Constitutional carry since 2021. No AWB, no mag limit, strong preemption (HB 214 2026 expanded). Stand-your-ground codified. Suppressors legal. No waiting period, no red-flag law.

Medical cannabis (Prop 2, 2018, replaced by HB 3001). Tightly restricted program. No decriminalization, no recreational. Psilocybin and MDMA pilot therapeutic program at hospital systems (HB 167, 2024). Limited harm reduction.

State minimum wage $7.25/hr (state matches federal). MIT living wage for 1 adult: $16.38/hr. Ratio 0.44 — minimum-wage workers earn 44% of what's needed to live there alone.

USNews #1 overall for 3 straight years. 2nd-lowest per-pupil spending ($11,347) yet NAEP scores at or above national average, low uninsured rate, top-tier infrastructure and fiscal stability. Textbook UT-style efficiency — most bang per dollar in the nation.

IJ grades UT B+ (constitutional protection, conviction required, equitable-sharing limits since 2000 Initiative B). No QI reform. HB 237 (2014) restricted no-knock raids - among nation's earliest reforms. Body cam adoption strong. UCPA (2022) consumer privacy. Limited ICE cooperation in Salt Lake.

Universal vote-by-mail since 2020 (every active voter mailed ballot). Early voting 14 days. Same-day registration. Non-strict ID. Felons vote after release. Republican-controlled legislature ignored independent commission recommendation; gerrymandered maps under litigation (LWV v. Utah). Strong access offset by gerrymandering and recent rollback attempts.

Medicaid expansion adopted 2020 (modified post-2018 ballot). 18-week abortion ban in effect (trigger ban litigation ongoing). Trans youth gender-affirming care ban (SB 16; HB 174 in 2026 narrowed grandfather clause). Religious refusal laws expansive.

No qualified immunity reform. No statewide BWC mandate. Personnel records limited under GRAMA. POST decertification with public database. No no-knock ban (HB 70, 2021 added restrictions only). No necessity standard. Local DAs prosecute. Chokeholds restricted (HB 5007, 2020). Per-capita killings above median.

18-week abortion ban (trigger law enjoined; legal challenges ongoing). Gender-affirming care ban for minors. Became 11th state with medical-provider religious exemption (SB 174, 2025). Anti-trans bathroom law. Limited LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination via 2015 compromise. No conversion therapy ban (rule recently weakened). Active theocratic trend tempered by mainstream LDS politics.

Right-to-work state. No paid family leave. No paid sick leave. State OSHA plan (UOSH). Prevailing wage prohibited. Weak wage theft enforcement. Below-median fatal injury rate. No heat, domestic worker, or scheduling protections.