Series 83155
Legislature Laws of Utah

Dates: i 1851-

17.00 cubic feet and 90 microfilm reels and 2 microfiche sets Skip to Containers

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Historical Note

An agency history is available.

Scope and Content

After each regular and special session of the state legislature or the territorial assembly, the laws that were passed were compiled and published as the Laws of Utah. The act of publishing the laws was an important step in the legislative process. Until 1972, laws were not considered to be in effect until they had first been published, a requirement dating from the 1849 Constitution of the State of Deseret. In the early territorial days, acts were often published in the newspaper as well, and the law named specific public officials who were to receive a copy. [Acts, Resolutions, and Memorials for the Territory of Utah 1851, page 213-214.] The production of this series has its origin in this requirement.

The Secretary of the Territory was given responsibility for handling the financial details and for making arrangements for publication. When Utah became a state in 1896, the Board of Examiners assumed this responsibility, but by 1907 the Secretary of State's office was again incharge. They were followed in 1967 by the Finance Department and then the State Archives from 1969-1985. Currently, the Office of Legislative Printing arranges for their publication and distribution.

Legislative sessions were held annually until 1870, usually in the winter, from December to March. After that date biennial sessions were held in even numbered years until statehood. Starting with the second session of the new state legislature in 1897, biannual sessions were switched to odd numbered years. The 13th state legislature held the first special session in 1919, and after that date one or more special sessions began to be held more often. Special sessions are convened by the governor to consider legislative matters that need to be resolved immediately, before the next regular session of the legislature convenes.

A 1968 change in the state constitution created the budget session, and the first of these was held in 1970. These were held during the even numbered years when theregular session did not meet, and only government funding issues were considered. The constitution of the state was changed again in 1985 to provide for annual sessions of the legislature, eliminating the biannual budget session.

In addition to the laws and resolutions passed at each session of the legislature, additional information about state government is regularly added to the volumes. A listing of individual members of the legislature and the districts they represent has been a standard addition since 1896; only in more recent volumes has more detailed information about them, such as party affiliation and committee assignments, been added to this basic list. During the territorial period, a list of assembly members appears in only a few of the volumes. In some years only lists of federal officials are included; in others, no additional information accompanies the Laws of the Territorial Assembly. Federal laws affecting territories or a copy of the U.S. Constitution is alsosometimes added to the laws from this period. The volume for the 2nd session also contains a copy of the Constitution of the State of Deseret, and a reprint of the laws passed by that body.

Beginning in 1901, listings of major state administrative and judicial officials were added. Lists of Utah representatives in Congress first appear in 1917. The U.S. Constitution and the Enabling Act creating Utah territory are part of the first volumes of the laws; the Utah State Constitution appears in 1896 and again in 1931.

Arrangement

Chronological by year of publication.

The series is arranged chronologically by year of legislative session. Volumes from multiple sessions held in any given year may not be in chronological order. Within each volume, laws are arranged into numbered chapters, which corresponds generally to an alphabetical arrangement by topic. The laws were organized by chapter numbers first in 1870; prior to this, laws were printed in chronological order as they were passed.

Research Note

Tracing the history of legislation in the series can be most effectively done by using individual volumes in conjunction with Series 83238, UTAH CODE ANNOTATED. Included in each volume of the LAWS OF UTAH are only those statutes either first passed or revised during the session in that particular year. Laws already in force at the time of the legislative session, which were not revised, are not reprinted in each volume of the LAWS OF UTAH. Until the publication of the Utah Code in the 1940s, Utah's laws were only periodically compiled or recodified. When the year in which a specific statute was first passed is not known, or when trying to learn whether a specific law regulating a particular area existed in any given year, it is best to begin searching in a volume of the UTAH CODE ANNOTATED. First check the edition of the UTAH CODE ANNOTATED published after the year when the law might have been passed. Once a law is located in the code the date of its initial passage or last revision is usually noted at the end of the section. From this date, it is then possible to identify which volume of the laws should contain the original act. Checking volumes in between these two points will also identify any revisions that occurred between its original passage and its appearance in the UTAH CODE ANNOTATED. If the date represents a revision, check the LAWS OF UTAH during the year it was revised. The laws in this volume will identify the statute it in turn is revising, or the date of the original law. With the publication of the 1953 Utah Code Annotated, the practice of publishing regular updates began, so that researching the history of a law passed after 1953 can be more easily done by using that series. The numbering system used in the code differs from that used in the LAWS OF UTAH. Access by topic is sometimes an effective way to move between the two, unless the specific code or chapter numbers revised or updated are cited in the text. Beginning with the 1933 volume, an index, or table, was added listing the titles, c hapters, and sections, of the Utah code actually revised by a particular statute.

Related Records

Journals from the Legislature. Senate, Series 409, discuss the progress of bills and the passage of these laws in the Senate.

