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House committee rejects bill that would limit retroactive parentage liability

House Judiciary Committee · February 19, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

A House Judiciary Committee motion to favorably recommend HB 208, a bill that would narrow retrospective child-support liability in certain parentage actions and allow some children to bring parentage claims to age 26, failed on a 4–6 roll call after sponsor testimony and committee questions.

Representative Watkins introduced House Bill 208, "Parentage Amendments," telling the committee a constituent’s case motivated the change: a man learned as an adult he was the father of a 15‑year‑old and faced potential child‑support exposure. The sponsor said the bill would align Utah with neighboring states by limiting how far back past‑support liabilities can be pursued in the chapter at issue and by allowing some children born on or after May 6, 2026, to bring…

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