative Clancy, if you have questions about housing, it's not clear. Do you talk to Steve Waldrop, who's the governor's advisor on housing? Do you talk to haw the Commission on Housing Affordability? Uh, do you talk to Casey Cameron who runs DWS? It's not clear. And so, uh, this last session we had HCR 14, which was a house resolution, which directed all the different housing entities to come together and to try to put forward a cohesive, clear, simpler, smarter, um, process on the housing policy side. And so that, that, uh, from that, we were tasked by Senator Millner and, and the chair, uh, Representative Hawkins, who I wish was here, um, to basically try to do what HC 14 HCR 14 directed us to do. So I'm gonna show you two pictures. I'm gonna then tell you what I think this does, and then I'll, I'll be, I'll close. Um, so here's the current housing org chart. You'll see that most of housing policy sits under DWS. Um, and you know, I'd have to zoom in closely on some of these programs, but most of the housing policy programs that legislatures in the past have, uh, have implemented, um, sit underneath DWS. You'll see also the Office of Homeless Services sits under databases as well. The issue is that you have other housing policy like HTRZ or fizz. You have, uh, you've got UDOT and the Surplus Land program. You got GOPB with the state, uh, housing plan, who also oversee housing policy. And so what we are trying to do is to say, let's pull out all of the housing policy. Let's put it into one thing. Let's have a, a director equivalent to what Representative Clancy's new role will be in homelessness. Be accountable Senate confirmed, somebody that we can, you know, go to hold accountable who has to report back to standing commissions. Um, and let's put, and let's find a, an agency to put this in. So we worked hard to say, should we put it in DWS? Should we put it in goo? It was a challenge for a lot of reasons to leave it in, in DWS. So we ultimately landed on putting it over in goyo. Um, so you'll see this is the proposed new housing org chart. You'll see that we're eliminating things like C cha, which is the Commission on Housing Affordability, of which I'm the chair, so I am firing myself. Um, and you'll see, you know, the, the redundant role there with the Governor's Housing advisor. Um, but this is a more streamlined org chart, and I think it'll accomplish, uh, really two things. Number one, legislators who want to legislate in housing policy will have somebody that they can hold accountable who has to report back to standing committees. Um, number one. And then number two, you will just see, uh, there will be efficiencies and, uh, removing redundancies already in the process. So you have seen this, many of you have seen this already two or three times. I'm back, I think for the third time. Um, I will say, uh, I'm speaking to the first sub. The change in that was we had some language that udot wanted included, which would allow them to sell some surplus land for particular housing needs that's been pulled out of this bill. Um, and then number two, you'll note we have a fiscal note that is neutral. And so this is not growing government. This is not adding heads, it's just shuffling, restructuring, and shifting. So with that, uh, Mr. Chair, that'll conclude my presentation. Thank you. Uh, we'll turn it now to the committee for, uh, discussion and clarifying questions.

  5. Unknown committee member1:44:42speaker not certain

     And, and I wanted to just clarify, you've been to us bef you've come before, you've explained this a couple of times. It's been very helpful. Appreciate the pictures and the visuals. That really helps me. Is there any, anything substantially different than what you're presenting now than what you talked to us about in interim?

  6. Rep. Calvin Roberts1:45:00

     No, the only change, uh, was pulling out language that provided some clarity and some additional flexibility for udot when they sell their surplus land. This bill is meant to be policy neutral. It is not creating new housing policy. It's just merely shifting where it sits in the executive branch side. And so in the spirit of that, it didn't make sense, uh, for me to have that UDOT piece in. So we pulled that out. But otherwise, it is the same concept.

  7. Committee chair (presiding)1:45:31

     Great. Thank you for that clarification. Any clarifying questions from the committee? Seeing none will go to the public for comment. Uh, who is here, who would like to speak? Great. We welcome you. And, uh, love to hear from you. Please state your name and who you represent. Thanks.

  8. Kate Bradshaw, Utah League of Cities and Towns1:46:01

     Thank you. My name is Kate Bradshaw. I serve as the mayor of Bountiful City. And this year I am the President of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, representing Utah's 257 Great Cities. And I am here today in support of this bill, um, and, and want to express really deep appreciation to, uh, Representative Roberts for this piece of legislation. Before you all knew him as Representative Roberts, we knew him as a council member, uh, from the City of Draper. And we appreciate very much that he has, uh, drafted this bill with an eye toward the collaboration that we try to preach as members of the League of Cities and Towns. In working with our state, um, partners, he presented this, uh, concept to us over the summer at our annual meeting. Um, we had hundreds of, uh, elected leaders from cities across the state that were in attendance of that meeting. And he, uh, won us over with his discussion of partnership, not preemption, of helping us provide a structure that would make sense for us as we continue to do all of the great things you've asked us to do in the housing space and in helping, um, seek ways that will align us on our need for regional infrastructure. It looks like I've reached the end of my time, um, Mr. Chairman. But, uh, we really do appreciate his great work, um, and, and hope that you will move this forward and, and, uh, again, thank him for his really positive collaborative approach to working with cities. Thank you. Thank you.

  9. Committee chair (presiding)1:47:41

     Thanks, Mayor.

  10. Kory Holdaway, Habitat for Humanity1:47:49

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Corey Holdaway and I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak. I'm speaking on behalf of, uh, a nonprofit organization, habitat for Humanity. Uh, we have, uh, witnessed, uh, the work that CHA has done, uh, the Commission on Housing affordability, and have been grateful for that work. Uh, we see this as a step forward from the work that they've been doing. Um, we are in the business of providing affordable housing for, uh, for the low income, uh, families. And, uh, we see this as, uh, improving efficiencies, helping us to be able to navigate, uh, the intricacies of, uh, of government and would encourage your support. Thank you very much.

  11. Cate Klundt, Utah Association of REALTORS1:48:37

      Good afternoon. My name's Kate Klum, and I'm here on behalf of the Utah Association of Realtors. Uh, we just wanted to express our support and thank the sponsor and the other stakeholders involved. Uh, Utah's housing affordability crisis impacts the long-term health of our economy and also the families that contribute to it. And having a division with a singular focus, uh, is critical to addressing that crisis. Um, it does not grow government. It restructures and puts all of the resources and assets and expertise into one office, and we appreciate that transparency and that accessibility. Thank you.

  12. Sarah Davenport-Smith, Utah Coalition of Cities and Counties1:49:20

      Good afternoon. My name is Sarah Davenport Smith and I represent the Utah Coalition of Cities and Counties. And, um, we, we think that restructuring all of the different housing policies into one accessible and accountable area, especially in code, is a good thing. And, um, we do, we did send, um, uh, several amendment suggestions. Uh, again, they're based on the constitutionality of the bill over to Representative Roberts. Um, and I just wanted to highlight one in particular that we're encouraging, um, all of our legislators and especially this committee to consider. And, um, this is what we're, we're calling Amendment J. And it's decoupling transportation funding from housing and zoning compliance. Um, it's not taking away the legislative authority over transportation dollars at all, and it's not changing the funding formulas at all. Um, and it's not expanding local power whatsoever. Um, it just simply removes a enforcement mechanism that courts consistently scrutinize. And so this amendment that we're, uh, suggesting is actually strengthens the bill and it reduces unconstitutional conditions and protects the overall, uh, purpose of what Representative Roberts and many people are trying to do. So thank you.

