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House reopens indecent‑display statute to make it prosecutable, sponsor says
Summary
Representatives debated first substitute HB 236, amendments intended to narrow an outdated indecent‑display statute and define "serious value" for minors so prosecutors and courts can enforce the law; opponents warned the changes may remain vulnerable to constitutional challenge.
Representative Jenna Wallace, sponsor of first substitute House Bill 236, told the House the bill aims to "tighten, not lessen" Utah's indecent‑display laws and make them prosecutable by clarifying what material lacks "serious value" for minors.
Wallace said the Attorney General's Office asked the Legislature to sponsor revisions because the current language is too vague for courts to uphold and for prosecutors to win cases. The substitute inserts a definition of "serious value" — "having a serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for persons younger…
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