Senate adopts misdemeanor ban on intimate relationships between caregivers and patients in certain care settings

Salt Lake City — The Utah State Senate approved changes to criminal law intended to protect residents of care facilities by making certain intimate relationships between caregivers and patients a misdemeanor-level offense.

Senator Jen Plumb, sponsor of the measure, said the bill grew from concerns raised by the attorney general's office and the victim services commission about power imbalances in extended-care settings and other facilities where unlicensed staff work alongside licensed professionals. "There were individuals who because of power dynamics with their care providers, were being victimized and potentially at risk as patients," Plumb said on the floor when explaining the substitute.

The second substitute adopted on the floor establishes a misdemeanor A prohibition for caregivers who engage in intimate conduct with patients in care settings where the…