  13. Committee chair (presiding)1:50:53

      Thank you for those comments.

  14. Lauren Cole, Wasatch Advocates for Livable Communities1:50:58

      Hello, my name is Lauren Cole, and I'm here on behalf of Wasatch Advocates for Livable Communities to speak in support of the spill Utah's housing affordability crisis did not happen overnight. It is the result of years of housing production failing to keep pace with population growth, job growth, and economic opportunity, especially in the Wasatch region. The impacts are now being felt everywhere, higher rents, fewer opportunities for home ownership, longer commutes, and growing housing instability for families, seniors, and essential workers. This bill is an important first start because it recognizes a reality we can no longer avoid. Housing is a statewide issue and requires statewide leadership. We appreciate the process of addressing the housing, housing shortage that Utah faces by centralizing and organizing housing policy and programs. This bill promotes the transparency that is a cornerstone of effective policymaking. As you cast your vote today, please think of the many Utahans, including your own constituents who are putting off, starting families, worrying about caring for aging parents, or trying to find a permanent home in our beautiful state. I know that each of you cares deeply about our state. And in order for Utah to remain a place where people can afford to live near jobs, raise families, and age in place, the state must lead. This bill is a meaningful step, a step in this direction. Thank you for your time.

  15. Committee chair (presiding)1:52:16

      Thank you for those comments.

  16. Tara Rollins, Utah Housing Coalition1:52:24

      Hello, my name is Tara Rollins and I'm with Utah Housing Coalition. Um, and I could not be more excited that, um, this bill is, um, being sponsored today. Um, so most of you know that, um, that I work on tenant issues, but most of you do not know that. I also have developers as members. Um, and so since 2011, we have been wanting, um, the division of housing to be moved outta DWS. We fought very hard for it not to be in DWS back then. And the reason being is that housing is a business to business relationship. And DWS is a business to consumer, um, relationship. And so we cannot be more thrilled that it will be moving, um, to go yo and it will flourish, um, for our developers and others. Um, so please vote yes. Thank you for those comments.

  17. Taz Burman, Utah Home Builders Association1:53:33

      Taz Bessinger, Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity. I want you to know Mr. Vice-Chairman, that it gives me great personal pain to agree with the League of Cities and, But, um, I will, I will push through it on behalf of, uh, Representative Roberts and this bill because it is a good piece of legislation and we hope that you'll, you'll vote for it. Thank you.

  18. Committee chair (presiding)1:53:56

      We appreciate you putting that on the record. Taz, is there anyone else who would like to speak? Do we have anyone online? Right? Seeing, seeing no one online? We'll take it back to, uh, the committee for, uh, discussion or action Again. Uh, Representative Jack is first on the button.

  19. Rep. Colin W. Jack1:54:18

      It's really close. Uh, thank you Mr. Chair. I would make a motion. We pass out HB 68 first sub housing Community Development amendments with favorable recommendation to the full house floor.

  20. Committee chair (presiding)1:54:33

      Thank you for that motion, which is in order. Uh, any discussion on that motion? Seeing none will, uh, go to the sponsor. I'll waive and to the maker of the motion, I Waive All those in favor of, uh, passing out HB zero. Uh, h I'm gonna reset my timer ha of passing out HB 68 first substitute to housing and Community Development Amendments favorably to the full house. Say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Say nay. Nay. We'll note that that passes. Uh, I think we've got six to one with Representative Hansen voting. No. Thank you very much. Thank you.

• Feb 13, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (31 turns)

  1. Meeting Clerk1:29:57

     matter Meeting Clerk First substitute House Bill 68 Housing and Community Development Amendments by Representative Roberts. This bill was heard in Economic Development and Workforce Services with the vote of 6 1 3 Representative Roberts.

  2. Rep. Calvin R. Roberts1:30:16

     Thank you Mr. Speaker Prote, I'd like to move to adopt the third substitute in my name.

  3. Speaker (presiding)1:30:22

     Thank you. The motion is to adopt third substitute of House Bill 68. Would you like to speak to it?

  4. Rep. Calvin R. Roberts1:30:29

     Uh, no. The, the idea came from the good representative from Southern Utah. It's gonna put more controls and reporting around the Utah Housing Corp.

  5. Speaker (presiding)1:30:39

     Okay. The motion is to adopt third substitute house bill 68. Discussion to the motion Representative Walter.

  6. Rep. R. Neil Walter1:30:47

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Uh, appreciate the opportunity to talk about, uh, the addition in house Bill 68. Uh, a couple of years ago there was a, uh, this body and conjunction with our legislative process authorized more than $600 million worth of low income housing tax credits to Utah Housing Corporation. There was $150 million that Uintah deeply affordable housing projects. There was a number of other initiatives, uh, that we, uh, funded. Um, as part of that, uh, process, um, one of the questions I've always had is how many units did we get? How many housing units did we actually get for the investment that the state has made? And so what this substitute does is it adds a provision that requires those agencies that receive housing funds from the state of Utah, whether through, um, a house, a tax credit, or some other, uh, uh, participation from the state that they provide a report to this, uh, new, uh, Utah Housing Corporation or sorry, to this new, uh, reorganized, um, uh, entity. And then they will actually, as part of their report, tell us how many housing units we're getting because of the investment that, uh, we're providing. And so, uh, I think this is a great addition. Um, there's a lot of support, uh, for this, uh, uh, this transparency. And I think it'll go a long ways to helping us understand when we're participating and trying to support housing, uh, sorry, particularly low income affordable housing initiatives. Um, we know what we're getting in terms of outcomes for those investments. And so I appreciate working with the sponsors willing to work on this particular policy.

  7. Speaker (presiding)1:32:23

     Thank you Representative Walter. Further discussion on the motion to substitute the third substitute for 68. I see none, Representative Roberts for summation, I'll waive Submission is waived the motion to, to adopt third substitute house bill 68. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries. The bill is substituted Representative Roberts.

  8. Rep. Calvin R. Roberts1:32:46

     Thank you Mr. Speaker Pram, colleagues, when I wanted to engage in housing policy, I found it really difficult to navigate the maze, the labyrinth of how housing policy is made at the executive branch. And the reason why I found it so difficult was because you've got 40 different housing policies and programs that previous legislators have put, or legislatures I should say, have put into motion that are scattered amongst four different executive agencies, DWS Goo, uh, GOPB and udot. And by the way, a public-private corporation in the Utah Housing Corp. What HB 68 is trying to do is to pull out all of those housing policies that have been, have accumulated over the last decade or more, put them into a box, put a deputy director in charge of that box, stick it into goo, that deputy director would be governor appointed Senate confirmed that deputy director would then have to come and report back to not just one interim committee, but two political subdivisions and economic development. And the idea of the bill is to try and bring more power into the hands of legislators to make smart housing policy. Now, I've heard an argument made that, that this bill is going to consolidate power. I think that's a fair argument and I'm sympathetic to it. But here's what I'd say. The bill isn't going to consolidate power. The power already exists. What it's trying to do is shine a bright light on how power works in the housing policy space. The goal is to try to make this body the preeminent policy making body in housing. And I think with this restructure will be better to engage in the housing questions, which policies are working. Let's double down on those, which policies are not working. Let's repeal those. Let's get rid of those. Um, and we'll have the discussion now. Two final points, Mr. Speaker pro tem number one, this bill, if you look at the fiscal note, you'll see a goose egg zero. There is no new growing of government. There is no new additional heads, no new personnel. If anything, I think over the next year or two, you'll see a reduction in government. And number two, if you go in detail through the crosswalk of the bill, you'll see no new housing policy is being created. I've had some who say, Hey, put my housing policy in there, or, Hey, pull this out. That's not the goal of the bill. The bill, the purpose of the bill is to be policy neutral, but to have a better structure that we can better engage with. And with that, Mr. Speaker Pram, I'm open to questions. Thank

  9. Speaker (presiding)1:35:34

     You Representative Roberts discussion to the bill representative Mike Peterson.

