Ron Winterton is a Republican state senator from Utah who has represented District 20 since 2019 and is on the ballot for re-election in the November 3, 2026 general election.[1]He is a consultant and former county commissioner.[1]
Ron Winterton, listed by Ballotpedia as Ronald Winterton, graduated from Union High School.[1]His career experience includes work as a professional service consultant, owner and operator of Winterton Transportation, and driver at Basin Wholesale West.[1]Before joining the Senate he served as a county commissioner and on the tri-county health board and the Utah Basin Association of Government board.[1]
In 2023-2024 Winterton chaired the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee and was vice chair of the Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee.[1]
Their recorded votes on bills that divided the chamber (unanimous votes left out), grouped by topic. A bill can sit under more than one topic. "With" and "against" compare each vote with how most Republicans voted. How topics are assigned
›Rights & public safety198 with · 14 against212 votes
This bill modifies provisions related to law enforcement and criminal justice. This bill: requires that counties offering probation services adopt certain probation standards and practices; modifies definitions; provides that the Office of State Debt Collection has the authority to collect civil accounts receivable or a civil judgment of restitution and interest thereon; provides that administrative garnishments also apply to a debtor's property or wages that are under control of a third party; requires the Office of State Debt Collection to provide an accounting of the unpaid balance of a…
Mar 6, 2025 · Failed 14–10 · against most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill modifies provisions relating to the Supreme Court. This bill: modifies provisions governing the membership and internal management of the Supreme Court; provides that the governor shall appoint a chief justice of the Supreme Court (chief justice) when a vacancy in the office occurs; modifies provisions related to an interim chief justice and appointment procedures; requires that a governor's selection for chief justice is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate; and makes conforming changes.
Feb 28, 2025 · Passed 17–12 · against most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill amends provisions relating to voting. This bill: defines terms; provides a process for an election officer to independently determine whether a registered voter is not a citizen of the United States; provides a process to challenge a determination described in the preceding paragraph; prohibits an individual from voting if an election officer independently determines that the voter is not a citizen of the United States and the individual does not successfully dispute the determination; creates a bifurcated ballot system where, for an election held on or after November 1, 2026: a…
This bill modifies and enacts provisions related to municipal and county fees. This bill: defines terms; prohibits a city from imposing a fee on the general public for broadband or public safety service, with exceptions; prohibits a town from imposing a fee on the general public for public safety service, with exceptions; authorizes a municipality or county to impose a transportation utility fee if the municipality or county complies with certain requirements; establishes a process and requirements for a municipality or county to impose a transportation utility fee; provides that property…
This bill amends provisions relating to alcohol. This bill: defines terms; permits a local government to authorize an outlet or restaurant with an alcohol license to be in proximity to a public park under certain conditions; clarifies the Alcoholic Beverage Services Commission's authority when granting or denying an application for a retail license; provides that a hotel may serve spirituous liquor in a container that is not the spirituous liquor's original container; provides that a patron of a facility with multiple licenses may transport beer between the premises under certain conditions;…
This bill creates the Pari-mutuel Horse Racing Commission and allows for pari-mutuel horse racing and wagering. This bill: defines terms; creates the Pari-mutuel Horse Racing Commission (commission); provides for the commission's membership, authority, and duties; requires the state auditor to audit the commission's accounting; allows the commission to issue licenses and permits for pari-mutuel events; allows the commission to enforce fines and penalties for permit and license violations; requires voters to approve pari-mutuel horse racing and wagering within a county before the commission…
Mar 5, 2025 · Failed 13–14 · against most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill enacts provisions related to federal contracts and settlement agreements with a local education agency. This bill: prohibits a local education agency from contracting with the United States Department of Justice unless the attorney general's office reviews the contract or settlement agreement; requires the attorney general's office to review each proposed contract or settlement agreement; and allows the Utah State Board of Education and the attorney general's office to make recommendations regarding the contract or settlement agreement.