Journals from the Legislature. House of Representatives, Series 456, discuss the progress of bills and the passage of these laws in the House.

Utah code unannotated from the Legislature, Series 1052, contains the current law in codified form, but does not include legal or historical annotations.

Journals from the Legislative Assembly, Series 3145, discuss the passage of laws by the assembly.

Legislative acts, resolutions, and memorial journals from the Secretary of State, Series 3148, are manuscript copies of the laws as passed by the territorial assembly or the state legislature until 1911.

Legislative bills from the Lieutenant Governor, Series 4076, contain the final versions of bills enacted into law.

Journal record books from the Legislative Assembly. House, Series 16660, contain discussions of bills passed by the legislature.

Records of the states of the United States microfilm compilation from United States. Library of Congress, Series 27655, are the source of some of the earliest session laws of the territorial assembly.

Utah Code Annotated from the Division of Archives and Records Service, Series 83238, expresses the current law in codified form and gives the legislative history of the statute.

Custody History

The Secretary of the Territory was given responsibility for handling the financial details and for making arrangements for publication. When Utah became a state in 1896, the Board of Examiners assumed responsibility until 1907 when the Secretary of State again assumed responsibility.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

This series is available online as part of the Utah State Archives Digital Archives.

Copies of these records are located at Utah Government Digital Library View Online.

Access Restrictions

Microfiche holdings require staff assistance due to fewer reference copies. Handle masters under supervision.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Processing Note

Reel 1, which contains the microfilm copy of most of the first twenty-six sessions of the territorial assembly was filmed originally in 1949 as part of the national State Microfilming Project, sponsored by the University of North Carolina and the Library of Congress. The Archives purchased a copy during the 1960s. In several cases, the only copy held by the Utah State Archives of the laws of a particular legislative session is on this reel of microfilm. Volumes published before 1972 were microfilmed between 1965 and 1983. Volumes published 1972-1988 were microfilmed in 1988. Archival processing was also completed in that year by Val Wilson. Additional filming and container list updates were completed as necessary. Initially, one volume existed for each regular, special, or budget session; later, special sessions were bound with that of the regular session. Laws passed during sessions held from 1890-94 are also bound together. Three sessions--the 4th session, 1854/55; the 15th, 1865/66; and the 22nd, 1876--were apparently only published as part of compilations, see UTAH CODE ANNOTATED, Series 83238. Certain others exist only in microfilm: the 2nd, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 18th, and 20th sessions and were filmed together as part of the State Microfilming Project. Copies of the laws from the 17th session of the territorial assembly were duplicated on this microfilm; while that of the 7th session includes a handwritten copy as well as a printed one.

Microfiche processed by Rebekkah Shaw under the National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant to the Utah State Archives and Records Services for the Utah Microfiche Backlog Project (Grant No.: NAR10-RB-50086-10). July 2010 - December 2011

The series container list changed format in February 2010 to focus on transcribed titles of published volumes. As such, years in container list reflect year published ("Laws of Utah 2005" may include special session(s) from 2004 plus the 2005 general session) and references to the legislative session ("56th Legislature" contains two "general" sessions and special session(s)) were removed. Earlier volumes may feature this information more prominently, but it is not now found on title pages or spines in the 21st century.

Finding Aids

Indexes: Most volumes include subject indexes. Other: The UTAH CODE ANNOTATED PARALLEL TABLES is an effort to coordinate changes in the code since 1898. Essentially, the tables show which specific statutes have been carried over from earlier codified editions.

Indexing Terms

  • Legislative bodies--Utah--Publication of proceedings.
  • Laws--Utah.
  • Legislators--Utah.
  • Constitutions, State--Utah.
  • Utah--Politics and government--1851-.

