The Utah State Legislature is schedule to meet in their first ever online special session on Thursday, April 16, beginning at 9 a.m.  This session is history making in several ways.  It will be the first-time legislators have met remotely, and it is the first time they have called themselves into a special session.  Voters gave them that power in 2018 when they approved a constitutional amendment allowing lawmakers to convene a special session in an emergency.

More than 20 bills will be up for consideration, most of them dealing with fallout from the current Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on the State.  Among the bills are an income tax revision, allowing the legislature to change the deadline for payment of state income taxes to July 15; a joint resolution approving the acceptance of Federal funds in response to Covid-19, and election amendments making temporary changes to the regular primary election for 2020, including allowing limited drive-up voting on election day, requiring the primary election be conducted entirely by mail with no polling places, no in-person early voting, no in-person voter registration and no voter registration by provisional ballot.

Public comments on any of the bills can be submitted before the beginning of the session on Thursday.  The bills are available at le.utah.gov under resources, and comments may be submitted online for each bill.  The session will be live streamed at le.utah.gov. beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday morning.