A bill to make Good Friday a legal holiday in Utah failed to pass through the Senate on Monday, but on Tuesday, it was brought back for another vote.
During Tuesday’s vote, the bill passed through the Senate with just five senators voting against it. When it was brought back for the vote, the sponsor Sen. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, introduced an amendment to the legislation.
The amendment Stratton added to the bill would make it so employers would give their employees half the day off on Good Friday. The senator referred to it as a “four-hour vacation.”
As it has made its way through the Legislature, the bill has gone through a number of changes.
“I think it’s in the best place it can be at this point,” Stratton said.
Along with making Good Friday a legal holiday, SB193 also asks school districts and higher education institutions to prioritize planning their breaks around Good Friday and a number of other state holy days that were put into law last year.
Stratton said he promoted this legislation because of a belief in the importance of religious liberty.
In an interview with the Deseret News, Stratton said that Good Friday is a “traditional sacred and holy day for those associated with the Christian faith” and added that a majority of people in the state belong to Christian denominations.
After passing through the Senate, the bill now has to go through the House.
Another bill will change when Juneteenth is recognized in Utah
A bill that passed through the Legislature last week would change when Utah recognizes Juneteenth. Utah began recognizing the holiday before the federal government did.
Under state law, if Juneteenth isn’t on a Monday or a Friday, then it is recognized by the state on the closest Monday or Friday, so it is a three-day weekend. The federal government recognizes the holiday on the day itself, which is June 19.
HB309 would make it so Utah recognizes Juneteenth on the same day the federal government does.
“This bill just aligns us with the federal recognition of Juneteenth,” said the bill’s floor sponsor, Rep. Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy.
Senators on the floor spoke in favor of the bill, saying that this would help ease some confusion around Juneteenth so everyone has the same day off.
“I will say I think that Utah did it right by making it a three-day weekend,” said Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross. “The federal government should have followed our lead, but because they didn’t, it has created the confusion.”
HB309 passed its final vote in the Senate on Friday and will now go to the governor’s desk to be signed.