  10. Rep. Michael J. Petersen1:35:39

      Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. I, I, I appreciate my good colleagues' efforts on this. I don't think I've seen anybody spend any more blood, sweat and tears on the bill than I have on this, and I appreciate him. But having said that, for far too long, the state of Utah has spent massive amounts of money on this housing issue. Hundreds of millions even. I think it's actually over a billion dollars we've spent. And for what, what have we got? I contend we've really made no progress. Our, our kids are gonna struggle more than they ever have to get a, to get a home in our state. Today, we've a, a question, do we, do we create a new division to coordinate and, and consolidate housing efforts? I actually believe this, this effort actually runs contrary to what our people want. I think they want less government, not more government. They believe, like, uh, president Reagan, when he says government expands liberty contracts, every time we add a layer of government, a new layer of administration, we increase complexity. We increase cost, uh, tendency towards overreach. And the department, once it's established, it's, it's pretty much impossible to close down. You, you, you can't create a a you can't create a department and then later close it or, or, or division. It just, it just doesn't work. Our our constituents aren't clamoring for new, um, agency or new, new, new government to, to take care of their taxes. They're asking for efficiency. They're asking for lower taxes. The principle that government, when government expands and liberty contracts remains profoundly true. And every bureaucratic expansion is a con, is a, a, a contraction of free market, of self-determination, of fundamental constitutional rights. So I, I think we need to resist the effort to, to, to grow government. We need to resist the effort to expand the government's footprint. Creating a new division's not gonna, what what creating a new division's gonna do is it's gonna enshrine it in policy, in statutes an ever deepening money pit. We're gonna continue to send good money after bad. And what we're gonna do is we're going to make the law, the, the housing industry lobby even stronger. So with that, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I, I urge my colleagues to resist this, this time and, and let's continue to look for ways to, to attack housing, but I don't think this is the approach that our folks need or want.

  11. Speaker (presiding)1:38:22

      Thank you Representative Peterson for their discussion to the bill. Representative Peck.

  12. Rep. Nicholeen P. Peck1:38:29

      Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro. Tim, um, would the sponsor yield

  13. Speaker (presiding)1:38:33

      to a question? Yes. With the Sponsor yield, go ahead.

  14. Rep. Nicholeen P. Peck1:38:36

      Okay. I know the fiscal note says $0, but it also says in there, in some of the notes that, uh, 122 million will be taken from the division of Workforce Services. And I'm just wondering what part of Workforce services is being given up to, uh, bring that money over to these buckets in Goyo?

  15. Rep. Calvin R. Roberts1:38:54

      That's a great question. So if you look colleagues, you'll have a piece of paper on your desk. If you look on one side that says current housing org, you'll see within that current housing org, there's a lot of policies and programs you probably may have never heard of each of those policies and programs. Some are federal, has money behind them. Um, all this is doing is simply taking that function or the entity and moving it to a new spot. So again, no new additional appropriations, no new money. And what I would say too is if you look at the sheet, we want to consolidate and streamline and simplify the way housing policy is administered. And we want to cut, I share the concerns of, of many here. We want to get rid of redundant entities. If you look at this sheet, you will see we are getting rid of redundant entities, and you will see that the housing policy org chart gets simpler, not more complicated. I think there'll be more democratic control, uh, in this body as well.

  16. Rep. Nicholeen P. Peck1:40:04

      Thank you. Um, my next question is there, it has to be somebody overseeing this like program director and stuff. And I see that also within the fiscal note, that there's an amount that's appropriated for that. So we're actually creating another, um, salary position is what it looks like. Is that correct representative?

  17. Rep. Calvin R. Roberts1:40:23

      No, that's, sure. You yield to that question. I Will yield. No, that's false. This is not creating any new, any new salaried positions. You're taking money that's currently sitting in GOPB that's currently allocated to the housing advisor of the governor. Many of us know who that is, and you're taking that money and you're, you're moving it into this new entity. So there is no new additional monies being spent.

  18. Rep. Nicholeen P. Peck1:40:49

      Thank you. I think that for me, I want nothing more than to do something to help the housing situation. But I also feel like that when we are getting too deep into controlling the housing market too, we could also have unforeseen consequences. And this makes me, um, excited on one hand, nervous on the other, which makes me feel like I just really can't go for it. But thank you.

  19. Speaker (presiding)1:41:14

      Thank you Representative Peck. Further discussion Representative Shelley.

  20. Rep. Troy Shelley1:41:21

      Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Pro tem, uh, colleagues. I wanna offer an insight that I have on this, this very thing. Uh, my first year here and probably within my first week or so of being in the legislature, I, uh, I saw one of the housing authorities was on the agenda that I was going to be at. And so I did a deep dive really quick just to, just to follow their money, to see how their money flows. And I found that through legislative bodies. So this is, this is this body who approved this in some form somewhere slipped into some language. It allowed them to have tens of millions of dollars as allocated by the legislature to use for housing. However, the repayment of that money never started for 30 years. So they could use that money. And the first payment was not due for 30 years. And so when they came to this committee, I, uh, I, I had my facts, I spoke against it, and they, they intended to take a very large ongoing, uh, fund to be able to fund their projects. I asked them how much of this money actually goes to houses versus apartments. And, uh, and they couldn't give me the answer. And I told 'em, I said, I hope you realize the American dream is not to be able to find a place to rent. We want houses. If we're investing money, it needs to result in houses. So, so that their, their, uh, imagined allocation was doused there. The next morning I Uintah another committee, and there they were asking for the same thing. There was no, there was no control. They were just drifting around, hitting different, uh, different, uh, bodies trying to get their stuff funded. What I see this doing, and, and, and I'm sure it will evolve over time, but what it does is it brings all of these housing under one roof. So there's, there's one entity who says, here's how housing works. Instead, right now we have, I don't know how many entities who are saying we need more public housing. And everybody comes seeking for funding from all these different avenues. And from what I see in this bill, it just pulls it together and says, let's have everything come through one body. So for that, I Support the bill. Thank

  21. Speaker (presiding)1:43:51

      you. Thank you, Representative Shelley. Further discussion Representative Ward.

  22. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:43:57speaker not certain

      Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro. Tim, I rise in support of this bill. The legislature has put a lot of different programs in place, and when you put program after program after program in place, at a certain point you need to come back and think, wait, how do they work together, um, as a whole. Um, and it's, it's time to do that with the number of different kinds of things that we've done so that it can make sense as a whole. But even as we do this, I, it is important to say, just doing a reorg chart and just wanting that our policies would make housing more affordable by itself, won't, won't help. There are things that we, other policies and laws in place that governments have put in place that make housing more expensive than it used to be. Housing is not built by the state. The state can subsidize some few units, but that does not make it less expensive. Overall. Housing is not built by municipalities. Housing is built by owners of properties who hire someone to come build a house or an apartment building who take the risk to make that and then make another unit of housing. That property owner also needs to be considered. When we're thinking of rolling regulations back, we need to think of the regulations on the property owners who take away their property rights a little at a time by making their project more expensive, by making their project take longer, by making it meet some other set of governmental needs. Uh, and I hope that we'll be willing once we get these in order to also consider those kind of policies. Thank you.

