House lifts medical-neglect bill to top and debates narrowing parental-decision test and burden of proof

The Utah House moved Fourth Substitute Senate Bill 90, a measure on medical neglect and the standard for parental decision-making, to the top of the Senate bills calendar and then debated an amendment that sponsors described as narrowing the statutory test.

Motion to lift: A motion to “lift and move” Fourth Substitute Senate Bill 90 to the top of the third-reading calendar passed 40-33, placing the bill for immediate consideration.

Amendment 4 and its effect: The sponsor introduced Amendment 4 and described it as a focused change that would require courts to assess whether a parent made a "reasonable and prudent health decision" specifically tied to the medical choice at issue, rather than a broader inquiry into whether a parent was generally fit or prudent. The sponsor said this concentrates the inquiry on the health decision itself: "this amendment just looks to see whether the parent made a reasonable and prudent health decision. It really focuses this in."

Standard of proof and controversy: Representative Litvak warned that the bill contains a larger, more controversial change that has not been fully studied: it would change the standard applied in abuse cases from the civil standard of "clear and convincing evidence" to the criminal standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt," she said, calling it "a huge fundamental shift" that lacked interim study and adequate dialogue. Litvak urged caution before adopting such a change late in the session.

Procedure and status: The amendment was offered and debated on the floor; debate continued into the final minutes of the legislative day and the House was at or past midnight when floor time ended. No final recorded disposition of Amendment 4 or of the bill’s passage on third reading is recorded in the transcript excerpt provided.