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Senate passes amended House Bill 77 defining indecent-liberties offenses after lengthy floor debate
Summary
The Senate adopted a forced substitute to House Bill 77 to replace vague "indecent liberties" language with a detailed statutory definition; sponsors cited recent appellate decisions finding the prior term too vague and said prosecutors collaborated on the new definition.
On March 7 the Utah Senate adopted a forced substitute to House Bill 77 that replaces a generic "indecent liberties" statutory term with more specific language intended to address recent court rulings that the prior term was too vague for enforcement.
Senator Weiler, who described his work with local prosecutors and the bill sponsor, said appellate court decisions revealed the phrase had become ambiguous in enforcement. He described the fourth substitute as the result of stakeholder negotiations and said it is "the best definition we've been able to come up with, to try to solve this void for vagueness, potential issue." The sponsor noted the forced substitute’s core language appears in lines 409 to 417 of the fourth substitute.
Floor discussion acknowledged difficult subject matter; Senator Weiler thanked Senator Zender and others for help narrowing and defining terms. Some senators noted prosecutors had reservations with earlier substitutes, leading to the forced substitute’s more detailed approach. The Senate voted under suspension of the rules and the clerk announced the fourth substitute to House Bill 77 "received 25 yay votes, 0 nay votes, 4 being absent," after which the measure will be sent to the House for further consideration.
