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House approves criminal restitution overhaul; debate centers on pretrial asset preservation and due process (HB 26 passes 39-35)
Summary
The House passed HB 26, a package of criminal restitution amendments that centralizes restitution statutes, formalizes prosecutor duties and allows pretrial preservation of assets for victim payment. Supporters described it as a long-sought improvement for victims; opponents raised due-process and lien-priority concerns.
The Utah House passed House Bill 26, a criminal restitution bill, by a vote of 39-35 after floor amendments and extended debate over pretrial preservation of assets and due process.
Representative Cheryl Allen, sponsor, explained the measure as the product of two years of work by the Council on Victims to gather restitution provisions into a single statute. "Typically on the books required in restitution in Utah, there is a value of about 30 to $40,000,000 that the courts are asking that offenders pay to victims," Allen said, adding that actual annual payments are "approximately $3,000,000 a year." The bill creates duties for law enforcement and prosecutors, provides for pretrial preservation of assets tied to alleged crimes and establishes a priority of payment to victims.
Floor amendment number 4 (pink sheet) was adopted; it allows prejudgment interest on payments to victims, extends certain prosecutor duties to municipal attorneys and adds constraints on pretrial asset preservation, including a requirement that prosecutors establish the estimated value of the property in question.
Several members questioned whether the prosecutor-led valuation language improperly limited judicial discretion and whether the statute could displace prior lien holders. Representative Hatch said he was concerned the amendment "presumes we are guilty until proven innocent" because of asset freezes before trials; Representative Clark asked whether prior liens would fall behind victim claims. Representative Allen and counsel responded that the court makes the ultimate determination and that the statute does not override contractual obligations such as mortgages.
Voting was briefly delayed by a call of the House to locate absent members during the final tally; after the call was lifted the House closed voting and passed HB 26, which will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.