Feb 14, 2025 · Failed 12–9 · against most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill modifies provisions relating to educator license discipline and restrictions on employment and volunteer service. This bill: amends provisions relating to ineligibility for educator licensure following license denial; establishes a tiered framework for restrictions on employment and volunteer service following license suspension or revocation; requires automatic restrictions for serious misconduct involving actual harm or credible risk to children; requires written findings demonstrating specific risk for restrictions in other cases; exempts technical violations from automatic work…
Mar 5, 2026 · Passed 15–14 · against most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill amends the Excellence in Education and Leadership Supplement to expand access to the performance-based teacher award program. This bill: broadens statewide eligibility for the performance-based teacher award program; provides a process for teachers employed in non-participating local education agencies to be considered for an award; and makes conforming changes.
Feb 20, 2026 · Passed 15–10 · with most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill addresses reporting related to water use and large data centers. This bill: defines terms; directs land use authorities to issue certain notices; requires certain large data centers to communicate with water providers; requires reporting by operators of certain large data centers before construction and annually; addresses disclosure of the reported information; provides for enforcement mechanisms; addresses rulemaking; and makes technical and conforming amendments.
This bill addresses regulations related to water. This bill: provides circumstances of when a municipality may set different water rates based in part on water conservation; addresses special district fees; defines terms; addresses rate setting by a retail water supplier and public water systems; provides for how revenues from retail rates may be spent; creates a presumption regarding the reasonableness of certain water rates that include water conservation as an element in determining the rate; modifies provisions related to the Board of Water Resources; addresses tiered rates for secondary…
Mar 7, 2025 · Passed 17–10 · against most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill addresses water rights and the state engineer's actions related to water rights. This bill: addresses actions related to an application to appropriate public water; modifies the extent to which the state engineer may consider a protest; addresses temporary applications; modifies the grounds that the state engineer may consider in approving or rejecting an application, including what the state engineer may consider related to public welfare; clarifies who is an aggrieved person for purposes of seeking judicial review; and makes technical and conforming changes.
This bill amends provisions related to insurance coverage. This bill: requires a health benefit plan to cover certain procedures and treatment to reverse a sex transition if the health benefit plan covers certain treatments or procedures to effectuate a sex transition.
This bill amends provisions related to the provision of cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers to minors. This bill: prohibits providing cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers to minors after a certain date.
This bill restricts certain entities from involvement in health education in public schools. This bill: defines terms; and prohibits a local education agency from allowing entities that perform elective abortions to provide health-related instruction or materials in public schools.
This bill modifies and enacts provisions related to municipal and county fees. This bill: defines terms; prohibits a city from imposing a fee on the general public for broadband or public safety service, with exceptions; prohibits a town from imposing a fee on the general public for public safety service, with exceptions; authorizes a municipality or county to impose a transportation utility fee if the municipality or county complies with certain requirements; establishes a process and requirements for a municipality or county to impose a transportation utility fee; provides that property…
This bill addresses motorcycle and electric assisted bicycle use. This bill: clarifies the definition of a motorcycle to address electric motorcycles; modifies helmet requirements for youth; and addresses the use of a bicycle, electric assisted bicycle, mini-motorcycle, motor assisted scooter, or moped.
Feb 18, 2025 · Failed 11–13 · with most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill amends provisions related to transportation, including road usage charge, towing dispatch, and local option sales tax use. This bill: allows a political subdivision to prohibit a mobile business from operating on a street or sidewalk that is temporarily closed for certain events; requires commercial electric vehicles with a gross weight of 6,001 pounds or more to pay a road usage charge with a higher road usage charge cap; exempts buses operating on the bus's planned route to temporarily cross lane lines to stop at a bus stop; exempts the Department of Transportation from certain…
This bill modifies provisions related to tax revenue. This bill: defines terms; limits the amount of reserve funds maintained by cities and counties; reduces the amount of the residential property tax exemption for rental properties, with certain exceptions; clarifies the applicability of the residential exemption for owners of multiple primary residences in the state; requires counties to provide information to the Multicounty Appraisal Trust regarding business entities that receive the residential exemption; excludes certain property valuation increases from the calculation of locally…
This bill modifies property tax relief provisions. This bill: defines terms; authorizes counties to provide certain property tax relief to qualifying individuals through a country relief program; establishes notice and public hearing requirements before a county may approve a county relief program by ordinance; requires a county to impose a separate county relief levy for the relief the county provides through a county relief program; changes the qualifications, scope, duration, and interest rate applicable to the nondiscretionary deferral program; authorizes the Multicounty Appraisal Trust…
This bill modifies provisions related to property tax. This bill: defines terms; prohibits taxpayers from receiving the homeowner's credit unless the taxpayer received the credit within the previous two years, beginning in 2026; removes requirements for annual inflation adjustments for the homeowner's credit; increases the household income limits and maximum credit amounts allowed for a renter's credit; changes the qualifications, scope, duration, and rates of interest applicable to the discretionary and nondiscretionary property tax deferral programs; prohibits taxpayers from receiving…
Feb 11, 2025 · Passed 16–9 · against most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill addresses reporting related to water use and large data centers. This bill: defines terms; directs land use authorities to issue certain notices; requires certain large data centers to communicate with water providers; requires reporting by operators of certain large data centers before construction and annually; addresses disclosure of the reported information; provides for enforcement mechanisms; addresses rulemaking; and makes technical and conforming amendments.
