SB 32 Utah Senate · 2026 General Session

Child Abuse Homicide Corrections

SB 32 corrects a technical error in Utah's child abuse homicide statute by removing an erroneous reference to "child torture" (Section 76-5-109.4), which was already covered under the separate murder offense. The bill does not change penalties or affect new cases but ensures legal clarity by aligning the statute with existing law. It makes this correction effective immediately upon enactment, without appropriating funds. The bill directly affects legal interpretations of child abuse homicide cases where the duplicate reference previously caused confusion. This is a procedural fix to the Utah Code, not a policy change.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Signed into Law
Mar 2026
Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Signed Mar 23, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 23, 2026
MINOR
This bill corrects a legal error where child torture was incorrectly listed as a separate component of child abuse homicide, since it is already covered under murder laws. The revision removes the specific reference to child torture from the statute to avoid redundancy and confusion. It also renumbers the remaining conditions for child abuse homicide to maintain a logical sequence after the removal. The bill includes an immediate effective date.
Scope change
The scope of the offense definition was narrowed by removing a redundant reference to child torture, clarifying that such acts are prosecuted under murder statutes rather than child abuse homicide.
DEFINITION

Removed the specific inclusion of child torture (Section 76-5-109.4) from the definition of acts constituting child abuse homicide, as it is already prosecuted as murder.

TECHNICAL

Reordered and renumbered the remaining conditions for child abuse homicide to reflect the removal of the child torture provision.

TIMELINE

Established an immediate effective date for the changes rather than waiting for the standard legislative session end date.

Floor votes · Senate Jan 20, 2026 · House Feb 5, 2026

How they voted

270
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 29
Jan 20, 2026
D Democratic6
5 Yea 1
83% Yea
N Forward1
1 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican22
21 Yea 1
95% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
33
Key actions
7
Committee
3
Mar 23, 2026
Signed into law
Governor Signed
executive
Feb 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ passed 3rd reading
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
House/ committee report favorable [House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee]
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee]
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Committee
House/ to standing committee [House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee]
lower
Jan 21, 2026
Introduced
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Senate · Passed
Senate Vote: pass (27-0-2)
senate
Jan 20, 2026
Introduced
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors