House approves revisions to law on sexual activity with minors after lengthy floor debate

Lawmakers approved House Bill 72 after extended floor debate over how to balance protection for 14‑ and 15‑year‑olds with concerns about criminalizing consensual teenage conduct.

Sponsor Representative Curtis explained HB72 arises from Sentencing Commission work and aims to prevent older adults from targeting vulnerable teens. The bill preserves criminal penalties for specific acts and adds new classifications with age‑difference thresholds of 4 years in some provisions and 7 years in others. "We are trying to tell actors who would be older going into their young teens or young 20s that you are not allowed to target 14 and 15 year olds for this type of conduct," Curtis said.

Floor amendments were proposed to narrow the 7‑year gap to 4 or 5 years; proponents of the amendment argued that larger gaps could allow older adults (20s) to avoid stronger penalties. Opponents warned that the bill is the product of multi‑year compromise through committees, PTA input and the Sentencing Commission and that changing the text risks unraveling that consensus.

Representative Allen and others argued for a stricter standard to avoid creating scenarios where adults in their early‑20s could exploit minors; Representative Tyler and others cautioned that the commission’s negotiated language reflected broad stakeholder input. Representative Curtis emphasized that most conduct described was already a misdemeanor; only certain offenses would be felonious and the bill attempts to avoid over‑criminalization.

After votes on proposed amendments failed, the House approved HB72; the reading clerk reported 73 yes votes and 0 no votes, and the bill was forwarded to the Senate.