Child abuse; clarify willful false claims of.
HB 1577 clarifies that making a willful false report of child abuse (when unsupported by credible evidence and intentionally submitted as false) is a crime punishable by up to $5,000 in fines, one year in jail, or both. It requires individuals convicted of such false reports to pay restitution to the Department of Child Protection Services and law enforcement for investigation costs. The bill also specifies that reasonably relying on credible evidence or information serves as a defense against false reporting claims. This directly affects people who file false child abuse reports and the state agencies handling such cases.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Feb 13, 2026
Signed Mar 30, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
As Passed the lower
→
Current version
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The Senate made three substantive changes to the House-passed version of HB 1577, which addresses willful false reports of child abuse. First, it narrowed the scope of the good-faith exception to apply only to reports made under the mandatory child abuse reporting statute (Section 43-21-353). Second, it removed the Department of Child Protection Services as a prosecuting authority and expanded prosecution venue to include the county where the falsely accused person resides. Third, it slightly reworded the reasonable-reliance defense language.
SCOPE
Subsection (2)(a) now explicitly limits the willful false report provision to reports made pursuant to Section 43-21-353 (the mandatory child abuse reporting statute), rather than applying broadly to any report under the section.
ENFORCEMENT
The Department of Child Protection Services was removed as an entity authorized to prosecute violations of this section.
Prosecution venue for both county attorneys and district attorneys was expanded to include the county where the person who is the subject of the false report resides, in addition to the county where the child resides.
TECHNICAL
The reasonable-reliance defense in subsection (2)(b)(ii) was reworded from 'Proof that... shall be a defense' to 'If... it shall be a defense,' with no substantive change in meaning.
Floor votes · Senate Mar 4, 2026 · House Feb 12, 2026
How they voted
48–1
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 52
Mar 4, 2026
D
Democratic18
83% Yea
R
Republican34
97% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
15
Key actions
7
Committee
4
Amendments
1
Mar 30, 2026
Signed into law
Approved by Governor
executive
Mar 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Concurred in Amend From Senate
lower
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed As Amended
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass As Amended
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Committee
Referred To Judiciary, Division B
upper
Feb 13, 2026
Introduced
Transmitted To Senate
lower
Feb 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub
lower
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Referred To Judiciary B
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Kevin Felsher
RRepublican
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