This bill modifies the Uniform Commercial Code. This bill: defines terms; excludes programmable money from the standard definition of money; prohibits a person from requiring the use of programmable money for a transaction unless the person also offers a free, non-digital alternative; outlaws an issuer denying a transaction based on discriminatory criteria, including a person's political opinions, religious beliefs, medical history, or lawful ownership of a firearm; prevents an issuer from using environmental, social, or governance standards and diversity programming compliance as a basis for…
This bill addresses website access litigation brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This bill: provides a sunset date for statutory provisions related to abusive website access litigation; defines terms; creates a civil action for a court to determine whether a lawsuit alleging a website access violation under the Americans with Disabilities Act is abusive; and allows a court to award attorney fees and costs, punitive damages, and sanctions if the lawsuit is abusive.
This bill addresses a program that offers a discounted annual pass to state parks for qualified veterans. This bill: creates a program, as funding allows, that offers a discounted annual pass to state parks to qualified veterans who are residents of the state; requires the Division of State Parks to offer the discounted veteran pass at a reduction of at least 25% of the price of a state parks annual day-use pass; provides for the automatic repeal of the discounted annual pass program after three years; and grants rulemaking authority to establish the program.
Feb 5, 2025 · Failed 13–15 · against most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This resolution urges the government of the United States to not resume explosive nuclear weapons testing. This resolution: urges the government of the United States to not resume explosive nuclear weapons testing.
Feb 3, 2026 · Failed 10–16 · against most RepublicansOfficial record ↗
This bill addresses state sovereignty. This bill: defines terms; prohibits the governor or the chief executive officer of a political subdivision from declaring a state of emergency exclusively in response to an international organization's proclamation declaring a state of emergency; declares that an international organization has no power, jurisdiction, or legal authority in the state; prohibits the state, state agencies, and local governments from implementing or enforcing an international directive issued by an international organization; and makes technical changes.
Voted against most of their party on 40 of 293 party-divided votes on file.
Most often on: Education & families (10), Rights & public safety (10), Jobs & cost of living (9)
County Formation Amendments
What it does: This bill modifies provisions related to the creation of a new county. This bill: defines terms; establishes a process for the legislative body of a petitioning municipality to initiate a process to create a new count…
Voted no · most Republicans voted yes · Democrats 0–6, Republicans 17–5
What it does: This bill amends provisions relating to landscape work. This bill: requires that the Division of Professional Licensing identify a specialty contractor that may engage in landscape work; provides continuing education…
Voted yes · most Republicans voted no · Democrats 6–0, Republicans 8–13
What it does: This bill modifies provisions related to the creation of a new county. This bill: defines terms; establishes a process for the legislative body of a petitioning municipality to initiate a process to create a new count…
Voted no · most Republicans voted yes · Democrats 0–5, Republicans 13–8
What it does: This bill modifies provisions relating to educator license discipline and restrictions on employment and volunteer service. This bill: amends provisions relating to ineligibility for educator licensure following licen…
Voted no · most Republicans voted yes · Democrats 0–6, Republicans 15–7
What it does: This bill addresses state legal holidays and holy days. This bill: makes Good Friday a legal holiday in Utah; requires a school district, a charter school, and an institution of higher education to prioritize, to the…
Voted no · most Republicans voted yes · Democrats 0–5, Republicans 12–6
Substantive votes concern legislation or nominations; procedural votes concern how the chamber considers them. A Yes vote applies to the motion shown, which may not be final passage.