  23. Speaker (presiding)1:45:25

      Thank you Representative Ward for their discussion. Representative Burton,

  24. Rep. Burton (not on roster)1:45:31

      I rise as port of the bill as well. It's well thought out. It's a good first step to coordinate and, uh, solidify and bring together a lot of different organizations. After all, this is one of our biggest problems is solving the affordable housing issue. And I think this is a, a good step and for me, it takes no, none of the control from local, uh, entities like cities. And, and I think, uh, the good representative from Salt Lake County has done a, a very thorough job and I encourage you to support this bill.

  25. Speaker (presiding)1:45:58

      Thank you, Representative Burton. Further discussion. Representative White.

  26. Rep. Stephen L. Whyte1:46:03

      Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro temp. In 2023, the office of Legislator General conducted a housing audit of the state and made some great recommendations to the legislature and to the state based upon some important data points. Last year, this legislative body passed a resolution supporting the streamlining of Utah housing policies. And since we passed that as a legislature this last year, a tremendous amount of work have gone forward for this particular bill because it addresses the findings that have been found in the audit report a couple of years ago. The challenges that we're facing right now is that we are limiting opportunities for collaboration. Sometimes efforts are also duplicative. The legislative branch, the executive branch, stakeholders, political subdivisions, and the public are often not on the same page knowing what initiatives already exist and when there needs to be additional work. So this bill is in response to what we requested as a legislative this last year to streamline the efficiencies of government to help housing become more attainable for our children and grandchildren, as I would encourage everyone's support of it. Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro temp.

  27. Speaker (presiding)1:47:20

      Thank you, Representative Whyte. Representative Christofferson.

  28. Rep. Kay J. Christofferson1:47:26

      Yeah. Thank you Mr. Speaker ProAm, uh, I move to call to question.

  29. Speaker (presiding)1:47:31

      Question has been called, which shall have the effect of any debate. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries Representative Roberts for summation.

  30. Rep. Calvin R. Roberts1:47:41

      Yeah, colleagues, theirs frustration in our body with the way housing has played out. The answer is to not disengage. The answer is to engage more and it's difficult to engage in housing policy if you don't have a good sense of how the housing policy is working. I think that this will help us engage better. And the last thing I'd say is, uh, I'm the chair of CHA and you'll notice on the org chart we are getting rid of cha. And the part of the reason why is because we don't want cha to act as the gatekeeper to housing policy. We want this body to lead out in housing and I would welcome all colleagues who have, you know, uh, ideas around the housing policy space to engage in with that. Uh, Mr. Speaker Prote. I'm, I'm done.

  31. Speaker (presiding)1:48:28

      Thank you. Representative Roberts voting is open on third substitute house per 68 housing and community development amendments. Representative Livy seen all present having voted voting will be closed. Third, substitute house 68, having received 55 yay votes and 13 NA votes passes, the house will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.

• Feb 13, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (27 turns)

  1. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:30:20

     the third substitute in my name. Thank you. The motion is to adopt third substitute of House Bill 68. Would you like to speak to it?

  2. Unknown speaker1:30:29speaker not certain

     Uh, no. The, the idea came from the good representative from Southern Utah. It's gonna put more controls and reporting around the Utah Housing Corp.

  3. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:30:39

     Okay. The motion is to adopt third substitute house bill 68. Discussion to the motion Representative Walter.

  4. Rep. R. Neil Walter1:30:47

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Uh, appreciate the opportunity to talk about, uh, the addition in house Bill 68. Uh, a couple of years ago there was a, uh, this body and conjunction with our legislative process authorized more than $600 million worth of low income housing tax credits to Utah Housing Corporation. There was $150 million that Uintah deeply affordable housing projects. There was a number of other initiatives, uh, that we, uh, funded. Um, as part of that, uh, process, um, one of the questions I've always had is how many units did we get? How many housing units did we actually get for the investment that the state has made? And so what this substitute does is it adds a provision that requires those agencies that receive housing funds from the state of Utah, whether through, um, a house, a tax credit, or some other, uh, uh, participation from the state that they provide a report to this, uh, new, uh, Utah Housing Corporation or sorry, to this new, uh, reorganized, um, uh, entity. And then they will actually, as part of their report, tell us how many housing units we're getting because of the investment that, uh, we're providing. And so, uh, I think this is a great addition. Um, there's a lot of support, uh, for this, uh, uh, this transparency. And I think it'll go a long ways to helping us understand when we're participating and trying to support housing, uh, sorry, particularly low income affordable housing initiatives. Um, we know what we're getting in terms of outcomes for those investments. And so I appreciate working with the sponsors willing to work on this particular policy.

  5. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:32:23

     Thank you Representative Walter. Further discussion on the motion to substitute the third substitute for 68. I see none, Representative Roberts for summation, I'll waive Submission is waived the motion to, to adopt third substitute house bill 68. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries. The bill is substituted Representative Roberts.

  6. Rep. Calvin Roberts1:32:46

     Thank you Mr. Speaker Pram, colleagues, when I wanted to engage in housing policy, I found it really difficult to navigate the maze, the labyrinth of how housing policy is made at the executive branch. And the reason why I found it so difficult was because you've got 40 different housing policies and programs that previous legislators have put, or legislatures I should say, have put into motion that are scattered amongst four different executive agencies, DWS Goo, uh, GOPB and udot. And by the way, a public-private corporation in the Utah Housing Corp. What HB 68 is trying to do is to pull out all of those housing policies that have been, have accumulated over the last decade or more, put them into a box, put a deputy director in charge of that box, stick it into goo, that deputy director would be governor appointed Senate confirmed that deputy director would then have to come and report back to not just one interim committee, but two political subdivisions and economic development. And the idea of the bill is to try and bring more power into the hands of legislators to make smart housing policy. Now, I've heard an argument made that, that this bill is going to consolidate power. I think that's a fair argument and I'm sympathetic to it. But here's what I'd say. The bill isn't going to consolidate power. The power already exists. What it's trying to do is shine a bright light on how power works in the housing policy space. The goal is to try to make this body the preeminent policy making body in housing. And I think with this restructure will be better to engage in the housing questions, which policies are working. Let's double down on those, which policies are not working. Let's repeal those. Let's get rid of those. Um, and we'll have the discussion now. Two final points, Mr. Speaker pro tem number one, this bill, if you look at the fiscal note, you'll see a goose egg zero. There is no new growing of government. There is no new additional heads, no new personnel. If anything, I think over the next year or two, you'll see a reduction in government. And number two, if you go in detail through the crosswalk of the bill, you'll see no new housing policy is being created. I've had some who say, Hey, put my housing policy in there, or, Hey, pull this out. That's not the goal of the bill. The bill, the purpose of the bill is to be policy neutral, but to have a better structure that we can better engage with. And with that, Mr. Speaker Pram, I'm open to questions. Thank

  7. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:35:34

     You Representative Roberts discussion to the bill representative Mike Peterson.