Container List

REEL BOX FOLDER DESCRIPTION
1 1 1 1851-1852; 1st session
1 none none 1852-1853; 2nd session
1 1 2 1853-1854; 3rd session
1 1 3 1855-1856; 5th session
1 1 4 1856-1857; 6th session
1 1 5 1857-1858; 7th session
1 none none 1858-1859; 8th session
1 none none 1859-1860; 9th session
1 none none 1860-1861; 10th session
1 none none 1861-1862; 11th session
1 1 6 1862-1863; 12th session
1 none none 1863-1864; 13th session
1 none none 1864-1865; 14th session
1 1 7 1866-1867; 16th session
1 1 8 1868; 17th session
1 none none 1869; 18th session
1 1 9 1870; 19th session
1 none none 1872; 20th session
1 1 10 1874; 21st session
1 1 11 1878; 23rd session
1 1 12 1880; 24th session
1 1 13 1882; 25th session
1 1 14 1884; 26th session
1 1 15 1886; 27th session
2 1 16 1888; 28th session
3 1 17 1890; 29th session
3 1 17 1892; 30th session
3 1 17 1894; 31st session
REEL BOX FOLDER DESCRIPTION
4 1 18 1896
4 none none 1896; Revenue Law
5 1 19 1897
6 1 20 1899
5 2 1 1901
7 2 2 1903
8 2 3 1905
9 2 4 1907
10 2 5 1909
11 2 6 1911
12 2 7 1913
13 2 8 1915
14 2 9 1917
15 2 10 1919
28 2 10 1919; Special Session
16 2 11 1921
17 2 12 1923
18 2 13 1925
19 2 14 1927
20 3 1 1929
21 3 2 1930; Special Session
22 3 3 1931
23 3 3 1933; First Special Session
23 3 4 1933
24 3 5 1933; Second Special Session
25 3 6 1935
25 3 7 1936; Special Session
26 3 8 1937
27 3 9 1939
29 3 10 1941
29 3 10 1941; First Special Session
29 3 11 1941; Second Special Session
30 3 12 1943
30 3 13 1944; Special Session
31 3 14 1945
31 3 15 1946; Special Session
32 3 16 1947
32 3 17 1948; Special Session
33 3 18 1949
34 3 19 1951
34 3 20 1951; First Special Session
34 3 21 1952; Second Special Session
35 4 1 1953
36 4 2 1953; Special Session
37 4 3 1955
37 4 3 1955; Special Session
38 4 4 1957
39 4 5 1959
39 4 5 1959; Special Session
40 4 6 1961
41 4 7 1963
41 4 7 1963; Special Session
42 4 8 1965
42 4 9 1966; First Special Session
42 4 10 1966; Second Special Session
43 4 11 1967
44 4 12 1969
44 4 12 1969; First Special Session
45 5 1 1970; Budget Session
46 5 2 1971
47 5 3 1971; First Special Session
48 5 4 1972; Budget Session
48 5 4 1972; Second Special Session
46 5 5 1973
46 5 6 1973; First Special Session
49 5 7 1974; Budget Session
49 5 8 1974; Second Special Budget Session
49 5 9 1975
49 5 10 1975; Special Session
50 5 11 1976; Budget Session
50 5 12 1977
51 5 13 1977; First Special Session
51 5 14 1978; Second Special Session
51 6 1 1978; Budget Session
51 6 2 1979
52 6 3 1980; Special Session
52 6 4 1980; Budget Session
52 6 5 1981
53 6 5 1981
53 6 6 1981; First Special Session
53 6 6 1982; Budget Session
53 6 6 1982; Second Special Session
53 6 7 1982; Third Special Session
53 6 8 1983; Volume I : P. 1-539
54 6 8 1983; Volume II : P. 539-880
54 6 9 1983; Volume II
54 6 9 1983; Volume II : First Special Session
54 7 1 1984; Second Special Session
54 7 1 1984; Third Special Session
58 7 2 1984; Budget Session
55 7 3 1985; Volume I
55 7 4 1985; Volume II
55 7 4 1985; Volume II : First Special Session
56 7 5 1986; Second Special Session
56 7 5 1986; Third Special Session
60 7 6 1986; Fourth Special Session
59 7 6 1987; P. 1-335
60 7 6 1987; P. 335-1384
60 7 6 1987; First Special Session
57 7 7 1988
57 7 7 1988; Second Special Session
57 7 7 1988; Third Special Session
57 7 7 1988; Fourth Special Session
61 7 8 1989
61 7 8 1989; First Special Session
61 7 8 1989; Second Special Session
61 8 1 1990; Ch. 1-165
62 8 1 1990; Ch. 164-end
63 8 2 1991
63 8 2 1991; First Special Session
64 8 3 1991; Second Special Session
64 8 3 1992
64 8 3 1992; Third Special Session
65 8 4 1993; Ch. 1-308
66 8 4 1993; Ch. 308-end
66 8 4 1993; First Special Session
67 8 5 1993; Second Special Session
67 8 5 1994; Ch. 1-316
68 8 5 1994; Ch. 316-end
69 9 1 1995; General Session, Ch. 1-322
70 9 1 1995; General Session, Ch. 323-end
70 9 1 1995; First Special Session
70 9 2 1996; General Session, Ch. 1-234
71 9 2 1996; General Session, Ch. 235-end
71 9 2 1996; Second Special Session
71 9 3 1996; Third Special Session
71 9 3 1997; General Session, Ch. 1-12
72 9 3 1997; General Session, Ch. 13-349
73 9 3 1997; General Session, Ch. 350-end
73 9 3 1997; First Special Session
73 9 3 1997; Second Special Session
73 9 4 1998; General Session, Ch. 1-229
74 9 4 1998; General Session, Ch. 230-end
75 9 5 1999; General Session, Ch. 1-366
76 9 5 1999; General Session, Ch. 367-end
76 10 1 2000; General Session, Ch. 1-275
77 10 1 2000; General Session, Ch. 276-end
78 10 2 2001; General Session, Ch. 1-259
79 10 2 2001; General Session, Ch. 260-end
79 10 2 2001; Initiatives Approved By The Voters 2000 General Election
79 10 2 2001; First Special Session
80 10 3 2002; Second Special Session
