- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday vetoed a bill that would help equip rural school buses with internet service.
- The governor vetoed just two bills from the 2026 legislative session.
- Fewer bills reached Cox's desk this year — "and that's a good thing."
It’s no secret that Gov. Spencer Cox is wary of tech devices encroaching on Utah’s K-12 schools.
Even before the 2026 Utah Legislature began its session, the governor hosted a press conference at the Capitol championing a bill prohibiting bell-to-bell cellphone use in schools that was ultimately approved.
And during last year’s Show Up for Teachers Conference, Cox warned of developing danger as AI becomes more widely utilized in the lives and classrooms of Utah students.
“Artificial intelligence,” he said at the conference, “is dumber than it will ever be right now — and it’s smarter than most of us right now.”
So perhaps it’s no surprise that Cox vetoed Thursday a bill calling for expanded internet access for rural Utah students.
It marked the final day the governor could sign or veto bills from the 2026 session.
Sponsored by Rep. Tiara Auxier, R-Morgan, House Bill 462 proposed making state grants available to rural school districts to provide internet connectivity on school buses.
Utah’s rural school kids, noted Auxier in a bill presentation to lawmakers, are often involved in multiple extracurricular activities. Their frequent round-trip school bus rides frequently take several hours, and students are returning home long after dark.
Missed homework and sleep-deprived kids are often the consequences of long school bus rides.
“When I played sports, I could do my homework on the bus and get it done with a pencil and paper,” Auxier said. “Now our kids don’t have that same luxury because everything is online and submitted through Chromebooks.”
Auxier added that school bus internet connectivity would benefit Utah students living in Native nations who often have long bus rides simply getting back and forth to school each day.
Had HB462 passed through Cox’s desk, each participating high school would have received the initial funds needed to equip a limited number of school buses being utilized for long road trips with internet connectivity.
Cox: ‘Our kids simply need less screen time’
In Thursday’s letter explaining his HB462 veto, Cox wrote he respected Auxier’s goal of helping students finish their homework while participating in extracurricular activities.
“And, as a student who grew up in a rural district, I recognize the added challenge of longer bus rides for rural students,” he added.
“But I am very concerned about signaling to our students that we value more time spent on devices rather than more time interacting with one another face-to-face. Our kids simply need less screen time and more human connection.”
Cox acknowledged “the practical reality” that today’s kids are pushed to devices to do their homework — “but it doesn’t have to stay that way.”
The governor saluted the 2026 Legislature’s “wise efforts” to step back from devices in schools and “better balance” student tech use.
“Had this bill required schools to provide paper assignments to students in extracurricular activities to add greater flexibility for them accomplishing their work, I would have supported it. But I don’t support creating infrastructure to facilitate more screen time.”
Rejecting health care bill
In Thursday’s letter, Cox explained he was vetoing House Bill 164 “for more technical reasons.”
The patient/health care bill, according to the governor, was designed to better protect patients and their ability to bring complaints to the Division of Professional Licensing.
First, it would require health care providers and their employees to tell a patient how to file a complaint with the licensing division if the patient expresses concerns about a provider’s conduct.
Second, noted Cox, the bill required disclosures to a patient before a doctor could enter into a settlement agreement that precludes a patient from filing a complaint with DOPL.
A similar bill, Senate Bill 117, made it unprofessional conduct for a provider to do anything that would keep a patient from filing a complaint with the licensing division, including a settlement agreement that prohibited a patient from filing a complaint.
The provisions of the two bills, wrote Cox, conflicted with each other.
“To address this conflict, and because I think the policy in SB117 better accomplishes the stated intent, I am vetoing HB164.”
No signature for precious metals bill
Meanwhile, Cox is allowing House Bill 195 to go into law without his signature.
The governor wrote he vetoed “essentially the same bill” last year. This year’s measure “requires the state ‘to establish and operate a precious metals-backed electronic payment system on the state’s behalf.’”
Cox said he’s received both messages of support and opposition to the bill.
“Though I signaled my concerns about this bill last year, the Legislature appears intent on passing the bill. … I have decided to allow the bill to pass into law without signature this year.”
Fewer bills in 2026 ‘a good thing’
In Thursday’s veto letter addressed to lawmakers and legislative leaders, Cox expressed gratitude for their collective efforts during the 2026 general session.
“This was a productive session, and Utahns are better off because of your work,” he wrote.
“I have said publicly that this was my favorite session in the 14 years I have been involved with legislation.”
The governor noted that fewer bills reached his desk this year — “and that’s a good thing.”
“More legislation does not always mean better governance. As someone who believes in limited government, I’m encouraged whenever our process reflects discipline and restraint.”