  8. Rep. Michael J. Petersen1:35:39

     Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. I, I, I appreciate my good colleagues' efforts on this. I don't think I've seen anybody spend any more blood, sweat and tears on the bill than I have on this, and I appreciate him. But having said that, for far too long, the state of Utah has spent massive amounts of money on this housing issue. Hundreds of millions even. I think it's actually over a billion dollars we've spent. And for what, what have we got? I contend we've really made no progress. Our, our kids are gonna struggle more than they ever have to get a, to get a home in our state. Today, we've a, a question, do we, do we create a new division to coordinate and, and consolidate housing efforts? I actually believe this, this effort actually runs contrary to what our people want. I think they want less government, not more government. They believe, like, uh, president Reagan, when he says government expands liberty contracts, every time we add a layer of government, a new layer of administration, we increase complexity. We increase cost, uh, tendency towards overreach. And the department, once it's established, it's, it's pretty much impossible to close down. You, you, you can't create a a you can't create a department and then later close it or, or, or division. It just, it just doesn't work. Our our constituents aren't clamoring for new, um, agency or new, new, new government to, to take care of their taxes. They're asking for efficiency. They're asking for lower taxes. The principle that government, when government expands and liberty contracts remains profoundly true. And every bureaucratic expansion is a con, is a, a, a contraction of free market, of self-determination, of fundamental constitutional rights. So I, I think we need to resist the effort to, to, to grow government. We need to resist the effort to expand the government's footprint. Creating a new division's not gonna, what what creating a new division's gonna do is it's gonna enshrine it in policy, in statutes an ever deepening money pit. We're gonna continue to send good money after bad. And what we're gonna do is we're going to make the law, the, the housing industry lobby even stronger. So with that, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I, I urge my colleagues to resist this, this time and, and let's continue to look for ways to, to attack housing, but I don't think this is the approach that our folks need or want. Thank you Representative Peterson

  9. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:38:23

     for their discussion to the bill. Representative Peck.

  10. Rep. Nicholeen P. Peck1:38:29

      Thank you, Mr. Speaker Pro. Tim, um, would the sponsor yield to a question? Yes. With the Sponsor yield, go ahead. Okay. I know the fiscal note says $0, but it also says in there, in some of the notes that, uh, 122 million will be taken from the division of Workforce Services. And I'm just wondering what part of Workforce services is being given up to, uh, bring that money over to these buckets in Goyo?

  11. Rep. Calvin Roberts1:38:54

      That's a great question. So if you look colleagues, you'll have a piece of paper on your desk. If you look on one side that says current housing org, you'll see within that current housing org, there's a lot of policies and programs you probably may have never heard of each of those policies and programs. Some are federal, has money behind them. Um, all this is doing is simply taking that function or the entity and moving it to a new spot. So again, no new additional appropriations, no new money. And what I would say too is if you look at the sheet, we want to consolidate and streamline and simplify the way housing policy is administered. And we want to cut, I share the concerns of, of many here. We want to get rid of redundant entities. If you look at this sheet, you will see we are getting rid of redundant entities, and you will see that the housing policy org chart gets simpler, not more complicated. I think there'll be more democratic control, uh, in this body as well.

  12. Rep. Nicholeen P. Peck1:40:04

      Thank you. Um, my next question is there, it has to be somebody overseeing this like program director and stuff. And I see that also within the fiscal note, that there's an amount that's appropriated for that. So we're actually creating another, um, salary position is what it looks like. Is that correct representative?

  13. Rep. Calvin Roberts1:40:23

      No, that's, sure. You yield to that question. I Will yield. No, that's false. This is not creating any new, any new salaried positions. You're taking money that's currently sitting in GOPB that's currently allocated to the housing advisor of the governor. Many of us know who that is, and you're taking that money and you're, you're moving it into this new entity. So there is no new additional monies being spent.

  14. Rep. Nicholeen P. Peck1:40:49

      Thank you. I think that for me, I want nothing more than to do something to help the housing situation. But I also feel like that when we are getting too deep into controlling the housing market too, we could also have unforeseen consequences. And this makes me, um, excited on one hand, nervous on the other, which makes me feel like I just really can't go for it. But thank you.

  15. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:41:14

      Thank you Representative Peck. Further discussion Representative Shelley.

  16. Rep. Tracy Shelley1:41:21

      Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Pro tem, uh, colleagues. I wanna offer an insight that I have on this, this very thing. Uh, my first year here and probably within my first week or so of being in the legislature, I, uh, I saw one of the housing authorities was on the agenda that I was going to be at. And so I did a deep dive really quick just to, just to follow their money, to see how their money flows. And I found that through legislative bodies. So this is, this is this body who approved this in some form somewhere slipped into some language. It allowed them to have tens of millions of dollars as allocated by the legislature to use for housing. However, the repayment of that money never started for 30 years. So they could use that money. And the first payment was not due for 30 years. And so when they came to this committee, I, uh, I, I had my facts, I spoke against it, and they, they intended to take a very large ongoing, uh, fund to be able to fund their projects. I asked them how much of this money actually goes to houses versus apartments. And, uh, and they couldn't give me the answer. And I told 'em, I said, I hope you realize the American dream is not to be able to find a place to rent. We want houses. If we're investing money, it needs to result in houses. So, so that their, their, uh, imagined allocation was doused there. The next morning I Uintah another committee, and there they were asking for the same thing. There was no, there was no control. They were just drifting around, hitting different, uh, different, uh, bodies trying to get their stuff funded. What I see this doing, and, and, and I'm sure it will evolve over time, but what it does is it brings all of these housing under one roof. So there's, there's one entity who says, here's how housing works. Instead, right now we have, I don't know how many entities who are saying we need more public housing. And everybody comes seeking for funding from all these different avenues. And from what I see in this bill, it just pulls it together and says, let's have everything come through one body. So for that, I Support the bill. Thank

  17. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:43:51

      you. Thank you, Representative Shelley. Further discussion Representative Ward.

  18. Rep. Raymond P. Ward1:43:57

      Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro. Tim, I rise in support of this bill. The legislature has put a lot of different programs in place, and when you put program after program after program in place, at a certain point you need to come back and think, wait, how do they work together, um, as a whole. Um, and it's, it's time to do that with the number of different kinds of things that we've done so that it can make sense as a whole. But even as we do this, I, it is important to say, just doing a reorg chart and just wanting that our policies would make housing more affordable by itself, won't, won't help. There are things that we, other policies and laws in place that governments have put in place that make housing more expensive than it used to be. Housing is not built by the state. The state can subsidize some few units, but that does not make it less expensive. Overall. Housing is not built by municipalities. Housing is built by owners of properties who hire someone to come build a house or an apartment building who take the risk to make that and then make another unit of housing. That property owner also needs to be considered. When we're thinking of rolling regulations back, we need to think of the regulations on the property owners who take away their property rights a little at a time by making their project more expensive, by making their project take longer, by making it meet some other set of governmental needs. Uh, and I hope that we'll be willing once we get these in order to also consider those kind of policies. Thank you.

  19. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:45:25

      Thank you Representative Ward for their discussion. Representative Burton,

  20. Rep. Burton (not on roster)1:45:31

      I rise as port of the bill as well. It's well thought out. It's a good first step to coordinate and, uh, solidify and bring together a lot of different organizations. After all, this is one of our biggest problems is solving the affordable housing issue. And I think this is a, a good step and for me, it takes no, none of the control from local, uh, entities like cities. And, and I think, uh, the good representative from Salt Lake County has done a, a very thorough job and I encourage you to support this bill.

