FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Casey Hill, Utah State Director, casey@lincolnhill.com
Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 3, 2026—The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the voice of small business in Utah, today released its top legislative priorities for the 2026 session of the Legislature, which is scheduled to adjourn on March 6.

“We will be tracking more bills, but these six have drawn our immediate attention and efforts to either lobby for or against their passage,” said Casey Hill, state director for NFIB in Utah. “Our overarching goal is to guard Utah’s reputation as a pro-small-business state that offers the best opportunities to find and keep a job or start and maintain a small business.”

Two measures would deeply damage that reputation, according to Hill. They are:

— Senate Bill 178, which calls for repealing Utah’s Right to Work Law in its entirety

— Senate Bill 179, which would spike the state’s minimum wage rate to $20 an hour.

“Why would you want to repeal one of the bigger policy-positives Utah has as a right-to-work state?,” asked Hill. “That can only be explained by a desire by a small group of people to score political points with another small group of people. The bill should be stopped dead in its tracks early and decisively. As for the minimum wage, it always has been and always will be an entry-level wage, earned mostly by teens and young adults setting out on their working lives. Raising it only closes the door on employment opportunities for future young job-seekers.”

Three other bills and a possible fourth will receive NFIB’s backing for passage. They are:

— House Bill 235 lowering individual income tax rates to 4.45% from 4.5%

— House Bill 280 on third-party litigation funding

— Senate Bill 74 on seat belt civil action amendments

— And another measure, soon to be in bill form, reducing insurance premiums on seasonal vehicles.

Related

In Action Alerts sent to NFIB’s Utah members, they have been asked to reach their legislators on three issues:

— Opening the door to awarding phantom damages in civil lawsuits. Click here for more information.

— Stopping a $20 minimum wage

— Keeping Utah a Right to Work state. Click here for more information on this bill and the one above.

Keep up with the latest on Utah small business news at www.nfib.com or on X @nfib_ut.

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

NFIB Utah
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www.nfib.com
X: @NFIB_UT