Utah legislation · 2026 General Session
Utah HB231: Restaurant Tax Repeal Amendments
Status: Failed, March 6, 2026
This bill amends county authority to impose taxes under the Tourism, Recreation, Cultural, Convention, and Airport Facilities Tax Act.
What the bill says
From the substitute text, March 1, 2026:
0 Restaurant Tax Repeal Amendments 2026 GENERAL SESSION STATE OF UTAH Chief Sponsor: Norman K Thurston Senate Sponsor: Lincoln Fillmore LONG TITLE General Description: This bill amends county authority to impose taxes under the Tourism, Recreation, Cultural, Convention, and Airport Facilities Tax Act. Highlighted Provisions: This bill: - repeals the authority for a county to impose the tax, referred to as the restaurant tax, on food items and alcoholic beverage items sold at restaurants and customized prepared foods sold at convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores; - replaces the restaurant tax with a tax on taxable transactions, other than food and food ingredients, at a rate that will generate an equivalent amount of revenue to the restaurant tax; and - makes technical changes. Money Appropriated in this Bill: None Other Special Clauses: None Utah Code Sections Affected: AMENDS: 59-12-602 , as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 306 59-12-603 , as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 17 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah: Section 1. Section 59-12-602 is amended to read: 59-12-602 . Definitions. As used in this part: (1) (a) "Airport facility" means an airport of regional significance , and includes: . (b) "Airport facility" includes: (a) (i) an appurtenance to an airport, including a …
Sponsors
- Norman Thurston (R, 62) · primary sponsor
- Fillmore, Lincoln (R, 17)
Latest actions
- : House/ filed
- : House/ strike enacting clause
- : House/ filed
- : House/ failed
- : House/ 3rd reading
- : LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0231S02
- : LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0231S02
- : House/ 2nd reading
- : House/ comm rpt/ substituted
- : House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
Votes
- House/ failed (March 3, 2026): 21 yea, 52 nay, failed
- House Comm - Substitute Recommendation (March 2, 2026): 6 yea, 1 nay, passed
- House Comm - Favorable Recommendation (March 2, 2026): 5 yea, 3 nay, passed
Subjects: Sales and Use Tax, Food, Local Taxation and Fees, Local Option Sales Taxes, Revenue and Taxation
Common questions
- What is HB231?
- HB231 is a bill in the Utah Legislature (2026 General Session): Restaurant Tax Repeal Amendments.
- What does HB231 do?
- This bill amends county authority to impose taxes under the Tourism, Recreation, Cultural, Convention, and Airport Facilities Tax Act.
- What is the status of HB231?
- Failed as of March 6, 2026. Latest action: House/ filed (March 6, 2026).
- Who sponsored HB231?
- Norman Thurston (R, 62), with 1 co-sponsor.
- Where is the official record for HB231?
- On the Utah Legislature website: https://le.utah.gov/~2026/bills/static/HB0231.html
Source: official Utah record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.