81 10 3 2002; General Session, Ch. 1-279
81 10 3 2002; General Session, Ch. 280-end (Including Veto Override Session)
81 10 3 2002; Fourth Special Session (Third Special Session passed no bills)
82 11 1 2003; Fifth Special Session
82 11 1 2003; Sixth Special Session
82 11 1 2003; General Session, Ch. 1-238
83 11 1 2003; General Session, Ch. 239-end
83 11 1 2003; First Special Session
84 11 2 2004; Second Special Session
84 11 2 2004; General Session, Ch. 1-243
85 11 2 2004; General Session, Ch. 244-end
85 11 2 2004; Third Special Session
86 11 3 2005; Fourth Special Session
86 11 3 2005; General Session, Ch. 1-157
87 11 3 2005; General Session, Ch. 158-end
87 11 3 2005; First Special Session
88 11 4 2006; Volume I: Second Special Session
88 11 4 2006; Volume I: General Sesion, Ch. 1-223
89 11 5 2006; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 224-end
89 11 5 2006; Volume II: Third Special Session
89 11 5 2006; Volume II: Fourth Special Session
90 12 1 2007; Volume I: Fifth Special Session
90 12 1 2007; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-285
91 12 2 2007; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 286-end
92 12 3 2008; Volume I: First Special Session
92 12 3 2008; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-174
93 12 4 2008; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 175-381
94 12 5 2008; Volume III: General Session, Ch. 382
95 12 6 2008; Volume IV: General Session, Ch. 383-end
95 12 6 2008; Volume IV: Second Special Session
BOX FOLDER DESCRIPTION
13 1 2009; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-287
13 2 2009; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 288-end
13 2 2009; Volume II: First Special Session
13 3 2010; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-274
13 4 2010; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 275-end
13 5 2010; Volume I: Second Special Session
13 5 2011; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-308
14 1 2011; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 309-end
14 1 2011; Volume II: First Special Session
14 2 2011; Volume I: Third Special Session
14 2 2012; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-280
14 3 2012; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 281-428; Resolutions; Veto Letters
14 3 2012; Volume II: Fourth Special Session
14 4 2013; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-303
14 5 2013; Volume II: General Session Ch. 304-478; First Special Session
14 6 2013; Volume I: Second Special Session
14 6 2014; Volume I: General Session Ch. 1-285
15 1 2014; Volume II: General Session Ch. 286-437
15 2 2015; Volume I: General Session Ch. 1-282
15 3 2015; Volume II: General Session Ch. 283-472
15 3 2015; Volume II: First Special Session
15 4 2016; Volume I: General Session Ch. 1-266
15 5 2016; Volume II: General Session Ch. 267-423; Resolutions; Veto Letters
15 5 2016; Volume II: Second Special Session
15 5 2016; Volume II: Third Special Session
15 6 2016; Volume I: Fourth Special Session
15 6 2017; Volume I: General Session Ch. 1-329
16 1 2017; Volume II: General Session Ch. 330-480; Veto Letters; Resolutions; Indexes
16 2 2018; Volume I: General Session Ch. 1-290
16 3 2018; Volume II: General Session Ch. 291-474; Veto Letters; Resolutions; Indexes
16 4 2018; Volume I: Third Special Session
16 4 2019; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-195
16 5 2019; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 196-368
17 1 2019; Volume III: General Session, Ch. 369-510; Resolutions; Vetoes Bills; Indexes
17 2 2019; Volume I: First Special Session
17 2 2019; Volume I: Second Special Session
17 2 2020; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-177
17 3 2020; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 178-354
17 4 2020; Volume III: General Session, Ch. 355-449; Resolutions; Veto Letters; Indexes
17 4 2020; Volume III: Third Special Session
17 4 2020; Volume III: Fourth Special Session
17 4 2020; Volume III: Fifth Special Session
17 5 2021; Volume I: Sixth Special Session
17 5 2021; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-218
17 6 2021; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 219-345
18 1 2021; Volume III: General Session, Ch. 346-442; Resolutions; Veto Letters; Indexes
18 1 2021; Volume III: First Special Session
18 2 2021; Volume I: Second Special Session
18 2 2022; Volume I: General Session, Ch. 1-198
18 3 2022; Volume II: General Session, Ch. 199-360
18 4 2022; Volume III: General Session, Ch. 361-478; Resolutsions; Veto Letter; Indexes
18 4 2022; Volume III: Third Special Session
FICHE-SET DATE DESCRIPTION
1 1967-1977
2 1980-1984 43rd-45th

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