The move came less than a year after Republican legislators narrowly voted to pass it, several months after labor groups broke signature-gathering records as they mounted a referendum effort to repeal the law and only weeks ahead of the Legislature’s 2026 general session.
Under Utah law, a referendum is automatically voided after lawmakers repeal the law it’s challenging. So the question of whether to keep the law will no longer appear alongside the approximately 90 legislative contests on ballots next November.
The bill passed easily in the House of Representatives, with nine of the most conservative Republicans in the body breaking from their caucus to vote “nay.” In the Senate, everyone except one Republican voted to repeal.
“It was good policy,” Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, the sponsor of both the original and repeal bills, told his colleagues.
“However, since that bill’s passage, House Bill 267 has been overshadowed by misinformation and unnecessary division,” Teuscher continued. “This was never the intent behind the bill. As such, HB2001 repeals HB267 in its entirety. It allows us to step back, to lower the temperature and to create space for a clearer and more constructive conversation.”
On Monday ahead of the special session, Protect Utah Workers, the coalition formed to organize the referendum, celebrated the law’s expected demise as a win.
“I’m appreciative that the Legislature listened to the people,” said Utah Education Association President Renee Pinkney, attributing lawmakers’ turnaround to the more than 250,000 valid signatures added to referendum petitions.
To read Emily Anderson Stern's full report visit sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.