Senate passes judicial amendments bill updating court fees, jurisdiction and surcharges

House Bill 330, a set of judicial amendments described by the sponsor as largely housekeeping, advanced in the Utah Senate and was returned to the House for enrollment after a unanimous-like vote.

Senator Hilliard, who brought the bill to the floor, said the measure updates and corrects several judicial provisions. "First of all, it's a ... housekeeping type of a Lehi piece that comes each year as we update and correct some of the judicial provisions," he said. The bill makes several discrete changes: it directs the state's portion of interest collected by justice courts on criminal fines and surcharges to the state; it removes duplicate language about county-attorney duties; it clarifies fees applied to counterclaims seeking equitable relief; it confirms district-court jurisdiction over protective orders filed by minors involving stepparents; and it specifies that criminal surcharges do not apply when a court imposes compensatory service hours in lieu of a monetary payment. The bill also raises the fee for court-reporter records from $3.25 to $3.50 per page, with the 25¢ increase earmarked for court-reporter equipment.

The question on final passage was called under suspension of the rules; the clerk conducted a roll call and the chamber reported the bill passed with 28 aye votes, no nays and one absence. President Beatty directed that the bill be returned to the House for finding and enrolling.

The bill sponsors and supporters framed the package as technical corrections and administrative clarifications rather than substantive policy changes. No substantive amendments or further debate were recorded on the floor during this action. The next procedural step is enrollment in the House, after which the bill will proceed according to the legislature's enrollment and signature process.