Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 276 First Substitute (2024GS)

Sponsor

Rep. MacPherson, M.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/13/2024

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• permits the Utah Office for Victims of Crimes to establish the option to award a lump sum payment for a crime-related death or disability through administrative rule;
• requires law enforcement agencies to provide copies of investigative reports to the Utah Office for Victims of Crimes to assist the office in performing its official duties;
• establishes timelines, procedures, and sharing restrictions in relation to the request and provision of documents;
• establishes a criminal penalty for unauthorized use or distribution of an investigative report; and
• makes conforming amendments.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

CRIME VICTIMS REPARATIONS AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Matt MacPherson
Senate Sponsor: 
____________
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies provisions related to victim reparations and the Utah Office for
Victims of Crimes.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ permits the Utah Office for Victims of Crimes to establish the option to award a
lump sum payment for a crime-related death or disability through administrative
rule;
▸ requires law enforcement agencies to provide copies of investigative reports to the
Utah Office for Victims of Crimes to assist the office in performing its official
duties;
▸ establishes timelines, procedures, and sharing restrictions in relation to the request
and provision of documents;
▸ establishes a criminal penalty for unauthorized use or distribution of an
investigative report; and
▸ makes conforming amendments.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63M-7-502
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 148, 185 and 430
63M-7-511
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 158
77-37-4
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 335
ENACTS:
63M-7-527
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
63M-7-502
 is amended to read:
63M-7-502.
Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Accomplice" means an individual who has engaged in criminal conduct as
described in Section 
76-2-202
.
(2) "Advocacy services provider" means the same as that term is defined in Section
77-38-403
.
(3) "Board" means the Crime Victim Reparations and Assistance Board created under
Section 
63M-7-504
.
(4) "Bodily injury" means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical
condition.
(5) "Claimant" means any of the following claiming reparations under this part:
(a) a victim;
(b) a dependent of a deceased victim; or
(c) an individual or representative who files a reparations claim on behalf of a victim.
(6) "Child" means an unemancipated individual who is under 18 years old.
(7) "Collateral source" means any source of benefits or advantages for economic loss
otherwise reparable under this part that the victim or claimant has received, or that is readily
available to the victim from:
(a) the offender;
(b) the insurance of the offender or the victim;
(c) the United States government or any of its agencies, a state or any of its political
subdivisions, or an instrumentality of two or more states, except in the case on nonobligatory
state-funded programs;
(d) social security, Medicare, and Medicaid;
(e) state-required temporary nonoccupational income replacement insurance or
disability income insurance;
(f) workers' compensation;
(g) wage continuation programs of any employer;
(h) proceeds of a contract of insurance payable to the victim for the loss the victim
sustained because of the criminally injurious conduct;
(i) a contract providing prepaid hospital and other health care services or benefits for
disability; or
(j) veteran's benefits, including veteran's hospitalization benefits.
(8) "Criminal justice system victim advocate" means the same as that term is defined in
Section 
77-38-403
.
(9) (a) "Criminally injurious conduct" other than acts of war declared or not declared
means conduct that:
(i) is or would be subject to prosecution in this state under Section 
76-1-201
;
(ii) occurs or is attempted;
(iii) causes, or poses a substantial threat of causing, bodily injury or death;
(iv) is punishable by fine, imprisonment, or death if the individual engaging in the
conduct possessed the capacity to commit the conduct; and
(v) does not arise out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle,
aircraft, or water craft, unless the conduct is:
(A) intended to cause bodily injury or death;
(B) punishable under Title 76, Chapter 5, Offenses Against the Individual; or
(C) chargeable as an offense for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
(b) "Criminally injurious conduct" includes a felony violation of Section 
76-7-101
 and
other conduct leading to the psychological injury of an individual resulting from living in a
setting that involves a bigamous relationship.
(10) (a) "Dependent" means a natural person to whom the victim is wholly or partially
legally responsible for care or support.
(b) "Dependent" includes a child of the victim born after the victim's death.
(11) "Dependent's economic loss" means loss after the victim's death of contributions
of things of economic value to the victim's dependent, not including services the dependent
would have received from the victim if the victim had not suffered the fatal injury, less
expenses of the dependent avoided by reason of victim's death.
