How To Engage With Politics During The Utah Legislative Session
It’s important to be aware of what’s going on in politics and engaged with ways to make your voice heard, but with the pace of modern life and with so many things to stay on top of it can feel overwhelming.
Rather than try and focus on every issue and update, it’s helpful to be intentional about how you spend your attention and strategic about what you weigh in on and how.
The goal of this post is to give you some actionable tips for staying engaged with Utah politics without tipping into overwhelm and doing too much. We’ll talk about some tips for consuming news, strategies for tracking bills, and methods for engaging with lawmakers and other stakeholders.
Staying Informed Without Overwhelm
Today’s social media environment can be like drinking from a fire hose. With so much access to information and so many important issues to keep track of, it’s easy to hit a critical mass and fall into burnout or exhaustion. Sometimes it feels like we can’t keep track of everything or fix every problem, so our instinct is to give up and retreat from everything.
Another potential pitfall is that we often use social media to scroll and decompress, and having political and news updates mixed in with that energy can lead to us simply scrolling past when something more taxing pops into our feed.
Engaging With Intention
One recommendation is to separate your news and political information gathering from your baseline social media experience. This may look like having one social media account where you follow artists, influencers, and others who provide that more feel-good content, and another where you follow journalists, activists and others. This separation helps us be intentional about getting what we are looking for on social media, and can prevent that feeling of doomscrolling when negative or emotional topics drift across our feed interspersed with the other content.
Another tactic may be to separate your news and political time from social media entirely. Rather than relying on an algorithm to drip these updates into your feed, try signing up for newsletters from publications and people you trust so you can stay informed through your email inbox. It may also be beneficial to block out 20 minutes every day or every other day to navigate directly to a news outlet or nonprofit or advocacy group’s website to read updates and consume political news in an intentional way, separate from other energies.
Signing up for newsletters and engaging with websites directly has an added benefit. When newsrooms and activists rely on social media for clicks, they often have to follow the algorithm rather than maintaining a distinct editorial lens. When we drive traffic and pageviews to them directly, we signal that we trust them to cover what they think is important and to lay out the facts directly and succinctly rather than relying on catchy headlines or chasing the same trends as everyone else. This gives those outlets more freedom to operate and more confidence to post and cover what they feel is important, not what will go viral.
This can be an adjustment, so start small! Sign up for a newsletter from a newsroom you trust or a nonprofit you align with. Pick one day this week and block out 15-30 minutes to read articles and updates that interest you rather than taking whatever the algorithm serves up in your feed. Look for events and gatherings with like-minded people, so you can get information and updates in person and practice building community.
Tracking Legislation
With the 2026 legislative session approaching, it may be helpful to track the progress of specific bills that impact you and your community or the causes you care about. In Utah for 2026, the legislative session begins on January 20 and goes through March 6. From there, the governor has 20 days to sign or veto any legislation passed and must do so by March 26.
Legislators have 60 days from the end of the session to begin a session to override a veto, making the deadline for that May 6. A legislative veto requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to succeed. May 6 is also the day most new bills go into effect unless the legislation specified another date.
You can view other significant dates for the Utah Legislature here.
A Brief Overview of the Process
It can also be helpful to understand how a bill moves through the process, here’s a quick overview before we get more in depth:
A legislator has an idea and works with research and legal teams to draft the bill before it’s published and assigned a number
The bill will be assigned to a standing committee for a hearing, which may include public comment
If the committee passes the bill, it goes back to the House or Senate for approval
When one chamber passes a bill, it goes to the other chamber for consideration
If the bill passes both chambers, the two groups must reconcile any changes and align on a unified bill
If both chambers align on language and pass the bill, it is signed by the Speaker and Senate President and sent to the Governor for signature or veto
The Governor can sign the bill and make it law, or veto.
The legislature can override a veto with a two-thirds vote rather than a simple majority
The Complete Process
When a legislator has an idea for legislation, they submit it to Legislative Research and General Counsel and work with an attorney to draft the language of the bill. Once that process is completed, the bill is assigned a number and published online and sent to various parties within the legislature.
From there a bill will have a first reading (the first of three) in the Senate or House. From there a bill will be referred to the Rules Committee, who will assign the bill to a Standing Committee.
When a bill reaches a committee, it is then placed on the agenda and proposed to the committee. Generally, the committee chair will also schedule a chance for public comment on the bill. These committee meetings are one opportunity for you to make your voice heard and weigh-in on the bill before it advances, so look out for those hearings!
The committee may amend the bill, making changes to the wording, details or scope. They can also substitute the bill with a new one that has major changes but still respects the general subject of the bill. The committee may also decide to hold the bill, taking no action and delaying a decision to a later meeting. From there a bill may be tabled, which means no further action will be taken at the moment and the bill is returned to filing. The committee may also pass the bill out of committee, sometimes with a favorable recommendation but other times with no recommendation.
If a bill is passed, it advances to its second reading. In the House the bill will be read and voted on with no debate or amendments. In the Senate, however, the bill can be substituted or amended before being passed.
If the bill passes the second reading it will advance to its third reading, where the sponsor will present the bill and answer questions. The legislators may debate on the bill and can make amendments or substitutions.
From here a bill must receive a constitutional majority to advance, which is 38 yes votes in the House and 15 in the Senate.
Whichever chamber passed the bill must then send it to the other house for a vote, and the bill’s sponsor will need another legislator to sponsor the bill in that chamber. The bill will then follow the same process of readings and committee hearings until that second chamber passes or takes other action on the bill.
