Sex Offense Bills
Several bills were run this session that would affect registrants or their registration requirements:
Passed:
HB 99 Sex Offender Restrictions Amendments increases the penalty for repeat offenders of sex offender registry location restrictions from a class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony.
HB 122 Sex Offender Registry Amendments moves the registry requirements from the sentencing portion of the statute to the administrative section. It requires that any youth who register will be placed on a private registry and allows an offender under 21 years old whose conviction did not involve force or coercion to request a lifetime registration requirement be reduced to a ten-year requirement. This bill does NOT change which youth register.
HB 139 Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry Requirements provides that an offender must comply with registration requirements in Utah if they have been here for at least 183 days in a year for two consecutive years.
HB 146 Sex Offender Restricted Area Amendments passed. The final version of this bill restricts individuals on the sex offender registry from entering a homeowners' association swimming pool, park, or playground. We negotiated with the sponsor to exclude the bill’s applicability to 55+ community areas when no children are present. We also narrowed the scope of the original bill to exclude state parks. SB 191 Condominium and Community Association Amendments doesn’t affect criminal penalties, but circumvents our negotiation with the sponsor of HB 146 to permit an association of unit owners or community association to adopt a rule restricting sex offenders from certain areas the association maintains, operates, or owns.
Failed:
SB 134 Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry Amendments sought to allow an offender convicted of a felony enticing a minor crime to be removed from the Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry after ten years. We spoke in support of this bill during its committee hearings and tried to get it passed on the last day of the session, but it was circled on its third reading in the House and they concluded the session without voting on it.
SB 282 Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry Access Amendments was never heard in committee. This bill would have required the Department of Corrections to make certain information searchable on the Sex Offender and Kidnap Offender Notification and Registration website, excluding the name or other identifying information of the offender.
Other bills pertaining to sex offenses:
Passed:
HB 108 Child Sex Doll Prohibition creates the class A misdemeanor offense of possessing a child sex doll and the third degree felony offense of purchasing or distributing a child sex doll.
HB 268 Sex Offense Amendments creates the Sex Offense Management Board to advise the Department of Corrections on evidence-based approaches to supervision. Membership includes a criminal defense attorney and a person previously convicted of a sex offense.
HB 297 Victim Services Amendments requires CCJJ and law enforcement agencies to compile data on sexual assaults. It restricts the time period in which a victim of rape or incest can get an abortion to 18 weeks and makes performing an abortion on a victim of rape or incest after 18 weeks a second degree felony.
SB 57 Sexual Abuse Material Amendments is a criminal discovery bill which prohibits the transmission of child pornography to defense counsel in discovery. The bill codifies what is actual practice in these cases. If defense counsel needs to view child pornography, they need to go to the RCFL or prosecutors office to do so.
SB 169 Enticement of a Minor Amendments expands the offense of enticing a minor to include developing a "relationship of trust with the minor or the minor's parent or guardian with the intent to solicit, seduce, lure, or entice, or attempt to solicit, seduce, lure, or entice the minor to engage in sexual activity that is a violation of state criminal law." It also amends the definition of text messaging to include communication from any electronic communication device and amends previous sex offenses that can be used to enhance a new offense to remove over the internet from the felony offense of enticing a minor. The bill will have an impact on sting cases involving the newest sting script protocol- the father who is offering his child for sex with adults.
Failed:
HB 106 HIV Testing Modifications was not heard in committee. This bill would have created a process to obtain a court order if an alleged sexual offender refuses an HIV test at the request of an alleged victim. This bill will be back next session. It raises obvious 4th Amendment concerns in that there is not even probable cause required to believe the subject of the “order” has an STI.
HB 333 Sexual Abuse Statutes of Limitation sought to remove the criminal and civil statute of limitations for several sex offenses, including sexual abuse of a minor, forcible sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor, aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, sexual exploitation of a vulnerable adult, sexual extortion, incest, and human trafficking of a vulnerable adult. We strongly objected to this bill and the sponsor agreed to make several modifications. However, changes to the bill were unnecessary because the bill did not gain traction and was not heard in any committee.
HB 356 Abortion Modifications would have allowed a victim of rape or incest who is seeking an abortion to file a restricted law enforcement report in order to comply with the physician reporting requirements. It also would have allowed the victim to make a non-binding request that law enforcement not pursue charges or investigate such a report. This bill was never heard in committee.
HB 526 Unlawful Kissing of a Minor attempted to add forcibly kissing a child to the list of actions that may qualify as sexual abuse of a child. This bill failed to be assigned a standing committee.
HJR 7 Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Legislative Power Relating to Civil Action for Child Sexual Abuse proposed to amend the Utah Constitution to provide that the legislative power of the state includes the power to provide for the revival of a cause of action for child sexual abuse after expiration of the cause of action due to a statute of limitations. This bill failed to be uncircled on the House floor.
SB 178 Sexual Assault Modifications passed the Senate vote but failed to be recommended to the House floor. The original version of this bill sought to add the removal of a sexually protective device to the consent statute. The most recent version created a new class A misdemeanor offense of nonconsensual removal of a sexually protective device. This offense would have been charged as a third degree felony if the victim became pregnant or contracted an STI. Defense and other criminal justice stakeholders were very opposed to this bill and spoke against the bill in the House Law Enforcement Committee which voted against the bill. The sponsor then attempted to insert the bill's language to another bill but was unsuccessful. We anticipate seeing this bill again.