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CONSENT LANGUAGE AMENDMENTS

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2020 GENERAL SESSION

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STATE OF UTAH

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Chief Sponsor: Angela Romero

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Senate Sponsor: Todd Weiler

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7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill clarifies when consent may be given or withdrawn for sexual activity.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     makes clarifying changes regarding consent to sexual activity.
13     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
14          None
15     Other Special Clauses:
16          None
17     Utah Code Sections Affected:
18     AMENDS:
19          76-5-406, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapters 146, 189, and 349
20     

21     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
22          Section 1. Section 76-5-406 is amended to read:
23          76-5-406. Sexual offenses against the victim without consent of victim --
24     Circumstances.
25          (1) As used in this section:
26          (a) "Health professional" means an individual who is licensed or who holds the
27     individual out to be licensed, or who otherwise provides professional physical or mental health
28     services, diagnosis, treatment, or counseling, including an athletic trainer, physician,

29     osteopathic physician, physician assistant, nurse, dentist, physical therapist, chiropractor,
30     mental health therapist, social service worker, clinical social worker, certified social worker,
31     marriage and family therapist, professional counselor, psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric
32     mental health nurse specialist, or substance abuse counselor.
33          (b) "Religious counselor" means a minister, priest, rabbi, bishop, or other recognized
34     member of the clergy.
35          (c) "To retaliate" includes threats of physical force, kidnapping, or extortion.
36          (2) An act of sexual intercourse, rape, attempted rape, rape of a child, attempted rape of
37     a child, object rape, attempted object rape, object rape of a child, attempted object rape of a
38     child, forcible sodomy, attempted forcible sodomy, sodomy on a child, attempted sodomy on a
39     child, forcible sexual abuse, attempted forcible sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a child, attempted
40     sexual abuse of a child, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, attempted aggravated sexual abuse
41     of a child, or simple sexual abuse is without consent of the victim under any of the following
42     circumstances:
43          (a) the victim expresses lack of consent through words or conduct;
44          (b) the actor overcomes the victim through the actual application of physical force or
45     violence;
46          (c) the actor is able to overcome the victim through concealment or by the element of
47     surprise;
48          (d) (i) the actor coerces the victim to submit by threatening to retaliate in the
49     immediate future against the victim or any other person, and the victim perceives at the time
50     that the actor has the ability to execute this threat; or
51          (ii) the actor coerces the victim to submit by threatening to retaliate in the future
52     against the victim or any other person, and the victim believes at the time that the actor has the
53     ability to execute this threat;
54          (e) the actor knows the victim is unconscious, unaware that the act is occurring, or is
55     physically unable to resist;

56          (f) the actor knows or reasonably should know that the victim has a mental disease or
57     defect, which renders the victim unable to:
58          (i) appraise the nature of the act;
59          (ii) resist the act;
60          (iii) understand the possible consequences to the victim's health or safety; or
61          (iv) appraise the nature of the relationship between the actor and the victim;
62          (g) the actor knows that the victim [submits or] participates because the victim
63     erroneously believes that the actor is [the victim's spouse] someone else;
64          (h) the actor intentionally impaired the power of the victim to appraise or control his or
65     her conduct by administering any substance without the victim's knowledge;
66          (i) the victim is younger than 14 years of age;
67          (j) the victim is younger than 18 years of age and at the time of the offense the actor
68     was the victim's parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian or occupied a position of
69     special trust in relation to the victim as defined in Section 76-5-404.1;
70          (k) the victim is 14 years of age or older, but younger than 18 years of age, and the
71     actor is more than three years older than the victim and entices or coerces the victim to submit
72     or participate, under circumstances not amounting to the force or threat required under
73     Subsection (2)(b) or (d); or
74          (l) the actor is a health professional or religious counselor, the act is committed under
75     the guise of providing professional diagnosis, counseling, or treatment, and at the time of the
76     act the victim reasonably believed that the act was for medically or professionally appropriate
77     diagnosis, counseling, or treatment to the extent that resistance by the victim could not
78     reasonably be expected to have been manifested.
79          (3) Consent to any sexual act or prior consensual activity between or with any party
80     does not necessarily constitute consent to any other sexual act. Consent may be initially given
81     but may be withdrawn through words or conduct at any time prior to or during sexual activity.