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Senate preserves parental presumption for intact families while granting grandparents standing
Summary
After extended debate, the Senate amended and passed Senate Bill 166 to give grandparents standing to petition for visitation but reinstated a parental‑presumption clause limited to 'intact families' to address constitutional and practical concerns.
Senate Bill 166, offering grandparents the statutory right to petition for visitation, drew substantial debate on Feb. 14, 2000 about family autonomy and possible unintended consequences.
Sponsor Senator Spencer said the measure "simply gives the grandparents the right to go to the court and ask" and leaves ultimate visitation determinations to the judge. Opponents and some committee members warned that removing a parental presumption could invite disruptive litigation in intact families; Senator Hillier and others argued for preserving parental primacy where both natural parents live with the child.
On a substitute motion the Senate reinstituted the previously stricken presumption but limited it explicitly to "intact families only," a change the sponsor accepted for further refinement. The Senate then voted; the clerk recorded the result as "Senate Bill 166 has 27 aye votes, 2 nay votes" and the bill passed to the third‑reading calendar as amended.
What happens next: the bill was sent to third reading with the 'intact families' clarification; senators indicated further technical clarifications or amendments might be offered on third reading or in conference.
Sources: Floor debate and roll‑call sequence recorded in the Utah State Senate transcript, Feb. 14, 2000.
