Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 441 (2025GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Ivory, Ken

Final action

House/ to Governor 3/17/2025

Outcome

House/ to Governor

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• prohibits a franchisor from requiring a franchisee to open on a when operating conflicts with the franchisee's sincerely held religious belief;
• provides exceptions under which a franchisor may require a franchisee to open a franchise despite a conflict with the franchisee's sincerely held religious belief;
• provides a remedy for a franchisee if the franchisor violates the prohibition without an exception; and
• provides a civil penalty for a franchisor that violates the prohibition without an exception.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

15
13-75-101
13-75-201
Franchisee Protection Act
2025 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Ken Ivory
Senate Sponsor: 
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill establishes protections for franchisees. 
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines terms;
prohibits a franchisor from requiring a franchisee to open on a religious holiday or day of 
worship when doing so conflicts with the franchisee's sincerely held religious belief; 
provides exceptions under which a franchisor may require a franchisee to open when 
doing so may conflict with the franchisee's sincerely held religious belief;
provides a remedy for a franchisee if the franchisor violates the prohibition without an 
exception; and
provides a civil penalty for a franchisor that violates the prohibition without an exception.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
ENACTS:
13-75-101
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
13-75-201
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1, Section 
13-75-101
 is enacted to read:
75. FRANCHISE PROTECTION ACT
1. General Provisions
13-75-101. Definitions.
(1)
(a)
"Franchise agreement" means a written agreement, an amendment, or renewal of a 
written agreement, or in the absence of any written agreement, a course of practice, in 
which a person grants to another person a license to use a trade name, trademark, 
service mark, or related characteristic.
(b)
"Franchise agreement" includes a sales and service agreement other than a sales and 
service agreement regulated by Chapter 14, New Automobile Franchise Act.
(2)
(a)
"Franchisee" means a person with which a franchisor has agreed or permitted, in 
writing or in practice, to purchase, sell, or offer for sale a product manufactured, 
produced, represented, or distributed by the franchisor.
(b)
"Franchisee" does not include a person that is regulated by Chapter 14, New 
Automobile Franchise Act.
(3)
(a)
"Franchisor" means a person that has agreed with or permits, in writing or in 
practice, a franchisee to purchase, sell, or offer for sale a product manufactured, 
produced, assembled, represented, or distributed by the franchisor.
(b)
"Franchisor" includes:
(i)
the manufacturer, producer, assembler, or distributor of the product;
(ii)
an intermediate distributor; and
(iii)
an agent, officer, or field or area representative of the franchisor.
(c)
"Franchisor" does not include a person that is regulated by Chapter 14, New 
Automobile Franchise Act.
(4)
(a)
"Original franchise agreement" means a franchise agreement that is not a renewal 
or an amendment.
(b)
"Original franchise agreement" includes any written documents incorporated into the 
agreement by reference.
(5)
"Religious day operation requirement" means any requirement that has the effect of 
requiring a franchisee to operate a franchise on a day when doing so would conflict with 
the franchisee's sincerely held religious belief.
Section 2, Section 
13-75-201
 is enacted to read:
2. Franchisee Protection
13-75-201. Franchisee religious exemption.
(1)
Except as provided in Subsection 
(2)
, when a franchisee asserts a sincerely held 
religious belief, a franchisor may not:
(a)
enforce a religious day operation requirement;
(b)
require a franchisee to accept a religious day operation requirement as a part of an 
amendment to the franchise agreement; or
(c)
refuse to renew a franchise agreement based on a franchisee's decision to not comply 
with a religious day operation requirement.
(2)
Subsection 
(1)
 does not apply when:
(a)
the original franchise agreement conspicuously provides a religious day operation 
requirement;
(b)
the franchisee agrees through a renewal or an amendment to the franchise agreement 
to a religious day operation requirement; or
(c)
the franchisor and the franchisee enter a franchise agreement expanding the 
franchisee's number of franchise locations that contains a religious day operation 
requirement.
(3)
If a court finds reasonable cause to believe that a franchisor violated Subsection 
(1)
, the 
court may order:
(a)
actual damages, reasonable attorney fees, and costs to the franchisee;
(b)
any permanent or temporary injunction, a temporary restraining order, or other 
appropriate order; and
(c)
civil penalties against the franchisor in an amount not exceeding:
(i)
$10,000 for a first violation;
(ii)
$25,000 for an additional violation within the five-year period ending on the day 
on which the franchisee filed the complaint; or
(iii)
$50,000 for a violation subsequent to the second violation within the seven-year 
period ending on the day on which the franchisee filed the complaint.
Section 3. 
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect:
(1)
except as provided in Subsection (2), 
May 7, 2025
; or
(2)
if approved by two-thirds of all members elected to each house:
(a)
upon approval by the governor;
(b)
without the governor's signature, the day following the constitutional time limit of 
Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 8; or
(c)
in the case of a veto, the date of veto override.
2-6-25 4:07 PM