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House defeats bill to fund prosecutor focused on crimes in polygamous communities after heated debate
Summary
House rejected HB62, a $200,000 appropriation to add a prosecutor and investigator to pursue crimes occurring 'within polygamous groups.' Lawmakers split over whether the proposal protects victims in closed communities or unfairly singles out a religious/cultural group; amendment to remove the 'polygamous' language failed before the bill lost 28–43.
The Utah House defeated House Bill 62 after an extended and often emotional floor debate over whether a targeted prosecutorial appropriation would protect vulnerable residents in closed communities or improperly single out polygamous groups.
Representative Ron Bigelow, sponsor of HB62, framed the measure as a response to investigative and prosecutorial challenges in isolated, closed communities. The bill would set aside $200,000 (non‑lapsing) for one prosecutor and one investigator in the Attorney General’s Office to focus on crimes that are difficult to investigate at the local level. “If you have a son who is breaking the law, what do you do? Do you ignore it?” Bigelow said in summation, urging action to reach victims who might otherwise be unprotected.
Opponents argued the bill amounted to profiling. Representative Throckmorton described it as “what amounts to as a particularly consistent witch hunt,” and Representative Rowan warned that singling out polygamous communities risked setting a precedent for targeting other groups: “If you substitute instead of polygamous, you put in Islamic… or Hispanic, we’d rightly object,” she said.
Representative Gary Cox offered an amendment to remove language identifying crimes as occurring specifically within “polygamous groups.” Cox argued the appropriation should not statutorily single out a group and suggested existing appropriations and intent language could address enforcement priorities. The House voted on the amendment and the chair ruled the motion failed.
Supporters, including Bigelow, said the language identifies where prosecutors should focus limited resources and that the bill does not criminalize polygamy. Representative Bigelow said the measure would not prosecute polygamy itself but rather crimes committed under a cloak of secrecy.
Representative Short and others questioned whether the Attorney General’s office had requested the funding and whether existing county and state protocols already allowed prosecution; members noted a 1994 protocol described in the transcript in which county attorneys generally handle listed offenses unless they decline.
After debate, the House voted to reject HB62. The final tally was 28 yes and 43 no; the bill failed and was filed.
