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Debate over harsher penalties for cellular‑phone cloning prompts House to table SB31 for fiscal review
Summary
Sponsors argued SB31 updates 1994 cellular‑fraud law to criminalize illegal scanning and cloning used by sophisticated criminals; other members questioned elevating penalties to second‑degree felony and whether the fiscal note understates prison impacts, leading the House to circle the bill for further analysis.
Sponsor Representative Scott N. Howell presented Senate Bill 31 as an update to Utah’s 1994 cellular‑fraud statute, telling the House the changes are intended to address increasingly sophisticated criminal uses of stolen or cloned cellular numbers.
"Drug cartel members and gang members who commit violent crimes are now using cellular phones... and cloning devices to steal your number," Howell said during his explanation. He said the bill would ban illegal scanning and cloning and elevate certain…
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