SB 264

 02-27 14:53  1st Sub. (Green) S.B. 264
                         Stephanie Pitcher proposes the following substitute bill:
1Elected Official Publicity Amendments
                                        2026 GENERAL SESSION
                                             STATE OF UTAH
                                   Chief Sponsor: Stephanie Pitcher
                                      House Sponsor: Jason B. Kyle
2
3   LONG TITLE
4   General Description:
5This bill creates an exception to the 60-day restriction on certain publicly funded mass
6   communications.
7   Highlighted Provisions:
8This bill:
9▸ creates an exception to the 60-day restriction on certain publicly funded mass
10   communications to permit a public official's photograph to appear in a regularly
11   published public entity newsletter as part of a neutral, uniformly displayed candidate
12   profile that does not promote or oppose any candidacy; and
13▸ makes technical changes.
14   Money Appropriated in this Bill:
15None
16   Other Special Clauses:
17None
18   Utah Code Sections Affected:
                                                                                                        1st Sub. S.B. 264
19   AMENDS:
2020A-11-1203.5, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 96
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22   Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
23Section 1. Section 20A-11-1203.5 is amended to read:
2420A-11-1203.5 . Public official prohibited from expending public funds on
25   certain communications.
26   (1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), a public official may not make an expenditure
27from public funds for a billboard or mass communication that:
28(a)(i) includes a photograph, image, or likeness of the public official; or
29(ii) contains the name of the public official in a font size that is larger than any other
 1st Sub. (Green) S.B. 264  02-27 14:53
30font size on the billboard or mass communication; and
31(b) is posted, displayed, or mailed less than 60 calendar days before the date of any
32caucus, political convention, or election at which the public official is a candidate for
33elective office.
34   (2) A public official may make an expenditure from public funds for a mass communication
35described in Subsection (1) if:
36(a) the mass communication is mailed to a person in response to that person making an
37inquiry of the public official;
38(b) the mass communication is sent to another public official;
39(c) the mass communication is a news release sent to a news media organization; [or]
40(d) the public official is legally required to mail the mass communication[.] ; or
41(e) the mass communication:
42(i) is an informational newsletter or similar communication that a public entity
43regularly publishes outside the period described in Subsection (1)(b); and
44(ii) fails to comply with Subsection (1) solely because the mass communication
45includes a photograph of the public official as part of a candidate profile that:
46(A) is displayed in the same time, place, and manner as the profiles of all other
47candidates for the elective office for which the public official is a candidate;
48and
49(B) does not promote or oppose any individual's candidacy.
50Section 2. Effective Date.
51   This bill takes effect on May 6, 2026.
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