(12) "Dependent's replacement services loss" means loss reasonably and necessarily
incurred by the dependent after the victim's death in obtaining services in lieu of those the
decedent would have performed for the victim's benefit if the victim had not suffered the fatal
injury, less expenses of the dependent avoided by reason of the victim's death and not
subtracted in calculating the dependent's economic loss.
(13) "Director" means the director of the office.
(14) "Disposition" means the sentencing or determination of penalty or punishment to
be imposed upon an individual:
(a) convicted of a crime;
(b) found delinquent; or
(c) against whom a finding of sufficient facts for conviction or finding of delinquency
is made.
(15) (a) "Economic loss" means economic detriment consisting only of allowable
expense, work loss, replacement services loss, and if injury causes death, dependent's economic
loss and dependent's replacement service loss.
(b) "Economic loss" includes economic detriment even if caused by pain and suffering
or physical impairment.
(c) "Economic loss" does not include noneconomic detriment.
(16) "Elderly victim" means an individual who is 60 years old or older and who is a
victim.
(17) "Fraudulent claim" means a filed reparations based on material misrepresentation
of fact and intended to deceive the reparations staff for the purpose of obtaining reparation
funds for which the claimant is not eligible.
(18) "Fund" means the Crime Victim Reparations Fund created in Section 
63M-7-526
.
(19) (a) "Interpersonal violence" means an act involving violence, physical harm, or a
threat of violence or physical harm, that is committed by an individual who is or has been in a
domestic, dating, sexual, or intimate relationship with the victim.
(b) "Interpersonal violence" includes any attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation of an act
described in Subsection (19)(a).
(20) "Law enforcement agency" means a public or private agency having general police
power and charged with making arrests in connection with enforcement of the criminal statutes
and ordinances of this state or any political subdivision.
[
(20)
] 
(21)
 "Law enforcement officer" means the same as that term is defined in
Section 
53-13-103
.
[
(21)
] 
(22)
 (a) "Medical examination" means a physical examination necessary to
document criminally injurious conduct.
(b) "Medical examination" does not include mental health evaluations for the
prosecution and investigation of a crime.
[
(22)
] 
(23)
 "Mental health counseling" means outpatient and inpatient counseling
necessitated as a result of criminally injurious conduct, is subject to rules made by the board in
accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
[
(23)
] 
(24)
 "Misconduct" means conduct by the victim that was attributable to the
injury or death of the victim as provided by rules made by the board in accordance with Title
63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
[
(24)
] 
(25)
 "Noneconomic detriment" means pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical
impairment, and other nonpecuniary damage, except as provided in this part.
[
(25)
] 
(26)
 "Nongovernment organization victim advocate" means the same as that
term is defined in Section 
77-38-403
.
[
(26)
] 
(27)
 "Pecuniary loss" does not include loss attributable to pain and suffering
except as otherwise provided in this part.
[
(27)
] 
(28)
 "Offender" means an individual who has violated Title 76, Utah Criminal
Code, through criminally injurious conduct regardless of whether the individual is arrested,
prosecuted, or convicted.
[
(28)
] 
(29)
 "Offense" means a violation of Title 76, Utah Criminal Code.
[
(29)
] 
(30)
 "Office" means the director, the reparations and assistance officers, and any
other staff employed for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this part.
[
(30)
] 
(31)
 "Perpetrator" means the individual who actually participated in the
criminally injurious conduct.
[
(31)
] 
(32)
 "Reparations award" means money or other benefits provided to a claimant
or to another on behalf of a claimant after the day on which a reparations claim is approved by
the office.
[
(32)
] 
(33)
 "Reparations claim" means a claimant's request or application made to the
office for a reparations award.
[
(33)
] 
(34)
 (a) "Reparations officer" means an individual employed by the office to
investigate claims of victims and award reparations under this part.
(b) "Reparations officer" includes the director when the director is acting as a
reparations officer.
[
(34)
] 
(35)
 "Replacement service loss" means expenses reasonably and necessarily
incurred in obtaining ordinary and necessary services in lieu of those the injured individual
would have performed, not for income but the benefit of the injured individual or the injured
individual's dependents if the injured individual had not been injured.