During this process the two versions of the bills may be amended or substituted, and both houses need to come to an agreement on the final language. If one chamber amends the bill, it is sent to the original chamber, which can either ratify the changes or ask the other chamber to roll back those amendments.
If an agreement can’t be reached, there may be a conference to resolve the changes and create a draft both chambers agree on. That conference would consist of three lawmakers from each house. If they are able to bring both versions of the bill into reconciliation, it gets a vote and may pass or fail.
If the bill is passed, it is signed by the Speaker of the House and Senate President before being sent back to the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to check for mistakes and double check amendments. Once that process is complete the bill is considered enrolled and is sent to the governor for signature or veto. If the governor signs the bill, it becomes law. If the governor vetoes, the bill fails unless both chambers vote to override the veto with a two-thirds majority within 60 days of the session ending.
Legislative Context and Tracking Tools
Legislators generally submit more than 1,000 bills for consideration during the session, and many of them will never get a hearing or advance out of committee. This can be important to keep in mind, as a bill that you’re interested in may get a lot of attention when it is submitted but may not have legs to advance.
The legislature’s website allows you to make a profile and log in, and from there you can save bills you’re interested in and sign up to receive alerts when the bill is moved through the process, such as passing committee or getting a substitute, or if it is voted down. You can also get alerts to know when committee hearings have been scheduled or if the bill has been amended or changed.
This can be a great tool for keeping up to date on a bill and its process, and knowing when to show up for a committee meeting, contact your lawmaker to express your opinion, or plan a demonstration or petition to make your voice on the topic heard.
Engaging With Your Legislators
Finding Your Legislator
Step one to engaging with legislators is determining who your representatives are. The legislature’s homepage has a form you can fill out with your address, and when you set that information it will show you who your senator and representative. From there you can click on either legislator to view their information, including their contact details for email and phone etc.
Once you know who your legislator is and how to contact them, you can decide when to reach out about issues or bills that you care about. While you may have heated feelings about a bill, in general it is best to stay respectful and grounded when contacting a lawmaker. You want to encourage a dialogue and avoid personal attacks. You can be full-throated about what you believe, but yelling, cursing, or getting too aggressive may hurt your cause rather than help it.
Tips For Following Legislation and Engaging with Lawmakers
Nonprofits and other advocacy groups will often track legislation and provide in-depth updates about what the law will mean and how it will affect people, so this is another reason to sign up for newsletters and follow them on social media. They will also sometimes post calls to action to encourage people to contact lawmakers about specific bills as they advance in committee or get close to passing.
Those calls to action may include a contact form and template email, where you can simply add your name and details and have the org send an email on your behalf with talking points already included. This can be a great, easy option for weighing in on a bill, but sometimes those form letters don’t weigh as heavily as reaching out on your own. If you do use one of those built-in calls to action, consider adding your own thoughts to the form language to make it stand out.
If you have the time, sending your own email with your own words will generally have more of an impact than signing on to a form letter. You can still use the group’s call to action to find your legislator’s contact information and form your thoughts, but sending the message separately and with unique language will generally make it stand out more.
The other option is calling your lawmaker directly. Some legislators have staff who will answer the phone and take your message, but it’s not uncommon for lawmakers to post their direct cell phone number online and answer when you call or return your call when you leave a message. Calling your lawmaker may feel intimidating, but calls generally have more of an impact than emails, and this also gives you a chance to ask questions and get into a dialogue about the issue.
Another option is to tag or reply to a lawmaker on social meda. This can be cathartic and a way to connect with other folks who feel the same as you, but candidly a social media exchange is often the least impactful way to weigh in and is the easiest type of engagement for a lawmaker to ignore.
Joining Broader Calls to Action
No matter which method you choose to contact your lawmaker, it is often helpful to add your voice to a larger tide of input. Timing your call or email to go at the same time as other folks can create a wave of responses, and lawmakers are much more likely to listen when a larger group of folks are weighing in or expressing that a vote of yes or no on a particular bill will have consequences for them come election time.
Stay up to date with nonprofits and advocacy groups so that you can join their pushes for engagement and add your voice during those peak times. Even if you don’t use their form letter or phone script, timing your efforts along with theirs can help make a bigger impact. You can also encourage friends and family members to call, email, or weigh in at the same time as you to increase your effectiveness.
Nonprofits and advocacy groups are also a great resource for protests and rallies. Sometimes a large showing of people at one of these events can let lawmakers know voters feel a certain way and lead to change. Protesting on your own can be less effective, so look for opportunities to join other rallies or events or organize your own gathering.
Finally, once a bill is passed, that’s not the end. This can be an opportunity to shift your efforts toward the governor and call on them to veto the bill, using the same tactics for legislators mentioned above.
Final Thoughts
Voting is just one way to make a difference in our political landscape. Following the progress of legislation and contacting your lawmaker or the governor are another important function of our representative democracy.
It can be easy to feel overwhelmed and burned out by the deluge of information and legislation, especially during the session itself, so remember to stay focused on the topics that matter most to you and be intentional about how you consume political news. You may not be able to manage everything, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change one thing or a handful of things. We have more power than we think, and it’s on us to make use of that power to shape our communities!
You can also use social media, social gatherings, and in-person connections. Don’t be shy about letting people know about bills or developments you care about, and encourage them to join you in reaching out to lawmakers or attending a protest. If there isn’t an organized movement on a particular bill, don’t be afraid to start your own! We all have the power to shape the nature of our democracy, but it requires us to be active, engaged and passionate about the topics we care about.