  21. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:45:58

      Thank you, Representative Burton. Further discussion. Representative White.

  22. Rep. Stephen L. Whyte1:46:03

      Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro temp. In 2023, the office of Legislator General conducted a housing audit of the state and made some great recommendations to the legislature and to the state based upon some important data points. Last year, this legislative body passed a resolution supporting the streamlining of Utah housing policies. And since we passed that as a legislature this last year, a tremendous amount of work have gone forward for this particular bill because it addresses the findings that have been found in the audit report a couple of years ago. The challenges that we're facing right now is that we are limiting opportunities for collaboration. Sometimes efforts are also duplicative. The legislative branch, the executive branch, stakeholders, political subdivisions, and the public are often not on the same page knowing what initiatives already exist and when there needs to be additional work. So this bill is in response to what we requested as a legislative this last year to streamline the efficiencies of government to help housing become more attainable for our children and grandchildren, as I would encourage everyone's support of it.

  23. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:47:18

      Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro temp. Thank you, Representative Whyte. Representative Christofferson.

  24. Rep. Kay J. Christofferson1:47:26

      Yeah. Thank you Mr. Speaker ProAm, uh, I move to call to question.

  25. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:47:31

      Question has been called, which shall have the effect of any debate. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say no. Motion carries Representative Roberts for summation.

  26. Rep. Calvin Roberts1:47:41

      Yeah, colleagues, theirs frustration in our body with the way housing has played out. The answer is to not disengage. The answer is to engage more and it's difficult to engage in housing policy if you don't have a good sense of how the housing policy is working. I think that this will help us engage better. And the last thing I'd say is, uh, I'm the chair of CHA and you'll notice on the org chart we are getting rid of cha. And the part of the reason why is because we don't want cha to act as the gatekeeper to housing policy. We want this body to lead out in housing and I would welcome all colleagues who have, you know, uh, ideas around the housing policy space to engage in with that. Uh, Mr. Speaker Prote. I'm, I'm done.

  27. Speaker pro tem (presiding)1:48:28

      Thank you. Representative Roberts voting is open on third substitute house per 68 housing and community development amendments. Representative Livy seen all present having voted voting will be closed. Third, substitute house 68, having received 55 yay votes and 13 NA votes passes, the house will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.

• Feb 23, 2026 Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (17 turns)

  1. Committee chair33:58

     Those minutes are adopted. We are gonna move down to number three on our agenda. It is house bill, uh, 68, the third substitute Housing and Community Development amendments. Uh, Representative Roberts, you get the award for being here first. And, um, you can start whenever you're ready.

  2. Rep. Calvin Roberts34:17

     Okay. I'm going to put this up on the screen if that's all right. Okay, that's fine. Okay. Well, thank you for having me chair. Um, so what HB 68 does is it tries to pull out all the housing policy that's currently administered at the executive branch level and put it into one box, put that box over in goo, put a division director in charge of that box. It'll be senate confirmed governor appointed much like homelessness. And then that division director will have to report back to not one standing committee, but two, uh, we'll have them report back to political subdivisions and economic development. But really, the, what the problem it's trying to solve is right now you have 40 different housing policies scattered across four different executive agencies, DWS Goo, GOPP, and udot. It's difficult, it's hard for us as legislators to get our arms around housing. It's opaque. What I'm hoping this does is that it clarifies and streamlines housing policy administration on the executive branch side. I'm gonna make two notes. One, there is no fiscal note here. There's a $0 fiscal note, no expansion of government, no new heads being hired, and there's no new housing policy being created. No new powers granted. It's just merely a reorg. And my hope is is that by having, so this is our current housing org chart, and this is the proposed housing org chart. So you can see it simplifies it and streamlines it. Um, but my hope is through this more streamlined simplified housing org chart, we'll be able to better engage in housing policy. And the last thing I'll say is we, as a body passed a joint resolution this last legislative session, which directed the various bodies in housing to get together and to streamline efforts. Senator Millner, um, oversaw that effort during the interim session, and this is a result of that work. So that's the end of my presentation, Mr.

  3. Committee chair36:26

     Chair. Okay. Thank you very much. And I do wanna say, um, this has been an amazing effort over this session when we started with that resolution and the started of those conversations in, um, uh, community and economic or housing, or not community economic development and workforce services. I didn't imagine you could really pull this off by the end of session, but the willingness of people to come together, uh, to chart a direction to do it in the best interest of helping us address housing, um, was just amazing work to see. So I do wanna say thank you, um, Senator Owens, you have a question or

  4. Sen. Derrin R. Owens37:06

     Thank you representative for the presentation. Um, and my thoughts are along the same line. What, what's the biggest hurdle you found in this? I mean, there are probably a thousand directions you could go on this and to make this your final offer. What's the biggest challenge that you've had to land here? Um, and is this where you, is this the right way path now?

  5. Rep. Calvin Roberts37:32

     Yeah, it's a great question. The, the har the biggest challenge was deciding where should it sit, should housing stay with DWS, should we put it in goo? Ultimately, we landed on GOO because we thought there was some overlap in terms of economic development and the pressure that that puts on housing and housing policy. And admittedly, the first draft of this, we were going to just keep it in DWS, but we had a lot of feedback from the governor's office that it would be a challenge to keep it in. D-W-S-D-W-S is really focused on administering, you know, social welfare programs in the labor market. And so there just wasn't, perhaps you, you could say the expertise or, um, in the DWS side. And so by putting into go, we hope we, we have just a, um, more synergies with the way the housing policy will be administered.

  6. Committee chair38:29

     Okay. That's helpful. Thank you. Okay. Not seeing any other comments from the committee or questions? Is there anyone from the public that would like to speak to this bill? Yes, please. Oh, was how many? Three. Okay. Please come up if you would introduce yourself and make sure you sign in.

  7. Steve Waldrop, Governor's Senior Advisor, Housing Strategy and Innovation38:55

     Thank you. Madam Chair Committee members, Steve Waldrop, uh, representing the governor's office. Obviously we are very, very grateful to Representative Roberts for the good work he did, but also grateful to this committee and the interim work that happened to lay the groundwork for this moment to get here. And we're, we're extremely excited about the opportunity that this presents. As a representative said. Um, I think there's synergy with go eeo. One of the challenges that we have is we're looking at big nuclear, we're looking at big energy projects, a lot of rural projects where we need to be able to, to, within the, the framework of those projects talk about housing and how are we gonna house the workers that are gonna come along with these. And this gives us the opportunity to really be thoughtful and intentional in that process. So really appreciate the work of the committee and, and, uh, we're very supportive. Thank you.

  8. Unknown speaker39:47speaker not certain

     Uh, I just wanna say, and there was at least one phone call where he was out on the, uh, lake with his family participating in, uh, conversations, trying to keep, uh, everybody on board and working together. So, thank you, uh, Steve, Thank you for remembering that fun moment. I do. Thanks Steve.

