# Utah H.B. 248: Family Law Modifications Utah H.B. 248, Family Law Modifications, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by Raymond P. Ward (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-17 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB248-2026GS - As of: 2026-10-14 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah H.B. 248 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Family Law Modifications - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-13 - Last action: 2026-03-17, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Raymond P. Ward (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Child Support, Child Custody/Parent Time, Family, Judicial Administration, Judicial Operations, Legislative Operations, Sunsets and Repealers, Driver License, Motor Vehicles, Transportation - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 10 (209 yes, 4 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 8 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - More child support reaches assistance families: benefit, high. Beginning July 1, 2028, families whose support rights were assigned for public assistance receive more of their collected child support. As federal rules allow, the monthly amount is up to $100 for one child or $200 for two or more. If the monthly payment is below that limit, the family receives th… - Spousal support collection continues after child support: benefit, medium. Utah’s Office of Recovery Services must collect spousal support in qualifying spousal-support-only cases. Recipients can request continued collection after child-support collection ends and the related case closes, if the office previously collected both together. Collection continues until the sup… - Online court users get fee limits: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah cannot charge for using its Online Court Assistance Program or filing later papers through it. The separate $20 fee for an initial pleading prepared through the program remains. The program must explain how people representing themselves can find relevant records from ot… - Support appeals use courts with jurisdiction: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, individuals can appeal Office of Recovery Services decisions to a court with jurisdiction. The law replaces the prior wording that specified district court. It does not itself change the agency’s decision or provide a monetary award. - Unpaid child support triggers license suspension: cost, high. Utah’s Office of Recovery Services must order driver’s license suspension for qualifying child-support debt arising on or after May 6, 2026. The person must owe at least $35,000 and have gone 60 days without a full monthly child-support payment. Suspension follows a final finding after the hearing… - Late child support carries interest: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2027, delinquent child-support payments carry 6% annual interest. Interest applies only to unpaid principal, from the date the payment becomes delinquent until it is paid. - Same-sex parents face equal support enforcement: mixed, medium. Utah’s Office of Recovery Services can establish and enforce child support against alleged parents currently or formerly in same-sex marriages. The same terms apply as for other mothers and fathers. This supports collection for children while subjecting those alleged parents to support obligations. - Spousal support shifts to electronic payments: mixed, low. In spousal-support-only cases, recipients must receive payments electronically through a bank account or an account accessible by card. Rules may allow exceptions for undue hardship to the office or a person, or payments unlikely to recur. People paying support can make written automatic-withdrawal… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Raymond P. Ward (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Michael K. McKell (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-05 | House | House/ concurs with Senate amendment | pass | 65 | 1 | | | 2026-03-04 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 24 | 0 | | | 2026-02-19 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd reading | pass | 24 | 0 | | | 2026-02-19 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-19 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-17 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 6 | 0 | | | 2026-02-17 | Senate | Senate Comm - Amendment Recommendation | pass | 6 | 0 | | | 2026-02-10 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 66 | 3 | | | 2026-01-30 | House | House Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 9 | 0 | | | 2026-01-30 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 9 | 0 | | ## Actions (45) - 2026-03-17: Governor Signed - 2026-03-12: House/ to Governor (House) - 2026-03-12: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2026-03-11: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2026-03-11: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-06: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-06: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2026-03-05: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-05: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ concurs with Senate amendment (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ placed on Concurrence Calendar (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ to House with amendments (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ 3nd Reading Calendar to Rules (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ placed on 3rd Reading Calendar table (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ passed 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ comm rpt/ amended (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-17: Senate Comm - Amendment Recommendation - 2026-02-13: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-11: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-10: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-10: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-10: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-02: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-02-02: House/ comm rpt/ substituted (House) - 2026-01-30: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-01-30: House Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-01-28: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-01-23: House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (House) - 2026-01-20: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-01-14: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House) - 2026-01-13: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0248.pdf) - Amended 2/17/2026 13:02:698, 2026-02-17: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0248S01_2026-02-17_13-21-31.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-01-30: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0248S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-13: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0248.pdf) ## Related bills - H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments (signed) - H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments (signed) - H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments (signed) - H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments (signed) - H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments (signed) - H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0248.pdf) - [Amended 2/17/2026 13:02:698 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0248S01_2026-02-17_13-21-31.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0248S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0248.pdf) ## Related - [H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB94-2026GS) - [H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB101-2026GS) - [H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB178-2026GS) - [H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB134-2026GS) - [H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB136-2026GS) - [H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB220-2026GS) - [Utah bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah/bills) - [Utah state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB248-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).