Gov. Cox signs bill to include Ten Commandments in Utah public school curricula, address ‘legal personhood’

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed 50 bills from the 2024 General Legislative Session into law on Wednesday, bringing the total to 503 pieces of legislation signed from the 2024 session, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office.

Among the bills signed on Wednesday was House Bill 269, or Public School History Curricula Amendments , which aims to add the Ten Commandments and Magna Carta to Utah public school history studies.

The general description of H.B. 269 says the Ten Commandments, in addition to the Magna Carta, will be added “to a list of historical documents and principles that school curricula and activities may include for a thorough study.”

The Ten Commandments will be joining a list that also includes the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

It should be noted that the wording of the bill has been adjusted to say school curricula should include “principles” — rather than just historical documents — with the addition of the Ten Commandments.

The Public School History Curricula Amendments are scheduled to go into effect on July 1.

Another bill that was signed into law that may have an interesting impact was Utah Legal Personhood Amendments , or H.B. 249.

The general description for the bill succinctly states, “This bill addresses legal personhood.”

One of the highlighted provisions of the bill is its prohibition of government entities from “granting or recognizing legal personhood in certain categories of nonhumans.”

So, what does that mean?

“Legal personhood” is defined in the bill as being the “legal rights and obligations” that state laws grant to both an individual and a “person other than an individual.”

According to the text of the bill, a “governmental entity” will not be allowed to grant legal personhood to certain nonhumans, ranging from artificial intelligence, to property, to land — and even bodies of water like Great Salt Lake.

This bill is scheduled to take effect on May 1.

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