  9. Cameron Diehl, Utah League of Cities and Towns40:15

     Uh, thank you Madam Chair, members of the committee, uh, Cameron Dale, executive Director of the Utah League of Cities and Towns. Uh, we also support this bill and I want to thank Representative Roberts and, uh, Steve Waldrop and the other stakeholders. Just to give you a quick sense of the amount of work over the last year that has gone into what has become House Bill 68 and the other efforts, we went back through our calendar invites and counted up all the different housing plan related conversations that included mayors, council members and league leaders. And it was at least 63 over the course of last interim. So House Bill 68 is a collaborative effort, and, uh, we appreciate the bill and the related work with Representative Roberts in this space. Thank you.

  10. Committee chair40:56

      Thanks. Thank you.

  11. Michael Parker, Utah Nonprofit Housing Corporation41:02

      Good morning, Madam Chair Michael Parker. I'm here representing the Utah Nonprofit Housing Corporation and the Utah Housing Preservation Fund. Two of our most strategic partners on the affordable side. And I'll just say we really appreciate this bill. If you can make housing simpler in any way, shape, or form, I think it really leads to the private sector being able to step up and be a partner with you. And so as the bill works, both with the gentleman behind you and the representative running it, anything we're doing to streamline those processes so partnerships can take hold instead of it being about process. I think that's really, really important. So I just encourage your support.

  12. Committee chair41:39

      Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Anyone online? Yeah. Okay. Um, then I, uh, any discussion from the committee? Senator Owens?

  13. Sen. Derrin R. Owens41:52

      I'm just ready when you're ready for it. I'm ready. Hey, Madam Chair, I would move that we pass out House Bill 68 third substitute to the full body of the Senate.

  14. Committee chair42:02

      Okay. We have a motion to pass out. Third substitute of House Bill 68 Housing and Community Development amendments to the full body of the Senate. Um, any discussion to that motion? Seeing none, uh, I'll return to you. Representative Roberts, would you like to sign? I'll waive.

  15. Committee chair42:19speaker not certain

      Okay. Senator Rowans,

  16. Unknown speaker42:21speaker not certain

      I just wanna say thank you to that as a heavy lift. So thank you for your work. Uh, I also wanna say thank you. Very heavy lift, um, that people have been doing, trying to work on for years. And, um, Representative Roberts, you, Steve Waldrop, the league, et cetera, people coming together to make sure we really got something done. Thank you very much for that. Thank you, Madam Chair. Okay.

  17. Committee chair42:47

      All in favor of passing out third substitute of House Bill 68 housing Community Development amendments. Please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Okay. Um, that passes unanimously. Thank you very much. Thank you.

• Feb 25, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (18 turns)

  1. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore1:26:45

     Senator Fillmore, Mr. President, you know, there are times when a legislator will get an assignment and work through the interim committee and work really hard and listen to all the stakeholders and get a bill together and get that approved unanimously by two interim committees. And then that same bill comes to the legislative session with a committee note and then it is presented on the floor in its third substitute. And the first thing I have to do is make a motion to delete and title and body third substitute Senate bill 68 and replace it with fourth substitute Senate bill 68. Because when you deal with this issue, there is no ending of people who will find little tweaks that they want to make. So I would make that motion to, uh, replace this with the fourth substitute, which is just the result of further, uh, refinement of language. And, uh, the, the most major policy change here is changing the title of the position that it creates in the government Office of Economic Opportunity Motion. The motion is to delete entitle and body third substitute House bill 68 and replace it with four substitute house Bill 68.

  2. Presiding officer (Senate)1:27:57

     Discussion. That motion saying none. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Or let opposed Let me call it again. All in favor? The motion to substitute say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, I'll rule that passes. Thank you Bill of substitute. Senator Fillmore.

  3. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore1:28:17

     All right. As I mentioned, this was, uh, a year long process. Uh, and so this was presented actually in the interim to both political subdivisions and, um, the economic development, uh, interim committees. So, uh, and the reason for that Mr. President is because we have about 40 different housing programs in different sections of the state government. Um, and so what we're trying to do here is to consolidate those programs for the sake of, for want of a better term, bureaucratic efficiency. Right. So the housing programs, uh, will be under one department with one person at the head who can be properly held accountable and who reports under a a straight line, uh, you know, reports to the legislature and then oversees the executive branch, uh, agencies and divisions that are implementing that policy. So we reorganize existing housing, community development and related infrastructure programs that are currently housed in various agencies under a single office at GO io. And it establishes the housing, uh, deputy director, we've changed that title now, but we've, we like the Chief of Housing programs in the state that's be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. That position, uh, exists today, but it does not have that legislative check. Um, and then remaining programs at DWS that are unrelated to housing are placed in the, under the division of Community services. It repeals a legislative commission on housing affordability and in that way shrinks government as well as making government more efficient. And it requires coordination between the deputy, this new housing chief and the Utah Housing Corporation. We update statutory requirements, no cost to the bill, it's net neutral. We're just shifting and organizing housing programs so that we can increase transparency and accountability. Thank you for that presentation.

  4. Presiding officer (Senate)1:30:15

     It's their discussion to the bill. Senator Winterton,

  5. Sen. Chris Wilson1:30:22speaker not certain

     I understand the, the need for the bill and we're moving a lot of responsibility over to goo, but, uh, I wonder if the sponsor would, uh, take a question regarding some of the stuff at the bottom of the bill. Senator Fillmore, will you

  6. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore1:30:38

     Yield? I love talking about stuff at the bottom of bills, Mr. President. Sure. Okay, Let's run down to line 47 92. Uh, and to be clear, he's looking at the fourth substitute, right? Well, I hope so, unless we changed a lot in the fourth sub. I just want, I I don't know at what point he prepared these questions if they were prepared on the third substitute. The lines may be different, Mr. President, That that could be true. I looked at red it last night. So,

  7. Sen. Ronald M. Winterton1:31:10

     Uh, line 47 92 begins with the impact board. May Yes. Okay. Okay. Proceed. Could you tell me what the need for that is? The Impact board has been in place for, you know, 30, 40 years now. They've gotten along this far. Is there a need that they, we need to do this now. Senator Fillmore.

  8. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore1:31:35

     Thank you. My answer to that question is, is there something specific that he is wondering about the need of, as I read this, what it allows is for that impact board to appoint a hearing examiner or, or administrative lodges and appoint additional professional and administer and administrative staff necessary to perform their duties. Uh, I would imagine that this is in here because it was at the request of the impact board, although I don't know that for certain, I do know that this is consensus language among all stakeholders.

  9. Sen. Ronald M. Winterton1:32:05

     Well, and, and having previously been on that board, the Attorney general assigns an attorney to be there with the board to protect them and that, so outside of that, over the number of years and, you know, let's say it's been about 18 years, I followed them. I don't know that this is necessary. And the only reason I'm questioning it is that okay, the board appoints it in that, but that funding would then come out of the mineral lease money that is set aside to help the communities. So if there's a need for it, I could see that we need to have language, but it, we've, in my recollection, we've never needed it. And it's also further down and it talks about, uh, the Navajo Trust fund and also the unit basin revitalization funding with the same type of a theme. And the projects that come into there usually are not a controversial to the point that we need to, uh, have this language in there. That's my question.

  10. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore1:33:08

      Uh, uh, Mr. Uh, president? That's a fair question. I don't have an answer to it. About what, what body asks for that. My guess is it's the impact board. This, uh, allows the impact. I mean, this is just gives an option to the impact board if they choose, if they feel like they need some additional support, it gives them the power to do so. If that's a concern for the sponsor, I would be happy to, uh, like connect him and the impact boards, uh, you know, there's no reason not to have a fifth sub on what has always been a consensus. Bill.

