# Utah H.B. 289: Child Sexual Abuse Material Amendments Utah H.B. 289, Child Sexual Abuse Material Amendments, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by Ariel Defay (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-24 (Governor Signed) (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB289-2026GS - 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. 289 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Child Sexual Abuse Material Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-19 - Last action: 2026-03-24, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Ariel Defay (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Technology, Public Utilities and Technology, Crimes, Judicial Operations, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Sexual Offenses, Artificial Intelligence, Offender Registries - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 5 (119 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 13 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Crime reporters get broader prostitution charge protection: benefit, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, prostitution prosecution protections cover reports of the new apparent and obscene child abuse material crimes. Prosecutors cannot charge prostitution when a person engages in it near the time they witness or experience a covered crime or attempt. The person must report that… - Child internet crime investigators cover more images: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah’s Attorney General child internet crime unit also investigates and prosecutes apparent and obscene abuse-material cases. Its scope continues to include child sexual abuse material and online enticement of minors into illegal sexual acts. The law includes no new appropria… - Child protection rules cover AI images: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah’s child sexual abuse material definitions cover qualifying images made with artificial intelligence. Apparent material includes realistic depictions of children who appear under 12 or have prepubescent features. Covered images also include altered depictions that appear… - Repeat offenders face longer prison terms: cost, high. Beginning May 6, 2026, the new material offenses enter Utah’s repeat-offender sentencing rules. Each qualifying prior sex-offense conviction adds five years to both the minimum and maximum sentence, with consecutive mandatory imprisonment. The prior conviction must precede the new offense and come… - Youth sentencing guidelines address new image crimes: cost, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah’s juvenile sentencing guidelines must address sanctions for the new apparent and obscene material offenses. They must include offense-specific factors that can increase or reduce the sanction. This provision does not set a particular sanction or amount. - Care applicants face stricter background checks: mixed, high. Beginning May 6, 2026, covered applicants lose direct-access approval after a listed material-offense conviction within three years before their background check. A limited exception covers certain peer-support and mental-health jobs serving only adults with a primary mental-health diagnosis, with… - Custody and adoption face new conviction limits: mixed, high. Beginning May 6, 2026, courts generally cannot grant nonparent custody or approve adoption after qualifying new material-offense felonies or attempted felonies. Convictions, guilty pleas, and no-contest pleas count before the custody order or adoption is finalized. Applicants must establish an exce… - New felonies for obscene child abuse material: mixed, high. Beginning May 6, 2026, knowingly or intentionally making, sharing, or receiving obscene child sexual abuse material is a second-degree felony. Possession with intent to share is also covered, unless the conduct falls under the existing exploitation offenses. A defense requires defendants not to hav… - New felonies for realistic child abuse images: mixed, high. Beginning May 6, 2026, intentionally or knowingly possessing or viewing apparent child sexual abuse material is a second-degree felony. Accessing or keeping access with intent to view is also covered. Intentionally making or sharing it is a first-degree felony, reduced to second-degree when the act… - Registry expands, with limited removal paths: mixed, high. Beginning May 6, 2026, the new material offenses become registrable, including equivalent out-of-state offenses with qualifying Utah connections. Qualifying registrable attempts, solicitations, and conspiracies require 10 years of registration after the sentence ends. Certain prior convictions or p… - Library users face broader internet filters: mixed, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, public libraries providing internet access must meet expanded filtering rules to receive state funds. Their policies and filters must block apparent and obscene child sexual abuse material alongside already covered material. Filters must protect minors using wired or wireless… - Technicians must report, good-faith workers get protection: mixed, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, paid computer technicians must immediately report covered abuse material they view or reasonably believe they encounter. Reports can go to law enforcement, the national Cyber Tip Line, or a designated employer employee. Willful failure remains a class B misdemeanor; specified… - Sensitive images face tighter access controls: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, lawyers cannot leave apparent or obscene child sexual abuse material with prisoners at Utah jails. Those materials are excluded from the government-record definition, blocking access through that public-records route. The covered department and its divisions must apply retent… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Ariel Defay (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Calvin R. Musselman (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-06 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 25 | 0 | | | 2026-02-27 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | | 2026-02-17 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 71 | 0 | | | 2026-02-05 | House | House Comm - Amendment Recommendation | pass | 9 | 0 | | | 2026-02-05 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 9 | 0 | | ## Actions (33) - 2026-03-24: Governor Signed - 2026-03-16: House/ to Governor (House) - 2026-03-16: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2026-03-12: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2026-03-12: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-10: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-10: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2026-03-06: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ 2nd Reading Calendar to Rules (Senate) - 2026-03-02: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-02: Senate/ committee report favorable (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-25: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-18: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-17: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-17: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-17: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-06: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-02-06: House/ comm rpt/ amended (House) - 2026-02-05: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-05: House Comm - Amendment 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) - 2026-01-20: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House) - 2026-01-19: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-12: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0289.pdf) - Amended 2/9/2026 11:02:103, 2026-02-09: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0289_2026-02-09_11-20-23.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-19: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0289.pdf) ## Related bills - H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments (signed) - H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments (signed) - H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments (signed) - H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments (signed) - H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments (signed) - H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0289.pdf) - [Amended 2/9/2026 11:02:103 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0289_2026-02-09_11-20-23.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0289.pdf) ## Related - [H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB136-2026GS) - [H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB101-2026GS) - [H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB134-2026GS) - [H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB178-2026GS) - [H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB94-2026GS) - [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-HB289-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).