Utah / State / 2024 General Session

2024 Utah Laws ch 376 Created free state park admission for a Utah veteran with any current service-connected disability rating

Needs reviewEnactedProgram created

Signed 2024-03-18 · Takes effect 2024-05-01

Enacted Utah Code section 79-4-1002, requiring the Division of State Parks to make rules granting free admission to state parks to an honorably discharged veteran who is a Utah resident and "has a current service-connected disability rating issued by the United States Veterans Benefits Administration". The section names no minimum percentage, so any current rating qualifies, which makes it the only Utah benefit in this catalog with no disability floor at all. Chapter 153 of the 2025 general session then enacted section 79-4-207, subsection 2, paragraph "b", separately requiring the division to implement the programme. Tracked and flagged because the operative detail is entirely administrative and is in flux. The division implements the statute as the Veterans With Disabilities Honor Pass, covering day-use admission for the veteran and up to seven guests travelling in the same vehicle but excluding camping, neither of which appears in the statute. As of September 2026 the division states the pass system "is currently undergoing digital upgrades" with access remaining active, 2025 passes still valid, and new applicants able to present VA documentation at park gates; the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs describes a replacement pass as "pending final federal approval" and states a VA Summary of Benefits letter will remain a valid entry method after the new pass launches. Separately, the division’s own page at stateparks.utah.gov/resources/military/ currently issues a permanent redirect to a staging server rather than the production site.