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House requires more frequent in-person renewals for some offender‑registry registrants
Summary
First Substitute House Bill 158 was amended to require certain registry registrants to renew driver's licenses yearly in person with proof of residency, lengthen some out‑of‑state reporting windows and reduce mandatory jail in some violations; sponsors said the change helps law enforcement locate noncompliant registrants. (Vote: 67–0)
The Utah House on Feb. 13 approved amendments to First Substitute House Bill 158 that add administrative requirements for some people on the offender registry and change certain reporting timelines.
Representative Dee, who presented the amendment, said the change requires those already on the offender registry to renew their driver's license yearly in person with two forms of identification so law enforcement can verify addresses and reduce the size of the active search list. "This is a way that we can at least, try to locate and know where these people on the registry are exactly residing in the state of Utah," he said on the floor.
Floor amendments altered registration timelines for out-of-state arrivals (changing a 3-day rule to 10 days in some places) and reduced a mandatory one-year jail penalty in the bill text down to a 90-day term with judicial discretion, both changes intended to reduce fiscal impacts while maintaining enforcement tools. Representative Dee emphasized the measure "is not a scarlet letter" and that there will be "nothing on the driver's license for anyone to see that says '*** offender.'"
After floor debate and adoption of amendments, the House approved the bill as amended 67–0; it will be referred to the Senate.
Actions and next steps: the House adopted amendment number 1 under Representative Dee's name, approved First Substitute House Bill 158 by recorded vote, and transmitted the measure to the Senate.
