HB 438 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Artificial Intelligence Amendments

HB 438, the AI Companion Chatbot Safety Act, regulates companies that create AI chatbots designed for emotional engagement. It requires suppliers to implement safety protocols for identifying risks, conduct independent safety evaluations, and publicly report on safety measures and user engagement. The bill specifically prohibits sharing minors' data, sending unsolicited messages to encourage use, exposing minors to harmful content, or hiding that the chatbot is AI (mandating clear disclosure). It grants enforcement authority to Utah's Division of Consumer Protection and establishes fines for violations. The law directly affects AI chatbot developers and users, particularly minors, by setting concrete safety and transparency standards.

Issues: ✓ Technology

Bill status failed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 2, 2026 Last action Mar 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute #4 → Substitute #5 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill version shifts enforcement authority from the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity to the Division of Consumer Protection and reorganizes the legislative structure to include a new Companion Chatbot Safety Act. It also updates the list of chapters administered by the Division of Consumer Protection to explicitly include the new chatbot safety and AI mental health chapters.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include the Division of Consumer Protection as the primary enforcement body, replacing the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity for chatbot regulations, and the bill text was reorganized to create a distinct title for companion chatbot safety.

ENFORCEMENT

Enforcement authority for the Companion Chatbot Safety Act was transferred from the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity to the Division of Consumer Protection.

DEFINITION

The bill was renumbered and reorganized, creating a new Title 13-72b (Companion Chatbot Safety Act) and modifying the administrative structure within Title 63N.

REQUIREMENT

The Division of Consumer Protection was updated to explicitly administer and enforce the new Companion Chatbot Safety Act and the Artificial Intelligence Applications Relating to Mental Health Act.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was reformatted and renumbered to reflect a new substitute version, changing section numbers and organizational titles.

Floor votes · House Feb 20, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted [Senate Business and Labor Committee]

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Business and Labor Committee]

upper

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Business and Labor Committee]

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Feb 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ comm rpt/ substituted [House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee]

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee]

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Committee

House/ to standing committee [House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee]

lower

Feb 2, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor