Utah House adopts judge-discretion paraphernalia amendment tied to treatment participation

The Utah House on Feb. 29, 2024 approved first substitute Senate Bill 60, a narrowly targeted criminal-justice measure that allows a judge — at the judge’s discretion — to dismiss a class B drug paraphernalia charge for defendants who meet specified requirements tied to treatment participation.

Representative Steve Eliason, the House sponsor, told colleagues the bill is a small component of a broader sequential-intercept model aimed at steering people with substance use disorder into treatment rather than through repeated criminal-processing cycles. "If a individual . . . can prove that they are, have commenced, are continuing or completing a substance use disorder treatment program, the [bill] gives the judge the option to dismiss the charge," Eliason said.

The House adopted Amendment 2, offered by Representative Clancy, which replaced mandatory "shall" language with discretionary "may" language so judges have the option — not the obligation — to dismiss a…