Bill > HB0148

This bill establishes a new "School Meals Debt Relief Fund" to address outstanding unpaid balances for school meals provided to students, referred to as "school meals debt." The State Board of Education will collect data on this debt from Local Education Agencies (LEAs), which are school districts or other entities that operate public schools. The board will then verify this data, calculate each LEA's share of the total statewide school meals debt, and distribute funds from the new relief fund accordingly. Taxpayers will have the option to contribute to this fund directly on their income tax returns, with these contributions being collected by the State Tax Commission and transferred to the State Board of Education for distribution to LEAs. The bill also amends existing law to ensure that this new contribution option is included in the list of potential tax return contributions and to specify conditions under which certain tax return contributions might be removed if they generate insufficient funds. The provisions related to the School Meals Debt Relief Fund and its tax return contribution option will apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, with the bill itself taking effect on May 6, 2026.

Budget and Finance

https://le.utah.gov/~2026/bills/static/HB0148.html