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State Holiday Amendments
2025 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Keven J. Stratton
House Sponsor:
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LONG TITLE
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General Description:
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This bill designates Good Friday as a legal holiday.
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Highlighted Provisions:
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This bill:
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▸ designates Good Friday, on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, as a legal holiday; and
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▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
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Money Appropriated in this Bill:
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None
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Other Special Clauses:
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This bill provides a special effective date.
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Utah Code Sections Affected:
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AMENDS:
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63G-1-301, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 331
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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Section 1. Section 63G-1-301 is amended to read:
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63G-1-301 . Legal holidays -- Personal preference day -- Governor authorized to
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declare additional days.
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(1)(a) The following named days are legal holidays in this state:
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(i) every Sunday, except as provided in Subsection [(1)(e)] (1)(d);
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(ii) January 1, called New Year's Day;
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(iii) the third Monday of January, called Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day;
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(iv) the third Monday of February, called Washington and Lincoln Day;
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(v) the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, called Good Friday;
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[(v)] (vi) the last Monday of May, called Memorial Day;
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[(vi)] (vii) on the day described in Subsection [(1)(f)] (1)(e), Juneteenth National
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Freedom Day;
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[(vii)] (viii) July 4, called Independence Day;
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[(viii)] (ix) July 24, called Pioneer Day;
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[(ix)] (x) the first Monday of September, called Labor Day;
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[(x)] (xi) the second Monday of October, called Columbus Day;
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[(xi)] (xii) November 11, called Veterans Day;
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[(xii)] (xiii) the fourth Thursday of November, called Thanksgiving Day;
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[(xiii)] (xiv) December 25, called Christmas; and
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[(xiv)] (xv) all days which may be set apart by the President of the United States, or
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the governor of this state by proclamation as days of fast or thanksgiving.
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[(b) If any of the holidays under Subsections (1)(a)(ii) through (v) or Subsections
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(1)(a)(vii) through (xiv), falls on Sunday, then the following Monday shall be the
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holiday.]
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[(c) If any of the holidays under Subsections (1)(a)(ii) through (v) or Subsections
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(1)(a)(vii) through (xiv) falls on Saturday, then the preceding Friday shall be the
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holiday.]
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[(d)] (b) Except as provided in Subsection (1)(e), for a holiday described in Subsection
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(1)(a) that is not a specified day of the week:
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(i) if the holiday falls on a Saturday, then the preceding Friday shall be the holiday;
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and
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(ii) if the holiday falls on a Sunday, then the following Monday shall be the holiday.
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(c) Each employee may select one additional day, called Personal Preference Day, to be
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scheduled pursuant to rules adopted by the Division of Human Resource
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Management.
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[(e)] (d) For purposes of Utah Constitution Article VI, Section 16, Subsection (1),
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regarding the exclusion of state holidays from the 45-day legislative general session,
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Sunday is not considered a state holiday.
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[(f)] (e)(i) The Juneteenth National Freedom Day holiday is on June 19, if that day is
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on a Monday.
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(ii) If June 19 is on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, the Juneteenth
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National Freedom Day holiday is on the immediately preceding Monday.
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(iii) If June 19 is on a Saturday or Sunday, the Juneteenth National Freedom Day
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holiday is on the immediately following Monday.
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(2)(a) Whenever in the governor's opinion extraordinary conditions exist justifying the
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action, the governor may:
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(i) declare, by proclamation, legal holidays in addition to those holidays under
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Subsection (1); and
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(ii) limit the holidays to certain classes of business and activities to be designated by
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the governor.
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(b) A holiday may not extend for a longer period than 60 consecutive days.
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(c) Any holiday may be renewed for one or more periods not exceeding 30 days each as
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the governor may consider necessary, and any holiday may, by like proclamation, be
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terminated before the expiration of the period for which it was declared.
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Section 2. Effective Date.
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This bill takes effect:
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(1) except as provided in Subsection (2), May 7, 2025; or
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(2) if approved by two-thirds of all members elected to each house:
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(a) upon approval by the governor;
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(b) without the governor's signature, the day following the constitutional time limit of
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Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 8; or
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(c) in the case of a veto, the date of veto override.
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