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House adopts substitute to broaden sentencing aggravator for crimes that incite community unrest
Summary
The Utah House on Feb. 23 adopted a fourth substitute to House Bill 90, creating an aggravating sentencing factor for offenses that cause public harm or are likely to incite community unrest. The substitute passed on the floor and will be sent to the Senate.
The Utah House voted to delete and replace House Bill 90 with a fourth substitute that adds a new aggravating sentencing factor for crimes that cause public harm, including conduct "likely to incite community unrest," the bill’s backers said.
Representative Christiansen, who led floor debate for the substitute, said the change remedies a perceived problem in the existing statute’s intent element. "The current hate crime statute is unworkable, it's broke, it doesn't work," he said, arguing the substitute strikes language that made prosecutions difficult and replaces it with an aggravating factor judges and the Board of Pardons and Parole may consider at sentencing.
Sponsor Representative Litvak described the substitute as a "friendly amendment" and an effort years in the making that reflects consultations with prosecutors and the attorney general's office. Litvak said the measure is intended to give law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools while preserving constitutional protections for lawful expression.
Several members spoke in support. Representative Hughes said the substitute would "reduce the divisiveness, the harmful divisiveness in our community" and urged a unanimous voice vote; Representative Bowman, chair of the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, said he has supported the measure in previous years and urged immediate passage.
Opposition on the floor was limited in the transcript excerpt. In closing and on summation, supporters emphasized that the measure attempts to balance free-speech protections with public-safety concerns: the substitute explicitly states it "does not affect or limit any individual's constitutional right to the lawful expression of free speech."
The House adopted the substitute and voted to pass the bill. Voting opened on the fourth substitute and the clerk reported the result: 67 yes, 5 no, 3 absent. The bill will be referred to the Senate for further consideration.