[
(35)
] 
(36)
 (a) "Representative" means the victim, immediate family member, legal
guardian, attorney, conservator, executor, or an heir of an individual.
(b) "Representative" does not include a service provider or collateral source.
[
(36)
] 
(37)
 "Restitution" means the same as that term is defined in Section 
77-38b-102
.
[
(37)
] 
(38)
 "Secondary victim" means an individual who is traumatically affected by
the criminally injurious conduct subject to rules made by the board in accordance with Title
63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
[
(38)
] 
(39)
 "Service provider" means an individual or agency who provides a service to
a victim for a monetary fee, except attorneys as provided in Section 
63M-7-524
.
[
(39)
] 
(40)
 "Serious bodily injury" means the same as that term is defined in Section
76-1-101.5
.
[
(40)
] 
(41)
 "Sexual assault" means any criminal conduct described in Title 76, Chapter
5, Part 4, Sexual Offenses.
[
(41)
] 
(42)
 "Strangulation" means any act involving the use of unlawful force or
violence that:
(a) impedes breathing or the circulation of blood; and
(b) is likely to produce a loss of consciousness by:
(i) applying pressure to the neck or throat of an individual; or
(ii) obstructing the nose, mouth, or airway of an individual.
[
(42)
] 
(43)
 "Substantial bodily injury" means the same as that term is defined in
Section 
76-1-101.5
.
[
(43)
] 
(44)
 (a) "Victim" means an individual who suffers bodily or psychological injury
or death as a direct result of:
(i) criminally injurious conduct; or
(ii) the production of pornography in violation of Section 
76-5b-201
 or 
76-5b-201.1
 if
the individual is a minor.
(b) "Victim" does not include an individual who participated in or observed the judicial
proceedings against an offender unless otherwise provided by statute or rule made in
accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
[
(44)
] 
(45)
 "Work loss" means loss of income from work the injured victim would
have performed if the injured victim had not been injured and expenses reasonably incurred by
the injured victim in obtaining services in lieu of those the injured victim would have
performed for income, reduced by any income from substitute work the injured victim was
capable of performing but unreasonably failed to undertake.
Section 2. Section 
63M-7-511
 is amended to read:
63M-7-511.
Compensable losses and amounts.
A reparations award under this part may be made if:
(1) the reparations officer finds the reparations claim satisfies the requirements for the
reparations award under the provisions of this part and the rules of the board;
(2) money is available in the fund;
(3) the individual for whom the reparations award is to be paid is otherwise eligible
under this part; and
(4) the reparations claim is for an allowable expense incurred by the victim, as follows:
(a) reasonable and necessary charges incurred for products, services, and
accommodations;
(b) inpatient and outpatient medical treatment and physical therapy, subject to rules
made by the board in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking
Act;
(c) mental health counseling that:
(i) is set forth in a mental health treatment plan that is approved before any payment is
made by a reparations officer; and
(ii) qualifies within any further rules made by the board in accordance with Title 63G,
Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act;
(d) actual loss of past earnings and anticipated loss of future earnings because of a
death or disability resulting from the personal injury at a rate not to exceed 66-2/3% of the
individual's weekly gross salary or wages or the maximum amount allowed under the state
workers' compensation statute;
(e) a lump sum award in the event of a crime-related death or disability, as established
by the board in administrative rule;
[
(e)
] 
(f)
 care of minor children enabling a victim or spouse of a victim, but not both, to
continue gainful employment at a rate per child per week as determined under rules established
by the board in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act;
[
(f)
] 
(g)
 funeral and burial expenses for death caused by the criminally injurious
conduct, subject to rules made by the board in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
Administrative Rulemaking Act;
[
(g)
] 
(h)
 loss of support to a dependent not otherwise compensated for a pecuniary loss
for personal injury, for as long as the dependence would have existed had the victim survived,
at a rate not to exceed 66-2/3% of the individual's weekly salary or wages or the maximum
amount allowed under the state workers' compensation statute, whichever is less;
[
(h)
] 
(i)
 personal property necessary and essential to the health or safety of the victim
as defined by rules made by the board in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
Administrative Rulemaking Act;
[
(i)
] 
(j)
 medical examinations, subject to rules made by the board in accordance with
Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, which may allow for exemptions
from Sections 
63M-7-509
, 
63M-7-512
, and 
63M-7-513
; and
[
(j)
] 
(k)
 for a victim of sexual assault who becomes pregnant from the sexual assault,
health care:
(i) for the victim during the duration of the victim's pregnancy if the health care is
related to or resulting from the sexual assault or the pregnancy; and
(ii) for the victim and the victim's child for one year after the day on which the victim's
child is born.
