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House amends and passes electronic-device warrant bill, adds July 1 effective date
Summary
Lawmakers amended and approved First Substitute House Bill 128 to update warrant procedures for digital devices — including requirements to delete non-target data and to notify targets — and set the effective date to July 1; the bill passed 71–2.
The Utah House amended and approved First Substitute House Bill 128 on March 3 to modernize how law enforcement handles information stored on electronic devices.
Representative Ryan Wilcox, sponsor of the measure, said the bill treats data on smartphones and tablets as the modern equivalent of “papers and effects” and requires warrants for searches of those digital contents. He told colleagues the bill requires non-target data collected by temporary digital collection equipment to be deleted within a reasonable period, allows judicially authorized notification extensions for investigations, and changed the effective date to July 1 to give courts time to implement e-warrant procedures.
Representative Handy, who praised the sponsor, said committee testimony and a demonstration highlighted the volume of private information carried on personal devices and urged support. Representative Greenwood asked whether agencies that formerly opposed the bill would now support it after the amendment; Representative Wilcox said agencies had asked for the changes but he had not yet formally sought their endorsement.
Vote and next steps: After brief floor discussion and a waived summation the House voted 71 yes to 2 no to pass the amended bill; the measure will be transmitted to the Senate.
