MINUTES OF THE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
Wednesday, February 21, 2024 • 4:00 p.m. • 110 Senate Building


Members Present:
Rep. Jon Hawkins, Chair
Rep. Nelson T. Abbott, Vice Chair
Rep. Cheryl K. Acton
Rep. Kera Birkeland
Rep. Tyler Clancy
Rep. Brian S. King
Rep. Anthony E. Loubet
Rep. Judy Weeks Rohner
Rep. Rex P. Shipp
Rep. Christine F. Watkins
Rep. Mark A. Wheatley

Members Absent:
Rep. Karianne Lisonbee

Staff Present:
Jonathan Adams, Policy Analyst
Tisha Gibby, Committee Secretary

Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
Chair Abbott called the meeting to order at 4:09 p.m.
MOTION:Rep. Hawkins moved to approve the February 20, 2024 minutes.The motion passed with a vote of 7-0-5.
Yeas - 7Nays- 0Abs- 5
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
1.H.B. 196 Sexual Abuse Amendments (Ivory, K.)
Ritual abuse and Civil Statutes of Limitations
Rep. Ken Ivory presented the bill with the assistance of Mike Smith, Utah County Sheriff and President of the Utah Sheriffs' Association, and Cara Baldree, survivor.
Brett Bluth, survivor, spoke in favor of the bill.
Nicholeen Peck, President, Worldwide Organization for Women, spoke in favor of the bill.
Rabbi Avremi Zippel, Chair, Utah Council for Victims of Crime, spoke to the bill.
Cindy Metcalf, Executive Director, Relentless Hope, spoke in favor of the bill.
Kimberli Raya Koen, survivor, spoke in favor of the bill.
Jason Randall, Lieutenant, Utah County Sheriff's Office, spoke in favor of the bill.
Marlesse Jones, Victim Services Commission, spoke in favor of the bill.
Katie Stahl, Utah Director, Right on Crime, spoke in favor of the bill.
Dustin Parmley, public defender, spoke to the bill.
Chelcie Hope, citizen, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Shipp moved to replace H.B. 196 with 1st Substitute H.B. 196.The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-1.
Yeas - 11Nays- 0Abs- 1
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. K. Lisonbee
MOTION:Rep. Birkeland moved to pass 1st Substitute H.B. 196 out favorably.The motion passed with a vote of 10-1-1.
Yeas - 10Nays- 1Abs- 1
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. B. King
Rep. K. Lisonbee
2.H.B. 409 Presumption of State Jurisdiction Amendments (Ivory, K.)
Federal Overreach Stories
State-Federal Jurisdiction Over Lands Within a State
State-Federal Jurisdiction
Why State Sovereignty Matters
Rep. Ivory presented the bill with the assistance of Gloria Vindas, citizen.
Maryann Christensen, Executive Director, Utah Legislative Watch, spoke in favor of the bill.
Nicholeen Peck, Worldwide Organization for Women, spoke in favor of the bill.
Jen Brown, President, Utah Citizens for the Constitution, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Shipp moved to replace H.B. 409 with 1st Substitute H.B. 409.The motion passed with a vote of 8-0-4.
Yeas - 8Nays- 0Abs- 4
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. M. Wheatley
MOTION:Rep. Shipp moved to pass 1st Substitute H.B. 409 out favorably.The motion passed with a vote of 8-2-2.
Yeas - 8Nays- 2Abs- 2
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. K. Lisonbee
3.H.B. 456 Protection Order Amendments (Teuscher, J.)
HB456 Protection Order Amendments
Rep. Jordan Teuscher presented the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Shipp moved to pass H.B. 456 out favorably.The motion passed with a vote of 9-0-3.
Yeas - 9Nays- 0Abs- 3
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. K. Lisonbee
4.H.B. 459 Blended Plea Amendments (Teuscher, J.)
Rep. Teuscher presented the bill.
Jeff Buhman, Executive Director, Statewide Association of Prosecutors, spoke to the bill.
Will Carlson, Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, spoke to the bill.
Chris Yannelli, Deputy Utah County Attorney, spoke to the bill.
Mike Smith, Utah County Sheriff's Association, spoke to the bill.
Paul Wake, Deputy Utah County Attorney, spoke to the bill.
Pamela Vickrey, Director, Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys, spoke to the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Rohner moved to go to the next item on the agenda.
SUBSTITUTE MOTION:Rep. Loubet moved to replace H.B. 459 with 2nd Substitute H.B. 459.The substitute motion passed with a vote of 10-0-2.
Yeas - 10Nays- 0Abs- 2
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. R. Shipp
MOTION:Rep. Loubet moved to pass 2nd Substitute H.B. 459 out favorably.The motion passed with a vote of 7-3-2.
Yeas - 7Nays- 3Abs- 2
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. R. Shipp
Brett Peterson, Director, Juvenile Justice and Youth Services, provided some clarification.
5.2nd Sub. S.B. 104 Children's Device Protection Act (Weiler, T.)
Sen. Todd Weiler presented the bill with the assistance of Benjamin Bull, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
Nicholeen Peck, Worldwide Organization for Women, spoke in favor of the bill.
Gayle Ruzicka, Utah Eagle Forum, spoke in favor of the bill.
Melissa McKay, mother and advocate, spoke in favor of the bill.
Tina Seastrand, Digital Wellness Specialist, Utah Parent Teacher Association, spoke in favor of the bill.
Linda Zenger, mother and grandmother, spoke in favor of the bill.
Maryann Christensen, Utah Legislative Watch, spoke in favor of the bill.
Chris McKenna, Founder, Protect Young Eyes, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Clancy moved to replace 2nd Substitute S.B. 104 with 4th Substitute S.B. 104.The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-2.
Yeas - 10Nays- 0Abs- 2
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. R. Shipp
MOTION:Rep. King moved to amend 4th Substitute S.B. 104 with Amendment #1.The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-2.
Amendment 1
4th Sub. S.B. 104
1 .        Page 3, Lines 82 through 85 :  Page 3, Lines 82 through 85
82                 (3) "Filter" means generally accepted and commercially reasonable software used on a device that is { reasonably } capable of preventing
83         the device from accessing or displaying obscene material through Internet browsers or search
84         engines owned or controlled by the manufacturer in accordance with prevailing industry standards via mobile data networks, wired
85         Internet networks, and wireless Internet networks.

