House approves custodial-interference changes after debate on enforcement and penalties

The Utah House on Feb. 5 approved first-substitute HB197, a bill the sponsor described as a ‘‘parental rights’’ measure to provide relief for noncustodial parents who are denied court-ordered visitation and to make custodial-interference easier to prosecute while reducing the penalties for most offenses.

Representative Carl Wimmer, the sponsor, said the current statute is ‘‘a law on the books that is just completely useless’’ because it is rarely used; he said the substitute clarifies what custodial interference is and lowers penalties so most cases will be handled in Justice or JP courts rather than district court. An amendment adopted on the floor shortened the recidivism measurement period from three years to two years for escalating penalties.

Floor discussion focused on whether moving what has often been a civil enforcement issue into the criminal code is appropriate and whether the change would increase demands on law enforcement and the courts. Representative Julie Fischer asked why there was no fiscal note for expected enforcement costs; Wimmer responded that because penalties are lowered and cases will be handled in lower courts, he did not expect a notable increase in law-enforcement time beyond current reporting activity. Other members expressed empathy for parents denied visitation but differed on whether the bill would solve the problem.

Outcome and next steps: after floor amendments and debate, first-substitute HB197 passed on a roll-call vote, 62 yes and 10 no, and was sent to the Senate for its consideration.

Source note: all attributions and vote totals are taken from remarks and roll calls read into the record during the Feb. 5 House session.