  11. Sen. Ronald M. Winterton1:33:42

      Senator Winterton Now thank you. I appreciate that. It was just a concern that I saw reading the bill, why we're putting extra language in there so I can do my own investigation. Ask him about that. But, uh, I just wondered if you had known. Yeah. And Mr. President. I thank him for that. It's, uh, we've got another reading on this. I hope I can get an eye on two, uh, from him to move this forward in the process and would look forward, uh, to that discussion and to any meeting that we put together with the impact board representatives.

  12. Presiding officer (Senate)1:34:12

      Thank you. Further discussion to the bill. Seeing none, Senator Fillmore back to you for summation

  13. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore1:34:18

      Or motion. Alright, I'm gonna take a risk here by, uh, uh, by moving this even though I, you know, we have a lot of empty seats on the floor, but again, I just present this as, uh, a consensus bill that we really have worked hard on over the course of the last year. To my knowledge, there is no opposition to this bill. And, uh, I hope that we can get this read a third time. And so that'll be my motion. And the question is, shall force substitute house bill 68? Be read for a third time. Roll call vote.

  14. Presiding officer (Senate)1:34:44

      Senator Vickers Baldry Lewin Brammer bus Colmore Escamilla Fillmore Aye. Grover Aye. Harper Aye. Kins Ipson Aye. Johnson Aye. Juab Aye. McKay Mikel Milner Musselman. Kay Owens. Mitch Aye. Lum Aye. Rebe Sandal Stevenson Stratton. Yes. Bickers miler Wilson. Aye. Winterton President Adams Baldry der President Adams Four, substitute house bill 68.

  15. Presiding officer (Senate)1:35:45

      Having received 19 yay votes, two nay votes say Being absent will be read for a third time. Senator Wilson

  16. Sen. Chris Wilson1:35:52

      President Pro temp a motion that we table on third four sub substitute house bill 68 for physical impact.

  17. Presiding officer (Senate)1:35:59

      All in mo favor. In the motion to, uh, table on third say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Or rule that passes the bills tabled.

  18. Presiding officer (Senate)1:36:08speaker not certain

      We'll go back now to the third reading calendar for further un the Bills.

• Mar 5, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (3 turns)

  1. Unknown speaker1:05:35speaker not certain

     I have no idea This is what they're going to send.

  2. Presiding officer1:05:43speaker not certain

     One second. You're good.

  3. Presiding officer1:06:02

     Senator Grover. Senator Grover?

• Mar 5, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (15 turns)

  1. Presiding officer1:14:25

     Will the motion passes to the bill?

  2. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore1:14:27

     Thank you. Uh, Mr. Present? Aye. I, uh, this is a long bill and you'll see why it's a long bill as you take a look at, um, at the long title and just below the long title where it says Utah sections of code affected. Right. Uh, there's a long list of codes that are affected and it says that it, we are reenacting a bunch of provisions, repealing a bunch of provisions, um, amending a few provisions. And that's because what we're trying to do here is reorganize the way that the government oversees its housing and community development programs by consolidating those programs that are about, uh, the supply of housing, right. And creating the development of housing into the Office of Economic Development and then organizing, um, workforce support programs at the Department of Workforce Services. So we are just moving places around. There are no policy changes in this bill except for the, uh, creation of a new, uh, uh, a new position at the department, uh, at, at goo to oversee housing the, the Deputy Director of Housing. Uh, but in then, in that case, we eliminate that's, uh, an equivalent position at the governor's office. So even that is just a shift. So the fiscal note is zero On second reading, I don't know if y'all remember, the senator from ENA County asked a question, uh, you know, highlighting what looked like new language, uh, about the, uh, community development boards, but that it looked like new language because it's, uh, repealed in one section and reenacted in another. And we deal with that at times as we're doing these, uh, reorganization. So that's my presentation on the bill. Again, no policy changes, just reorganization for the sake of efficiency. Um, we eliminate a position of the governor's office and eliminate a legislative committee. Thank you. Looking for discussion.

  3. Presiding officer1:16:29

     Senator Cullimore you up on the bill? Senator Millner

  4. Sen. Ann Millner1:16:33

     Say this took a year or more of work. Um, and this is really good work, consolidating what we're doing. Uh, I just wanna thank Senator Fillmore for that.

  5. Presiding officer1:16:44

     Thank you. Now, Senator Musselman?

  6. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman1:16:51

     Yeah. With the sponsor yield. Senator Fillmore, will you yield? Yes. Um, there's been some question as this is consolidating too much power under, uh, the executive branch. Could maybe, uh, maybe I have a couple questions, but could you, could you respond to that?

  7. Presiding officer1:17:06

     Senator Fillmore?

  8. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore1:17:08

     Uh, this does not give any new power to the executive branch that didn't, didn't already have. Rather it just moves programs from DWS over to economic development. But those are still executive branch agencies. This doesn't really create any new executive power. It simply reorganizes what's there for the sake of, uh, vertical efficiency. So, uh, just out of the state.

  9. Presiding officer1:17:31

     Thank you. Go ahead Senator Musselman. Yeah.

  10. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman1:17:33

      Thank you Mr. President. I apologize. Um, so out of clarity, I think that was clear, but I just want to be clear. It does not create any new powers. It it consolidates what was already under the executive branch. That's correct. Thank you.

  11. Presiding officer1:17:48

      Thank you. So no further discussion. I'm gonna go to you, Senator Fillmore.

  12. Sen. Lincoln Fillmore1:17:55

      Thank you. I move that sixth substitute house bill 68 pass under suspension of the rules. Thank

  13. Presiding officer1:18:00

      You. And the question is, under suspension of the rules, shall sixth substitute house bill 68 Pastoral

  14. Unknown speaker1:18:05speaker not certain

      Senator Vickers Baldy Lein Aye. Brammer Bus Aye. Colmore Aye. Escamia Aye. Fillmore Grover Harper Hankins Ipson Johnson Juab McKay Mikel Mikel Milner Musselman Owens pitcher Plum Rebe sandal aye. Stevenson Aye. Stratton Bickers Aye. Weiler Wilson Winterton Owens President Adams Aye.

  15. Presiding officer1:19:04

      Six, substitute house Bill 68, having received 25 yay votes, three nay votes, one being absent, passes this body and will be returned to the house for further consideration. Anybody else wanna encircle on Second? Senator Stevenson.

• Mar 5, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (3 turns)

  1. Speaker (presiding)4:19

     of the president, Madam Marine Clerk Six, substitute House Bill 68 Housing and Community Development Amendments by Representative Roberts. Representative Roberts. Motion to Concur. Thank you representative. The motion before is to house Concur with the Senate amendments on six substitute HB 68. Would you like to speak to that? I

  2. Rep. Calvin Roberts4:40

     Will. The changes the effective date was July 1st. We're moving it to May 6th.

  3. Speaker (presiding)4:45

     Thank you representatives or representative Discussion to the motion to Concur on six substitute HB 68. Scene nine will go ahead and place the motion. All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Rule that motion passes Voting will now be open for final passage on six. Substitute seeing all present having voted voting is now closed. Six. Substitute HB 68 passed this body of 54 Yes votes 10 no volts and will be sent to the Senate for the signature of the president, Madam Marine Clerk