House approves adding Halloween and Valentine’s Day to default parent‑time schedule

The Utah House approved House Bill 3 26, which amends the statutory default parent‑time schedule to include Halloween and Valentine’s Day as non‑overnight parenting time. Representative Scott Daniels, the sponsor, said the change allows the noncustodial parent limited time (after school until 8:00 p.m.) to participate in activities such as trick‑or‑treating and will add roughly four to five hours of parenting time per year compared with the previous schedule.

Daniels described the parent‑time schedule as the default statutory arrangement used when divorcing parties cannot agree on visitation, and said the change reflects requests from a noncustodial‑parent focus group and had not drawn organized opposition from custodial‑parent advocacy groups. He called the bill relatively noncontroversial. The House closed debate, took the vote and the clerk announced HB3 26 passed 56–5; it will be referred to the Senate for further consideration.

Representative Daniels said the holidays are not intended as overnight custodial changes because they often fall on weekdays. The bill will enter the Senate calendar following the House vote.