Task Force and other Entity Bills
Passed:
HB 23 Forensic Mental Health Amendments authorizes the Forensic Mental Health Coordinating Council to determine and collect data from the Department of Corrections regarding mental health services.
HB 43 Domestic Violence Modifications creates the Domestic Violence Data Task Force under the Department of Public Safety, a member of which will be appointed by UACDL.
HB 47 Criminal Code Evaluation Task Force Sunset Extension extends the Criminal Code Evaluation Task Force repeal date to 2028. One of our attorneys is a member of this task force. This task force introduced and passed HB 46 Criminal Code Recodification and Cross References this year, which is a continuation of the effort to clean up, clarify, and reorganize the criminal code. Last session Chapter 76-5 was recodified and this bill focused on property offenses and Chapter 76-6. As a reminder, the statutes are being reorganized so that subsection 1 will always have definitions, subsection 2 will always contain the elements, subsection 3 will always include penalties, and subsections 4 and above will always include restrictions, limitations, defenses, and other miscellaneous provisions. If you have form motions that you’ve used that have referenced statutes in Chapter 76-6, you should make sure to review and update those references.
HB 210 Justice Court Changes creates the Justice Court Reform Task Force. It also requires justice court judges to have a law school degree unless a county does not have at least 2 applicants that meet this requirement.
HB 244 Utah Victim Services Commission and Victim Services creates the Utah Victim Services Commission within CCJJ, a member of which is a criminal defense attorney. We had originally negotiated with the sponsor to include both a criminal defense attorney and a member of the Indigent Defense Commission, but the IDC was taken out of the final version without our knowledge.
HB 246 Board of Pardons and Parole Amendments requires the Board of Pardons and Parole to prioritize public safety when making a decision about an offender.
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 362 Criminal Justice Data Management Task Force Sunset Extension extends the Criminal Justice Data Management Task Force sunset date to 2025. Defense attorneys are not members of this task force.
Failed:
HB 479 Corrections Task Force would have created the Corrections Task Force, membership of which included Corrections, law enforcement, and inmate and victim advocates. This bill was never heard in committee.
HB 501 Legal Services Amendments would have created the Innovations in Legal Services Advisory Council to study the regulatory sandbox program established by the Utah Supreme Court and report and make recommendations to the Legislature and the Utah Supreme Court related to the council's activities. However, this bill was never heard in committee.
HB 561 Department of Health and Human Services Procurement Amendments would have provided that the Department of Health and Human Services procurement advisory council shall recommend that the executive director debar or suspend a person for award of contracts for a human services procurement item if the person is convicted of a criminal offense. This bill was never assigned a standing committee in the Senate.