HB 212 · UT SENATE
County Formation Amendments
NoVOTED
Motion: Senate/ failed
This bill modifies provisions related to the creation of a new county. This bill: defines terms; establishes a process for the legislative body of a petitioning municipality to initiate a process to create a new county; imposes a threshold for petitioners and certain viability requirements on the formation of a new county, including the completion of a feasibility study; allows certain rural property to remain in a seceding county, in certain circumstances; provides for the continuation of property taxation between a seceding county and a new county to satisfy general obligation or revenue…
This bill enacts provisions relating to punitive damages. This bill: provides that an insurer may not rely on the existence, likelihood, possibility, or exposure to punitive damages when taking actions under Title 31A, Insurance Code; provides the circumstances in which a court may award punitive damages against an employer, managing agent, or principal for the conduct of the employer's, managing agent's, or principal's employee or agent; provides that the provisions this bill enacts apply only to a claim arising after the effective date of the bill; and makes technical changes.
This bill requires the State Board of Education (state board) to study best practices regarding the use of software in public schools. This bill: defines terms; requires the state board to: conduct a study regarding the use of software and digital services in public schools; review best practices related to the educational effectiveness, design, and data practices of software that students use; publish guidance describing best practices for the responsible use of software in a public school; and upon request, report the findings of the study to the Education Interim Committee; and makes…
Concurrent Resolution Emphasizing Utah's Commitment to Advanced Air Mobility
YesVOTED
Motion: Senate/ concurs with House amendment
This resolution recognizes Utah's role in aerospace innovation and affirms the state's commitment to developing and implementing Advanced Air Mobility technologies. This resolution: recognizes Utah's history as a global leader in aerospace innovation and research; describes the potential of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) technologies; recognizes Utah's ideal political, economic, and geographic environments for the testing and implementation of AAM technologies; outlines Utah's long-term goal to establish an operational AAM system and vertiport network before the 2034 Winter Olympic Games; and…
This bill concerns public assistance fraud. This bill: amends certain criminal provisions concerning obtaining or using public assistance; creates the offense of public assistance fraud by a person facilitating an inaccurate public assistance application; adds the newly created offense to the list of predicate offenses for a pattern of unlawful activity; and makes technical and conforming changes.
This bill amends a definition related to a student being excused from school. This bill: amends a definition related to a student being excused from school; and makes technical and conforming changes.
This bill concerns criminal conduct on public lands. This bill: defines terms; creates the Public Lands Restoration and Protection Fund (fund) to be administered by the State Historic Preservation Office; amends the criminal offense of defacing by graffiti on public lands, including to add conduct involving natural and archaeological features; amends penalty provisions for certain criminal violations of the offense of antiquities alteration, removal, injury, or destruction; provides that a court may order criminal restitution to be deposited into the fund for a violation of: defacing by…
This bill amends provisions related to general education writing requirements. This bill: allows institutions of higher education to voluntarily adopt certain writing requirements; directs the Utah Board of Higher Education to establish minimum requirements for using primary source documents in writing courses; and makes technical and conforming changes.
Motion: Senate Conference Committee - Final Passage
This bill addresses natural resources within the state. This bill: facilitates faster permitting by the Department of Environmental Quality and the Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining; modifies the tax credit for mining exploration; creates the State Reinvestment Restricted Account and diverts various streams of income related to severance taxes into the State Reinvestment Restricted Account; addresses property tax differentials based on critical minerals zones; defines terms; establishes the state critical minerals objectives and policy, including providing for annual reviews; creates the…
This bill amends the criminal offense of emergency reporting abuse. This bill: modifies the offense of emergency reporting abuse to include conduct in which an actor contacts a 911 emergency response service when the actor knows, or reasonably should know, that no actual or perceived emergency, crime, or other circumstance jeopardizing public safety exists; adds new penalties to the criminal offense of emergency reporting abuse; moves a definition to the statute in which the definition is referenced; and makes technical and conforming changes.