Section 3. Section 
63M-7-527
 is enacted to read:
 63M-7-527.
Determination of eligibility for victim reparations -- Law enforcement
agency to provide investigative reports -- Restrictions on usage -- Criminal penalty.
(1) (a) Notwithstanding Section 
63G-2-206
, a law enforcement agency shall provide a
complete copy of an investigative report to the office within five business days of the date the
office requests a copy of the report.
(b) The investigative report provided to the office shall:
(i) provide sufficient information for the office to determine whether a victim is
eligible for a reparations award; and
(ii) include all supplemental or follow-up reports written as of the date of production of
the report.
(c) A law enforcement agency may not refuse to release an investigative report on the
grounds that the matter is under investigation.
(2) (a) An investigative report provided under this section may only be used for the
purpose of carrying out the provisions of this part.
(b) An investigative report received under this section:
(i) may only be viewed by the office, the board, and legal counsel for the office; and
(ii) may not be further disclosed or disseminated for any reason.
(3) The office shall dispose of or retain an investigative report received under this
section in a secure manner.
(4) An investigative report provided to the office under this section is not subject to the
provisions of Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act.
(5) A public employee or other person who knowingly or intentionally uses or
distributes an investigative report, or information received from an investigative report, in
violation of the requirements of Subsection (2) is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
Section 4. Section 
77-37-4
 is amended to read:
77-37-4.
Additional rights -- Children.
In addition to all rights afforded to victims and witnesses under this chapter, child
victims and witnesses shall be afforded these rights:
(1) Children have the right to protection from physical and emotional abuse during
their involvement with the criminal justice process.
(2) Children are not responsible for inappropriate behavior adults commit against them
and have the right not to be questioned, in any manner, nor to have allegations made, implying
this responsibility. Those who interview children have the responsibility to consider the
interests of the child in this regard.
(3) Child victims and witnesses have the right to have interviews relating to a criminal
prosecution kept to a minimum. All agencies shall coordinate interviews and ensure that they
are conducted by persons sensitive to the needs of children.
(4) Child victims have the right to be informed of available community resources that
might assist them and how to gain access to those resources. Law enforcement and prosecutors
have the duty to ensure that child victims are informed of community resources, including
counseling prior to the court proceeding, and have those services available throughout the
criminal justice process.
(5) (a) Child victims have the right, once an investigation has been initiated by law
enforcement or the Division of Child and Family Services, to keep confidential their interviews
that are conducted at a Children's Justice Center, including video and audio recordings, and
transcripts of those recordings. Except as provided in Subsection (6), recordings and
transcripts of interviews may not be distributed, released, or displayed to anyone without a
court order.
(b) A court order described in Subsection (5)(a):
(i) shall describe with particularity to whom the recording or transcript of the interview
may be released and prohibit further distribution or viewing by anyone not named in the order;
and
(ii) may impose restrictions on access to the materials considered reasonable to protect
the privacy of the child victim.
(c) A parent or guardian of the child victim may petition a juvenile or district court for
an order allowing the parent or guardian to view a recording or transcript upon a finding of
good cause. The order shall designate the agency that is required to display the recording or
transcript to the parent or guardian and shall prohibit viewing by anyone not named in the
order.
(d) Following the conclusion of any legal proceedings in which the recordings or
transcripts are used, the court shall order the recordings and transcripts in the court's file sealed
and preserved.
(6) (a) The following offices and their designated employees may distribute and receive
a recording or transcript to and from one another without a court order:
(i) the Division of Child and Family Services;
(ii) administrative law judges employed by the Department of Human Services;
(iii) Department of Human Services investigators investigating the Division of Child
and Family Services or investigators authorized to investigate under Section 
80-2-703
;
(iv) an office of the city attorney, county attorney, district attorney, or attorney general;
(v) a law enforcement agency;
(vi) a Children's Justice Center established under Section 
67-5b-102
; or
(vii) the attorney for the child who is the subject of the interview.
