HB 50 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Child Protection Ombudsman Amendments

HB 50 amends Utah's child protection ombudsman system to better support parents and children in state custody cases. It requires the ombudsman to accept complaints from parents directly, provide clear rights information on their website, and submit annual reports to legislative committees. The bill also mandates that police or child welfare workers inform parents about the ombudsman when removing a child into protective custody. These changes aim to increase transparency and accessibility for families navigating child welfare proceedings, without altering funding or creating new programs.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Jan 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

Signed into Law

Feb 2026

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Signed Feb 27, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 5 edits · Feb 27, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates the Child Protection Ombudsman's authority to accept complaints regarding parents, not just children, and mandates that officers inform parents about the ombudsman when removing a child. It also requires the ombudsman to publish parental rights on their website and submit annual reports to oversight committees.

Scope change

The scope of the ombudsman's jurisdiction was expanded to include complaints against actions taken toward parents, and the requirement to provide ombudsman contact information was added to the child removal process.

ELIGIBILITY

The ombudsman is now authorized to receive complaints regarding acts or omissions by the division with respect to a particular parent, in addition to children.

REQUIREMENT

Peace officers and child welfare caseworkers must now provide parents with information about the child protection ombudsman when taking a child into protective custody.

The ombudsman is required to post information about parental and child rights on their website and submit an annual report to the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel and the Health and Human Services Interim Committee.

DEFINITION

The definition of a 'complaint' was updated to explicitly include grievances regarding a parent, whereas it previously focused only on the child.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was renumbered and formatted to conform to the enrolled legislative style, including renumbering subsection (j) to (k) to accommodate the new reporting requirement.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 5, 2026 · House Jan 21, 2026

How they voted

27–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 29

Feb 5, 2026

D Democratic6

6 Yea

100% Yea

N Forward1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican22

20 Yea 2

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 27, 2026

Signed into law

Governor Signed

executive

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House

lower

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Health and Human Services Committee]

upper

Jan 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Health and Human Services Committee]

upper

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Health and Human Services Committee]

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor