HB 455 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Peace Officer and Dispatcher Standards Amendments

HB 455 allows peace officer and dispatcher applicants in Utah with expunged or dismissed criminal convictions to enter training programs and take certification exams under specific conditions. It directly affects individuals seeking these public safety roles who previously faced automatic disqualification due to cleared records. Key conditions include: no violent felony or sexual offense convictions, a minimum 10-year waiting period since conviction, and meeting other standard requirements like background checks. The bill amends Utah Code sections 53-6-203 and 53-6-302 to update eligibility standards for these positions.
Bill status passed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
Governor
Introduced Feb 3, 2026 Last action Mar 7, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Substitute #1 · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to change the Senate sponsor from 'LONG TITLE' to 'Stephanie Pitcher' and to add a new category of disqualifying offenses for peace officers and dispatchers. Specifically, applicants with expunged convictions are now barred if the offense involved sexual conduct, in addition to violent felonies. The effective date was also updated from May 6, 2026, to May 6, 2026 (no change in date, but the timestamp changed).
Scope change
The scope of disqualifying offenses was expanded to include sexual offenses alongside violent felonies for both peace officers and dispatchers.
ELIGIBILITY

Added a prohibition for applicants with expunged convictions involving sexual offenses (Title 76, Chapter 5, Part 4) for both peace officers and dispatchers.

TIMELINE

Updated the bill's timestamp from February 2 to February 10, 2026.

TECHNICAL

Changed the Senate Sponsor name from 'LONG TITLE' to 'Stephanie Pitcher'.

Floor votes · House Feb 23, 2026

How they voted

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

Actions timeline

Total actions
32
Key actions
5
Committee
6
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee]
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee]
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Committee
Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee]
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ comm rpt/ substituted [House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee]
lower
Feb 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee]
lower
Feb 6, 2026
Committee
House/ to standing committee [House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee]
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors