ST. GEORGE — The start of a new year means the enactment of new state laws, and 2023 is no exception. Utah will see around a dozen new laws take effect on Jan. 1 that run the gamut of electric vehicle registration and consumer protection to comparing schools, requiring a course for off-highway vehicle use and property taxes.

House Bill 186: Electric vehicle registration and road user change program

HB 186 modifies the state’s Road User Charge (RUC) program as a way to help further maintain state funds used for road maintenance.

Revenue from the gas tax that traditionally has fueled the state’s road maintenance fund has decreased in recent years due to the use of more fuel-efficient vehicles and the adoption of alternative-fuel vehicles. In these cases, drivers are either buying less gas or no gas.

Electric vehicles are estimated to make up 0.5% of the vehicles registered in Utah.

Electric vehicle users have paid $120 per year when they register with the state. If they don’t drive that much, an electric vehicle driver may enter the state’s RUC program instead where they pay 1.5 cents per mile with an overall cap of $120. Drivers save money if they drive 8,000 miles or less.

Only about 1 in every 10 electric vehicles is registered with the RUC program, as most drivers chose to pay the $120 fee instead.

Under HB 186, starting Jan. 1, 2023, the road-use charge drops to 1 cent per mile road-use fee and caps at $130.25.

In 2026, road use goes to 1.25 cents per mile with a cap of $180 and stays there until 2032 when the RUC rate goes to 1.5 cents per mile and a $240 cap.

Senate Bill 227: Consumer Privacy Act

SB 227 takes effect Dec. 31, 2023 and gives consumers more rights over personal data collected by companies. The new law will enable consumers the ability to access and determine what businesses can do with their private data. Any language in a contract considered to limit or waive consumer rights is also considered void under the new law.

Under the new law, consumers have a right to:

• Access and delete personal data collected on them by certain businesses.
• Opt out of the collection of personal data or processing of personal data for targeted advertising.

Business compliance requirements:

• Have protections in place for personal data.
• Provide consumers with information on how their data is used.
• Accept and act on a consumer’s request to delete or stop selling personal data. Businesses will have 45 days to comply with the request.

The new law will be enforced by the Utah Attorney General’s Office and Utah Division of Consumer Protection. SB 227 applies to businesses that have an annual revenues of $25 million or more and:

• Does business in Utah or produces products or services targeted for use by Utah Consumers.
• Deal with the data of 10,000 or more people, and either:
  • Process or control the personal data of 100,000 or more Utah consumers.
  • Get more than 50% of their gross revenue for dealing with the personal data of 25,000 or more Utah consumers.

House Bill 117: Fake addresses for crime victims program.

This allows the victims of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault and other crimes to create a fake mailing address. Mail can be sent to a government address and then forwarded to the real address so the victim’s anonymity is maintained.

The program is free and participants may remain on it for up to four years.

House Bill 180: Off-highway vehicle education course and license plates

The new law requires OHV operators to take an online course covering state policy and rules regarding safe OHV and off-road trail use. It also requires off-highway vehicles to have license plates so OHV riders who cause damage to an area or in be in violation of state law can be more easily identified.

House Bill 270: Allowing parents to compare public schools

This bill requires the Utah State School Board to create an online tool that will allow parents to search compare the performance of public schools in the state.

Senate Bill 216: Additional languages offered for state driver license exam

The state’s written driver license exam will now be offered in Utah’s five most commonly used language other than English. This applies the class D license application and renewals, and will cover Spanish, Chinese, German, Austronesian and Portuguese.

Senate Bill 39: Mobile workforce income tax

This bill exempts non-resident workers from the state’s income tax if they work 20 days or less in the state during a taxable year.

The new law does not apply to:

• Professional athletes or members of professional athletic team.
• Professional entertainers who work on a per-event basis
• Workers who perform construction services to improve real estate and work as construction site laborers.
• Key employees who have worked for their company over the previous year and is among the company’s 50 highest paid employees.

Senate Bill 310: Special characters for names on vital documents

This bills requires the state registrar to accept diacritical marks for vital records and accept corrections and issuance of preexisting vital records originally created without diacritical marks. These marks include accents, tildes, graves, umlauts, and cedillas.

Senate Bill 81: Clarifying property taxes related to affordable housing

Clarifies existing law regarding property tax assessments for low income rental properties.

Senate bill 174: Valuation of pollution control equipment used at refineries

This bill enacts provisions related to the assessment of certain pollution control equipment and provides a schedule for valuing county assessed pollution control equipment that is used in connection with a petroleum refiner

House Bill 199: Tangible property tax

This bill modifies the signed statement requirements for claiming a property tax exemption for certain tangible personal property.

House Bill 347: Property tax exemptions for nonprofits

Clarifies the process by which nonprofits can apply for property tax exemptions and the renewals thereof.

House Bill 218: Ballot measure changes

Allows a process for people to sign ballot initiatives and petitions using electronic devices that use the signer’s driver license as a means of identity confirmation. It also limits eligible signatures on petitions to registered voters.

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