The Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah was the legislative branch of government in Utah Territory, replacing the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret. The Act of Congress creating the territory in 1850 specified that the territorial legislature should consist of a council of 13 members serving 2-year terms, and a 26-member house of representatives elected for 1-year terms.
In 1869, the Congressional appropriations bill, which also provided for legislative pay and expenses, dictated that all territories should only hold legislative sessions biennially and members would serve 2-year terms.[1] Since the Legislative Assembly was out of session at the time, the Utah general election that year proceeded under the old system, and in its 1870 session the legislature changed the term for members being elected to the House that year to 2 years. Meanwhile, because the Territorial Council members had just been elected to their regular terms, their next election was set for 1871.[2] The end result was that going forward, the House of Representatives would be elected in even-numbered years, and the Territorial Council in odd-numbered years, but legislative sessions were held only in even-numbered years.
After the first Legislative Assembly, which remained in session much longer in order to establish functional operations of the territorial government, regular annual sessions were scheduled for the second Monday in December and set to run for 40 days. Although the flurry of concluding business at the close of a session caused a few legislatures to adjourn a day or two past 40, beyond the 1st only the 2nd and 10th Legislative Assemblies required a special session (in the case of the 10th, one held in advance of the regular session rather than after). The 16th Legislative Assembly adjusted the start of future sessions to the second Monday in January, so that the legislature elected in 1867 did not begin meeting until 1868.
September 22, 1851 — February 18, 1852
December 13, 1852 — January 21, 1853
December 12, 1853 — January 20, 1854
December 11, 1854 — January 19, 1855
December 10, 1855 — January 18, 1856
December 8, 1856 — January 16, 1857
December 14, 1857 — January 22, 1858
December 13, 1858 — January 21, 1859
December 12, 1859 — January 20, 1860
December 10, 1860 — January 18, 1861
December 9, 1861 — January 17, 1862
December 8, 1862 — January 16, 1863
December 14, 1863 — January 22, 1864
December 12, 1864 — January 21, 1865
December 11, 1865 — January 19, 1866
December 10, 1866 — January 19, 1867
January 13 — February 25, 1868
January 11 — February 19, 1869
January 9 — February 19, 1870
January 8 — February 16, 1872
January 12 — February 20, 1874
January 10 — February 18, 1876
January 14 — February 23, 1878
January 12 — February 20, 1880
January 9, 1882
January 14, 1884
January 11, 1886
January 9, 1888
January 13, 1890
January 11, 1892
January 8, 1894
Representation in the Legislative Assembly was apportioned by Governor Brigham Young prior to the initial 1851 election by county.[3] The apportionment was comprehensively revised by the legislature in 1862.[4] As more counties were created thereafter, they shared their representation with the county from which they were created (Rich from Cache and Kane from Washington in 1864, Piute from Beaver and Sevier from Sanpete in 1865).
| County | 1851-1863 | 1863-1880 |
|---|---|---|
| Beaver | (attached to Millard, 1857) | 1 (shared with Iron) |
| Box Elder | (attached to Weber, 1857) | 1 (shared with Weber) |
| Cache | (attached to Weber, 1857) | 1 |
| Carson | 0 | n/a |
| Cedar | (attached to Utah, 1857) | n/a |
| Davis | 1 | 1 (shared with Morgan) |
| Green River | 0 | (attached to Salt Lake) |
| Iron | 1 | 1 (shared with Beaver) |
| Juab | (attached to Utah, 1852) | 1 (shared with Millard) |
| Malad | (attached to Weber, 1857) | n/a |
| Millard | 1 (beginning 1853) | 1 (shared with Juab) |
| Morgan | n/a | 1 (shared with Davis) |
| Salt Lake | 5 (6 in 1851-1852) | 4 |
| Sanpete | 1 | 1 |
| Shambip | (attached to Salt Lake, 1857) | n/a |
| Summit | 0 | (attached to Salt Lake) |
| Tooele | (attached to Salt Lake) | (attached to Salt Lake) |
| Utah | 2 | 2 (shared with Wasatch) |
| Wasatch | n/a | 2 (shared with Utah) |
| Washington | (attached to Iron, 1857) | 1 |
| Weber | 2 | 1 (shared with Box Elder) |
| County | 1851-1856 | 1856-1859[5] | 1859-1862[6] | 1862-1880 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver | n/a | (attached to Millard) | 1 | 1 |
| Box Elder | n/a | 1 (shared with Cache and Malad) | 1 (shared with Cache and Malad) | 1 |
| Cache | n/a | 1 (shared with Box Elder and Malad) | 1 (shared with Box Elder and Malad) | 2 |
| Carson | 1 (beginning 1855)[7] | 1 | 1 | n/a |
| Cedar | n/a | (attached to Utah) | (attached to Utah) | n/a |
| Davis | 2 (3 in 1851) | 2 | 2 | 2 (shared with Morgan) |
| Green River | 1 (beginning 1854) | 1 | 1 | 1 (shared with Summit) |
| Iron | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Juab | 1 (beginning 1852) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Malad | n/a | 1 (shared with Box Elder and Cache) | 1 (shared with Box Elder and Cache) | n/a |
| Millard | 1 (beginning 1852) | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Morgan | n/a | n/a | n/a | 2 (shared with Davis) |
| Salt Lake | 11 (13 in 1851, 12 in 1852-1853) | 11 | 9 | 6 |
| Sanpete | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Shambip | n/a | (attached to Tooele) | (attached to Tooele) | n/a |
| Summit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (shared with Green River) |
| Tooele | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Utah | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Wasatch | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1 |
| Washington | n/a | (attached to Iron) | (attached to Iron) | 1 |
| Weber | 2 (3 in 1851-1854) | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Congress reduced the number of legislators in 1880 to 12 on the Territorial Council and 24 in the House of Representatives. Together with the creation of Emery, San Juan, and Uintah counties, this forced the Legislative Assembly to devise a new redistricting scheme.[8]
| Counties | Territorial Council | House of Representatives |
|---|---|---|
| Cache and Rich | 1 | 2 |
| Box Elder | 1 | 1 |
| Weber | 2 | |
| Wasatch and Uintah | 1 | 1 |
| Summit | 1 | |
| Morgan | 6 | |
| Salt Lake and Davis | 4 | |
| Tooele | 1 | |
| Juab and Utah | 2 | 4 |
| Sanpete, Sevier, and Emery | 1 | 2 |
| Beaver and Piute | 1 | 1 |
| Millard | 1 | |
| Washington and Kane | 1 | 1 |
| Iron and San Juan | 1 | |
Beginning in 1888, legislators were elected from geographic districts instead of by county after the Edmunds-Tucker Act nullified previous apportionments and again required redistricting of the entire territory.