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Utah House passes amended bill to curb patient brokering in substance-treatment referrals
Summary
The House amended and passed House Bill 14 to restrict patient brokering in substance-abuse treatment referrals, removing a mandatory prison term and adding procedural safeguards, and sent the measure to the Senate 67–3.
The Utah House of Representatives on Feb. 1–2 approved an amended measure aimed at curbing unethical patient brokering practices that steer people into substance-abuse treatment programs.
Representative Hutchings, sponsor of the amendment to House Bill 14, told colleagues the change removes language that would have mandated up to five years’ imprisonment and instead leaves sentencing to judicial discretion. He said the amendment clarifies referrals must involve appropriate mental-health or substance-abuse authorities and removes language that could have swept in legitimate county-level referral practices.
"We're taking out the part where it says that they shall or may be imprisoned for up to 5 years," Hutchings said, adding that the prior language should have left punishment to judges. He described the bill as a two-part effort: ensuring facilities operate properly and preventing profit-driven brokers from directing people into inappropriate programs.
Hutchings said the amendment was refined after feedback from Salt Lake County and other local actors and that it narrows the bill to target people who make a business of "sweeping the streets, and throwing them into a program that pays you a whole bunch of money," whether or not the program can help the individual.
The House voted to pass HB 14 as amended, 67–3, and the bill will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.
What it does and why sponsors changed it
The amendment removes the explicit five-year imprisonment provision described in earlier drafts and instead relies on judicial discretion for penalties, Representative Hutchings said. It requires that referrals involve a contracted local mental-health or substance-abuse authority and adds clarifications intended to exclude legitimate public-health coordination from criminal exposure.
Supporters framed the change as protection for vulnerable people and as a measure to eliminate a perverse financial incentive that can drive brokers to place individuals in inappropriate programs. Hutchings and others said the measure complements prior efforts to ensure facilities are properly licensed and subject to oversight.
Next steps
With the House passage, HB 14 goes to the Senate for consideration. The House debate and the amendment record indicate lawmakers expect further technical fixes could be proposed in subsequent committee or floor action.
