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House passes child-welfare code changes to codify parental-rights standards from U.S. Supreme Court
Summary
Lawmakers approved first-substitute HB338 to add U.S. Supreme Court parental-rights language into Utah child-welfare code after extended floor debate and multiple amendments; the bill passed 48–20 and will go to the Senate.
Representative LeVar Christiansen, sponsor of first-substitute House Bill 338, told the House he drafted the measure to place in state code language that courts already use from U.S. Supreme Court decisions about parental rights. "Parents have what's called a fundamental liberty interest," Christiansen said, summarizing the standard he lifted from Troxel v. Granville and Santosky v. Kramer. He said the bill seeks to ensure that courts apply "heightened protection" and the…
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