Utah lawmakers went into the 2026 legislative session hoping to lower the price of gas.
The mission, largely fought through proposed fuel tax cuts, has been tumultuous. But after the House and Senate passed HB575 in the waning days of the legislative session, the cost of driving in Utah could be going down.
The bill now heads to Gov. Spencer Cox’s desk for his signature.
HB575 could help bring down gas prices in several ways. It cuts red tape around private investment and infrastructure to increase the state’s supply of petroleum. It also creates a short-term tax reduction and includes an agreement with private industry to ramp up production by 12.5%.
However, before the bill’s text was finalized and published, rumors spread that it would shift the tax burden onto oil shipped out of state by refineries.
Since about 75% of the state’s exported fuel goes to Idaho, Gem State policymakers pushed back.
Idaho’s House Speaker Mike Moyle said the tax would cost people in his state $250 million. Then he promised that if Utah moved forward with the provision, Idaho would retaliate by withholding water from the Great Salt Lake.
Given the backlash, when HB575 was finalized it no longer included an export tax.
How does the gas tax cut work?
In 2025, Utah ranked 14th in the nation’s highest gas tax, sitting at 39 cents a gallon, per the Tax Foundation. It has the highest price of gas of all of its neighbors.
HB575 would create a short-term gas reduction of 6 cents per gallon, starting in July. This amounts to about a 15% cut in gas taxes.
The tax reduction would last until Dec. 31, 2026.
The bill also attempts to streamline and set deadlines for permitting midstream pipelines. Simultaneously, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Calvin Roberts, R-Draper, said major gas companies, including Chevron, Maverik and Marathon, have committed to increase production in Utah over the next five years.
With a greater gasoline supply in the state, Roberts said he hopes the price to drive will decrease.
HB575 was brought back to life, after being killed on Monday
On Monday, HB575 failed in a 2-1 vote in the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee.
With more than half of the committee absent for the vote, Sen. Daniel McCay, R-Riverton, and Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, carried the decision to strike the bill.
McCay said he was worried the bill’s cuts would be “illusory.” “I’m not loving the 6 cents down, 2 cents up, yo-yoing of the tax,” he said.
He continued, “The reason our gas tax is higher than surrounding states is because we are focused on shifting to consumptive-based taxes as opposed to shifting to progressive tax measures.”
Roberts responded that while HB575 is not a permanent reduction, it still provides relief to middle-class Utahns and helps lower the overall price of gas.
Compared to both red and blue states, Utah has “one of the highest (gas taxes) in the entire country, and I do think this is a regressive tax,” Roberts said. “If you’re a middle-class Utahn, gas prices are a higher part of your income than if you’re a more wealthy Utahn. ... It will have a bigger proportionate effect on middle-class Utahns.”
After Senate and House leadership discussed the bill’s failure on Monday, HB575 was brought back to the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on Wednesday afternoon.
There, it received unanimous approval from the six members present.