Criminal Justice

HB 183 amends Utah state laws to replace the term "gender" with "sex" in all relevant statutes and removes protections based on gender identity. It repeals existing provisions covering gender identity in housing, employment, and crime, prohibits changes to sex designations on birth certificates, and restricts student access to privacy spaces based on biological sex. The bill also requires state agencies to use "sex" instead of "gender" in rulemaking, bars certain employees in child-related roles from having face-to-face contact with children if their work presents a different sex than their biological sex, and directs courts to consider parental opposition to a child's gender identity (conflicting with biological sex) as a factor in custody decisions. These changes directly affect transgender and gender-diverse individuals, schools, healthcare providers, and courts handling custody cases. The bill contains no funding impacts and is currently in early legislative stages.

HB 341 amends Utah's animal fighting laws to strengthen penalties for dog fighting, game fowl fighting, and attending such events. It clarifies that owning dog fighting equipment (like breaking sticks or treadmills) is evidence of intent to commit a crime, and creates new offenses for promoting or attending game fowl fights. The bill directly affects individuals who organize, participate in, or spectate dog or game fowl fights, including those allowing minors to attend. Penalties range from class B misdemeanors for first-time attendance or minor offenses to third-degree felonies for repeat dog fighting violations.

HB 116 increases mandatory fines for certain prostitution-related offenses in Utah. It raises the minimum fine for patronizing an adult sex worker or exploiting prostitution from $5,000 to $10,000 for repeat offenders, and clarifies that higher fines ($20,000 minimum) for offenses involving children only apply to offenders aged 18 or older. The bill also requires courts to mandate completion of an educational program about prostitution's harms for all convicted offenders. These changes directly affect individuals convicted of specific sex crime offenses under Utah law, with no new state funding required.