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Utah House passes bill to create Council on Victims and Offenders after lawmakers cite rising rape rates
Summary
The House approved HB116 to form a council to study victims and offenders and recommend coordinated responses; sponsor Tricia Beck emphasized victims' needs and cited statistics showing a rise in Utah's forcible-rape rate. The bill passed 69–2 and moves to the Senate.
Representative Tricia S. Beck introduced House Bill 116 to create a council bringing together experts who work with victims and offenders, arguing the state must focus on coordinated prevention and recovery services.
"Victims need us to address this subject," Beck said, urging lawmakers to "bring these experts together" and develop a plan to help families and children harmed by sexual violence. Beck cited figures she said show Utah has "the twelfth highest incident of forcible [rape] in the nation," and that the rate rose from "21.7 per 100,000 in 1987 to 47.5," saying the statistics are "staggering." Representative Beck described a specific victim account to underscore the bill's human impact.
Supporters including Representative Pace and Representative Bordeaux said the council would add voices of victims and provide treatment options for offenders. Representative Bordeaux said treatment of offenders "for eight years is one of our best kept secrets" and urged action to "save our children and our future."
Voting opened immediately after debate. The House recorded 69 yes votes and 2 no votes; HB116 passed and was referred to the Senate for further action.
The measure as presented establishes a multidisciplinary council to study victims and offenders; sponsors framed it as a planning and coordination step rather than an immediate change to sentencing or services. The bill's next procedural step is consideration in the Utah Senate.
