# Utah S.B. 141: Child Welfare Amendments Utah S.B. 141, Child Welfare Amendments, is a 2026 General Session Senate bill sponsored by Wayne A. Harper (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-17 (Governor Signed) (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB141-2026GS - As of: 2026-10-14 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah S.B. 141 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Child Welfare Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-14 - Last action: 2026-03-17, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Health Insurance, Adoption, Foster Care, Health and Human Services, Division of Child and Family Services, Child Welfare, