MINUTES OF THE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 • 8:00 a.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. Karianne Lisonbee
Rep. Anthony E. Loubet
Rep. Judy Weeks Rohner
Rep. Rex P. Shipp
Rep. Christine F. Watkins
Rep. Mark A. Wheatley

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 Hawkins called the meeting to order at 8:06 a.m.
1.H.B. 560 Licensing Modifications (Lisonbee, K.)
Rep. Lisonbee presented the bill.
Mary Taylor, President, Pro-Life Utah, spoke in favor of the bill.
Kriss Martenson, President, Voice for the Voiceless, spoke to the bill.
Gayle Ruzicka, Utah Eagle Forum, spoke in favor of the bill.
Andrew Soncrant, Deacon, Apologia Church Utah, spoke to the bill.
Mary Kelsch, CFO, Pro-Life Utah, spoke in favor of the bill.
Shireen Ghorbani, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Planned Parenthood, spoke to the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Birkeland moved to pass H.B. 560 out favorably.The motion passed with a vote of 9-2-1.
Yeas - 9Nays- 2Abs- 1
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. J. Rohner
2.H.B. 127 Bias Incident Reporting (Owens, D.)
Rep. Doug Owens presented the bill with the assistance of Nate Mutter, Deputy Chief of Investigation, Utah Attorney General's Office, and Jay Jacobson, Chair of Community Partners Against Hate, and Luna Banuri, Utah Muslim Civic League.
Nicholeen Peck, President, Worldwide Organization for Women, spoke against the bill.
Maryann Christensen, Executive Director, Utah Legislative Watch, spoke against the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Wheatley moved to replace H.B. 127 with 2nd Substitute H.B. 127.The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-2.
Yeas - 10Nays- 0Abs- 2
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. K. Lisonbee
MOTION:Rep. Wheatley moved to amend 2nd Substitute H.B. 127 with Amendment #1.The motion passed with a vote of 9-1-2.
Amendment 1
2nd Sub. H.B. 127
1 .        Page 7, Lines 187 through 201 :  Page 7, Lines 187 through 201
187                 67-5-40. Bias incident reporting system.
188                 (1) As used in this section { :
189                   (a) "Bias incident" } , "bias incident" means a hostile expression of animus by an individual toward
190         another individual that:
191                 { (i) } (a) does not rise to the level of a criminal offense; and
192                 { (ii) } (b) is motivated by a bias against a race, a religion, an ethnic or national origin group,
193         sex, gender identity, a sexual orientation group, or a disability.
194                 { (b) "National Incident-Based Reporting System" means the system operated by the
195         Bureau of Justice established in 34 U.S.C. Sec. 10132. }
196                 (2) The attorney general shall:
197                 (a) establish a system for the public to report a bias incident;
198                 (b) create an online form for the reporting of a bias incident { that follows the format
199         used by the National Incident-Based Reporting System } ; and
200                 (c) collect and publicly report on the attorney general's website anonymized data
201         collected under this section.

Yeas - 9Nays- 1Abs- 2
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
MOTION:Rep. King moved to pass 2nd Substitute H.B. 127 out favorably as amended.The motion failed with a vote of 5-5-2.
Yeas - 5Nays- 5Abs- 2
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. K. Lisonbee
3.2nd Sub. S.B. 150 Exercise of Religion Amendments (Weiler, T.)
Sen. Todd Weiler presented the bill.
Marina Lowe, Policy Director, Equality Utah, spoke to the bill.
David Quealy, Senior City Attorney for Salt Lake City Attorney's Office, spoke to the bill.
Goud Maragani, Chairman, Utah Gay-Straight Coalition, spoke in favor of the bill.
Lauren Warner, BYU law student, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION:Rep. King moved to pass 2nd Substitute S.B. 150 out favorably.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
4.H.B. 299 Court-ordered Treatment Modifications (Clancy, T.)
HB299 handout
Rep. Clancy presented the bill with the assistance of Nate Crippes, Public Affairs Supervising Attorney, Disability Law Center.
Will Carlson, Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, spoke in favor of the bill.
Mark Moffat, Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, spoke in favor of the bill.
Amelia Powers Gardner, Wasatch Behavioral Health Authority Board, spoke in favor of the bill.
Andrea Cook, therapist, In Sickness and In Health, spoke in favor of the bill.
Sgt. Glenn Giles, Orem Police Department, spoke in favor of the bill.
Nate Crippes, Disability Law Center, spoke in favor of the bill.
Alberto Souza, psychiatric nurse practitioner, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Birkeland moved to replace H.B. 299 with 1st Substitute H.B. 299.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. K. Lisonbee
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. A. Loubet
MOTION:Rep. Birkeland moved to amend 1st Substitute H.B. 299 with Amendment #1.The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-1.
Amendment 1
1st Sub. H.B. 299
1 .        Page 8, Lines 235 through 240 :  Page 8, Lines 235 through 240
235                 (b) The study and recommendations described in Subsection (1)(a) shall also address
236         the role of the Utah State Hospital in serving patients who are subject to court-ordered
237         treatment, including civil commitment.
(c) The study and recommendations described in Subsection (1)(a) shall also address any additional resources or services needed to decrease the likelihood that individuals who are subject to court-ordered treatment, including civil commitment, will enter or reenter the Utah State Hospital or another inpatient facility.
238                 (2) The Utah Substance Use and Mental Health Advisory Council shall provide a
239         report on the study and recommendations described in Subsection (1) to the Judiciary Interim
240         Committee at or before the committee's October 2024 interim meeting.

Yeas - 11Nays- 0Abs- 1
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. A. Loubet
MOTION:Rep. Clancy moved to amend 1st Substitute H.B. 299 with Amendment #2.The motion passed with a vote of 12-0-0.
Amendment 2
1st Sub. H.B. 299
1 .        Page 23, Lines 694 through 696 :  Page 23, Lines 694 through 696
694                 (c) The court shall maintain a { current } list of patients proposed for civil commitment
695         who qualify for civil commitment under Subsections (16)(a)(i) and (ii), but for whom the local
696         mental health authority is unable to provide treatment as described in Subsection (16)(a)(iii).

Yeas - 12Nays- 0Abs- 0
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
MOTION:Rep. Birkeland moved to pass 1st Substitute H.B. 299 out favorably as amended.The motion passed with a vote of 12-0-0.
Yeas - 12Nays- 0Abs- 0
Rep. N. Abbott
Rep. C. Acton
Rep. K. Birkeland
Rep. T. Clancy
Rep. J. Hawkins
Rep. B. King
Rep. K. Lisonbee
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. J. Rohner
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
5.S.B. 50 Aggravated Assault Modifications (Kennedy, M.)
Sen. Mike Kennedy presented the bill.
Will Carlson, Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, spoke in favor of the bill.
Mark Moffat, Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, spoke in favor of the bill.
MOTION:Rep. Birkeland moved to pass S.B. 50 out favorably.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. K. Lisonbee
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. J. Rohner
MOTION:Rep. Shipp moved to approve the minutes from the February 14, 2024 meetings.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. K. Lisonbee
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. J. Rohner
MOTION:Rep. Clancy moved to adjourn.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. K. Lisonbee
Rep. A. Loubet
Rep. R. Shipp
Rep. C. Watkins
Rep. M. Wheatley
Rep. J. Rohner
Chair Hawkins adjourned the meeting at 9:51 a.m.