On Thursday, Feb. 26, HB 137, 102 and 303 passed unanimously in committee meetings. HB 137, or “Violent Crime Clearance Rate Amendments,” is sponsored by Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo. Rep. Sahara Hayes, D-Millcreek, sponsors HB 102, or “Victim Privacy Amendments.” Rep. Paul Cutler, R-Davis County, sponsors HB 303, or “Family Court Amendments.”
The Family Court Amendments passed their recommendation unanimously, 6–0, with the exception of some sections that will go into effect if approved by Gov. Cox. The Violent Crime Clearance Rate and Victim Privacy Amendments will take effect on May 6, 2026.
Violent crime clearance rate
HB 137 is a bipartisan bill intended to support closing unsolved crime cases by providing investigators more tools to bring justice to victims. It will also allow funds to be donated or appropriated by the legislature for the purpose of increasing clearance rates.
In a Senate committee meeting last week, Rep. Clancy explained that the bill aims to help those who have or are currently being affected by cold cases. “I’m sure that everyone in this room knows a family that has been impacted by a cold case. It strengthens detective training and it can also go to things like witness protection,” Clancy said.
Tom Ross, the executive director of the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, backed Clancy up, explaining that the more work that is put in to solve a crime, the more powerful a message will be sent. “It is the best deterrent when we are catching people up front, and we believe this is the right direction to go for our state and to improve our numbers,” Ross said.
In opposition to HB 137, community member Seth Stewart said the bill may incentivize predictive policing. “I just have what many would call civil rights concerts around the political predictive policing prospects here,” Stewart said.
Despite this opposition, it passed its first substitute unanimously. “In the criminal justice system, we wonder, can we make an impact? The answer is absolutely yes,” Clancy said. “ HB 137 is the most effective way to prevent future violence and solve today’s problems.”
Victim privacy
HB 102, also known as “Victim Privacy Amendments,” focuses on the ways in which a crime victim can remove their full name from public databases. The bill will allow for the victim to be referred to by only their initials in response to court orders.
Brett Robinson, Chief Policy Advisor at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, explained that the District Attorney’s Office fully supports this bill.
“This is going to remove one more potential barrier for victims to come forward,” Robinson said. “They don’t choose to be involved in the criminal justice process, and it can be quite difficult. This is one more thing we can do to protect their identity while maintaining all the due process rights available.”
Community member Seth Stewart spoke again in opposition to the bill, explaining that it violates the state’s constitutional right to be confronted as witnesses. “Public trial is public information; redacting victims’ names or substituting initials in their place for anything that should be public information is not allowable for our Constitution,” Stewart said.
Rep. Hayes, the sponsor of HB 102, spoke to The Chronicle earlier in February. She explained that the bill would “fix a broken criminal justice system.”
Family court
HB 303, titled “Family Court Amendments,” passed its second House reading early in February.
This bill targets four major areas of domestic violence and family court:
- Improves court-ordered mental health therapy
- Defines coercive control
- Makes rules around custody evaluators
- Makes adjustments to awarding attorney’s fees, refining criteria to ensure the court orders to pay attorney costs are realistic
On Feb. 11, during a House Judiciary Committee meeting, Rep. Cutler said the bill would improve court processes for those suffering from domestic violence and high conflict divorce cases, with the ultimate goal of keeping kids safe. “I think these are recognized best practices, and we always welcome suggestions to improve them. I think our shared goal is to improve the family court experience for those who must go through it,” Cutler said.
