A block away from where a crowd gathered for Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s ceremonial signing of multiple public safety bills in Salt Lake City on Thursday morning, a similar-sized crowd began lining up at the St. Vincent de Paul Dining Hall for a free meal.
“One of the most important issues facing our state this session is building a safer Utah by proactively addressing challenges that affect health, safety and the well-being of our communities,” Cox said.
Cox deemed eight bills the most crucial in protecting Utahns from crime.
“By enhancing penalties and improving support systems, we’re reinforcing Utah’s long-standing commitment to public safety,” he added. “Whether addressing homelessness, substance abuse or the needs of victims and families, this legislation balances firm accountability with compassion and care, the things that Utah does best to ensure a safer, more supportive future for all Utahns.”
The ceremonial signing comes nearly a week after the governor announced a new criminal justice task force to oversee the more than 200 new crimes and enhanced penalties that have been signed into law in the last six years alone.
This legislative session broke its record for criminal bills introduced, reaching 86.
Cox previously said the task force is expected to answer the question of “whether these enhancements, absent an overarching strategy, will actually achieve the public safety goals they’re intended to address.”
‘Crucial’ ceremonial bills signed
The eight bills included in the signing highlighted strategies aimed at drug trafficking, homeless and law enforcement support.
HB87: Drug Trafficking Amendments
Utah law enforcement confiscated its largest haul of fentanyl pills last year. The bill from Rep. Matthew Gwynn, R-Farr West, now makes it a first-degree felony for anyone in possession of 100 grams in weight or more of fentanyl or a fentanyl-like substance — a higher degree of prosecution than any other drug trafficker.
Gwynn said Thursday the bill received zero opposition through its entire bill cycle, and is “intentional and prescriptive in going after large quantity dealers and not going after the users who are, unfortunately, battling the demon that is drug addiction.”
HB199: Substance Use Treatment and Enforcement Amendments
Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, said HB199 “takes the best practices of public health and public safety and tries to build a coherent strategy to take on the drug crisis. It ultimately allows first responders to link overdose survivors to local resources and bans syringe exchange programs in specific areas.
“If you are a Utahn dealing with addiction, if you are addicted to meth, fentanyl or anything in between. We will meet you where you are, but we love you too much to let you stay there,” Clancy said during the ceremony. “And with the passage of House Bill 199, that’s just the first step in continuing to do so.”
HB127: Sexual Crime Amendments
Referred to as “Ashley’s law,” HB127 increases penalties for assailants guilty of rape, object rape and forcible sodomy against a person with physical or mental limitations. The law was named after Ashley Vigil, a 31-year-old who had Rett Syndrome and for years was a victim of her stepfather’s sexual abuse.
“Sometimes it takes a great loss to move mountains,” the bill’s floor sponsor, Sen. Minority Assistant Whip Jen Plumb, D-Salt Lake City, said Thursday, adding that no tolerance will be given to “anyone who preys on our very most vulnerable, regardless of their age, regardless of their medical conditions.”
HB38: Criminal Offenses Modifications
This bill targets “criminal organizations that are intentionally structured to do the most damage possible,” its sponsor, Ryan D. Wilcox, R-Ogden, said Thursday. Changes were made in crimes involving the solicitation of minors into gang activity, amends certain theft offenses and sexual extortion offenses — an issue the bill’s senate sponsor, Calvin R. Musselman, R-West Haven, said has greatly affected Utah boys.
What he called “sextortion,” Musselman said, is where a criminal is posing as someone these boys find attractive and then extorting them online.
“Many of our young men are actually committing suicide from the experience itself. It can be drawn out and bring them to that point where they find no other way out,” he added, emphasizing the education aspect of the bill that will “hopefully make these young men recognize it’s not who they think it is that’s posing online, and also, know that their lives aren’t over, and hopefully, this will make a difference.”
HB312: Criminal Justice Amendments
House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, said her bill addresses jail capacities across the state. The bill “modifies provisions related to the release of individuals due to overcrowding of correctional facilities,” per the bill text, and helps habitual offenders receive opportunities to rehabilitate.
HB329: Homeless Services Amendments
Rep. Clancy said his bill makes “better and more effective homeless services.” The Deseret News previously stated the bill’s actions:
- Require homeless shelters to maintain a zero-tolerance policy for drug possession by conducting regular searches and facilitating law enforcement access.
- Eliminate state funding to shelters if they fail to comply with a signed homeless shelter agreement that details drug-free requirements.
- Increase criminal consequences for drug distribution in, or around, homeless shelters by one degree more than the current maximum penalty.
- Allow for the expansion of the Know-by-Name pilot program which shares the state’s Homeless Management Information System with personalized case workers.
- Encourage shelters to focus housing programs on a “pathway to thriving” model that measures progress in mental health, drug addiction, education and relationships.
SB78: Homeless Individuals Protection Amendments
The bill creates the homeless service provider regulator in the Office of Homeless Services, so investigations can be done on filed complaints against service providers made by homeless people.
The bill’s creation “came out of a place where we wanted to protect our folks who are vulnerable and experiencing homelessness, and we also wanted to protect the state’s resources and the investments of the state,” the chief sponsor, Sen. Plumb, said.
SB255: Line-of-Duty Death Benefit Amendments
This bill modifies provisions concerning the benefits provided to family members due to a line-of-duty death including adding health benefits and removing the year-long waiting period for spouses to access from the Local Public Safety and Firefighter Surviving Spouse Trust Fund.
“I can tell you, as a school teacher, on my very worst day, I can go home and might rethink my career choices. Sometimes, I might struggle, but at the end of the day, I get to go home,” said the bill’s floor sponsor, Rep. Douglas R. Welton, R-Payson.
“It’s not true on the worst day for our law enforcement officers. On their worst day, they don’t get to go home, and they leave loved ones behind. The least that we can do is make sure that they’re covered.”