2 .        Page 4, Lines 88 through 90 :  Page 4, Lines 88 through 90
88                 (a) (i) is engaged in the business of manufacturing a device;
89                 { (b) } (ii) holds the patents for the device the person manufactures; { and   } or
                (iii) holds the patents for the operating system on a device; and
90                 { (c) } (b) has a commercial registered agent as that term is defined in Section 16-17-102.

3 .        Page 4, Lines 93 through 107 :  Page 4, Lines 93 through 107
93                 (7) "Obscenity" means the same as that term is defined in Section 32B-1-504.  
        (8) "Operating system" means software that manages all of the other application programs on a device.
94                 {   (8) } (9) "Password" means a string of characters or other secure method used to enable,
95         deactivate, modify, or uninstall a filter on a device.
96                 { (9) } (10) (a) "Retailer" means a person, that is not a manufacturer, that sells a device directly
97         to consumers.
98                 (b) "Retailer" includes an employee of a retailer acting in the course and scope of the
99         employee's employment.
100                 { (10) } (11) "Smart phone" means the same as that term is defined in Section 63A-2-101.5.
101                 { (11) } (12) "Tablet" means a mobile device that:
102                 (a) is equipped with a mobile operating system, touchscreen display, and rechargeable
103         battery; and
104                 (b) has the ability to support access to a cellular network.
105                 { (12) } (13) "Video game console" means a discrete computing system, including the system's
106         components and peripherals, primarily used for playing video games, but does not include a
107         smartphone or tablet.

4 .        Page 4, Lines 112 through 114 :  Page 4, Lines 112 through 114
112                 (2) { determine the age of a user } ask the user to provide the user's age during activation and account set-up;
113                 (3) automatically enable the filter when the user is a minor based on the { determination } age provided by the user as described
114         in Subsection (2);

5 .        Page 5, Lines 128 through 131 :  Page 5, Lines 128 through 131
128         makes a good faith effort to provide a device that, upon activation of the device in the state { and
129         using the age provided by the user, automatically enables a generally accepted and
130         commercially reasonable filter that blocks obscene content on all Internet browsers or search
131         engines accessed on the device in accordance with this section } , automatically enables a filter in accordance with Section 78B-6-2602 .

Yeas - 10Nays- 0Abs- 2
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. R. Shipp
MOTION:Rep. Hawkins moved to pass 4th Substitute S.B. 104 out favorably as amended.The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-2.
Yeas - 10Nays- 0Abs- 2
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. Hawkins assumed the chair.
6.H.B. 544 Mental Health Amendments (Abbott, N.)
Rep. Abbott presented the bill with the assistance of Nate Crippes, Disability Law Center.
Rena Rogers, Executive Director, Mental Health America of Utah, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Watkins moved to pass H.B. 544 out favorably.The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-2.
Yeas - 10Nays- 0Abs- 2
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. R. Shipp
MOTION:Rep. Loubet moved to adjourn.The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-2.
Yeas - 10Nays- 0Abs- 2
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. R. Shipp
Chair Hawkins adjourned the meeting at 6:51 p.m.