(b) In a criminal case or in a juvenile court in which the state is a party:
(i) the parties may display and enter into evidence a recording or transcript in the
course of a prosecution;
(ii) the state's attorney may distribute a recording or transcript to the attorney for the
defendant, pro se defendant, respondent, or pro se respondent pursuant to a valid request for
discovery;
(iii) the attorney for the defendant or respondent may do one or both of the following:
(A) release the recording or transcript to an expert retained by the attorney for the
defendant or respondent if the expert agrees in writing that the expert will not distribute,
release, or display the recording or transcript to anyone without prior authorization from the
court; or
(B) permit the defendant or respondent to view the recording or transcript, but may not
distribute or release the recording or transcript to the defendant or respondent; and
(iv) the court shall advise a pro se defendant or respondent that a recording or
transcript received as part of discovery is confidential and may not be distributed, released, or
displayed without prior authorization from the court.
(c) A court's failure to advise a pro se defendant or respondent that a recording or
transcript received as part of discovery is confidential and may not be used as a defense to
prosecution for a violation of the disclosure rule.
(d) In an administrative case, pursuant to a written request, the Division of Child and
Family Services may display, but may not distribute or release, a recording or transcript to the
respondent or to the respondent's designated representative.
(e) (i) Within two business days of a request from a parent or guardian of a child
victim, an investigative agency shall allow the parent or guardian to view a recording after the
conclusion of an interview, unless:
(A) the suspect is a parent or guardian of the child victim;
(B) the suspect resides in the home with the child victim; or
(C) the investigative agency determines that allowing the parent or guardian to view
the recording would likely compromise or impede the investigation.
(ii) If the investigative agency determines that allowing the parent or guardian to view
the recording would likely compromise or impede the investigation, the parent or guardian may
petition a juvenile or district court for an expedited hearing on whether there is good cause for
the court to enter an order allowing the parent or guardian to view the recording in accordance
with Subsection (5)(c).
(iii) A Children's Justice Center shall coordinate the viewing of the recording described
in this Subsection (6)(e).
(f) A multidisciplinary team assembled by a Children's Justice Center or an
interdisciplinary team assembled by the Division of Child and Family Services may view a
recording or transcript, but may not receive a recording or transcript.
(g) A Children's Justice Center:
(i) may distribute or display a recording or transcript to an authorized trainer or
evaluator for purposes of training or evaluation; and
(ii) may display, but may not distribute, a recording or transcript to an authorized
trainee.
(h) An authorized trainer or instructor may display a recording or transcript according
to the terms of the authorized trainer's or instructor's contract with the Children's Justice Center
or according to the authorized trainer's or instructor's scope of employment.
(i) (i) In an investigation under Section 
53E-6-506
, in which a child victim who is the
subject of the recording or transcript has alleged criminal conduct against an educator, a law
enforcement agency may distribute or release the recording or transcript to an investigator
operating under State Board of Education authorization, upon the investigator's written request.
(ii) If the respondent in a case investigated under Section 
53E-6-506
 requests a hearing
authorized under that section, the investigator operating under State Board of Education
authorization may display, release, or distribute the recording or transcript to the prosecutor
operating under State Board of Education authorization or to an expert retained by an
investigator.
(iii) Upon request for a hearing under Section 
53E-6-506
, a prosecutor operating under
State Board of Education authorization may display the recording or transcript to a pro se
respondent, to an attorney retained by the respondent, or to an expert retained by the
respondent.
(iv) The parties to a hearing authorized under Section 
53E-6-506
 may display and enter
into evidence a recording or transcript in the course of a prosecution.
(j) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, a law enforcement agency shall
provide an investigative report to the Utah Office for Victims of Crime as provided under
Section 
63M-7-527
.
(7) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is a class B misdemeanor for any
individual to distribute, release, or display any recording or transcript of an interview of a child
victim conducted at a Children's Justice Center.
Section 5. 
Effective date.
This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.