When a reporter asked Utah Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore about his newly introduced bill designating Android as the state’s preferred mobile operating system, the reaction from fellow senators was immediate — and mixed. Applause broke out from some corners of the chamber, while others responded with audible boos.
“Is this a real bill?” Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, asked from his seat nearby.
Yes — it is very real.
SB138, sponsored by Cullimore, R-Sandy, would make Android, the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, an official state symbol of Utah. If passed, Android would join an eclectic list of state-designated icons that already includes the dutch oven as the official cooking pot, the brine shrimp as the official crustacean, and the porcini as the official state mushroom.
Speaking with reporters during a media availability on Wednesday — the second day of the legislative session — Cullimore defended the proposal with a straight face and a sense of humor.
“Someday, everybody with an iPhone will realize that the technology is better on Android,” he said.
Cullimore acknowledged that his stance puts him in the minority even within his own household.
“I’m the only one in my family — all my kids, my wife, they all have iPhones — but I’m holding strong,” he added.
The senator joked that part of the motivation behind the bill is what he described as subtle “discrimination” from iPhone users, who often complain that text messages from Android devices appear as green bubbles instead of the familiar blue.
Despite the laughter it has generated, SB138 is not a prank. The bill is officially filed and publicly available on the Utah Legislature’s website, alongside hundreds of other proposals introduced this session.
That said, Cullimore himself is realistic about the bill’s prospects.
“I don’t expect this to really get out of committee,” he said, suggesting that the proposal is more likely to spark conversation than result in actual policy change.
The Android bill is not the first unconventional measure Cullimore has introduced. In 2023, he sponsored a resolution encouraging Utahns to celebrate Halloween on the last Friday of October instead of Oct. 31. That proposal sparked lively debate on the Senate floor but ultimately failed to advance.
When asked whether the Android bill falls into the same category as the Halloween resolution, Cullimore pushed back.
“No, the Halloween bill is serious,” he said, adding that he intends to bring it back to Capitol Hill “at some point.”
That comment prompted laughter from nearby lawmakers, underscoring the tongue-in-cheek tone surrounding the Android proposal.
While SB138 may not become law, it has already succeeded in one respect: generating buzz, laughter, and renewed debate over one of the most enduring modern rivalries — Android versus iPhone — right on the Senate floor.
