Utah Territorial Legislative Assembly

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.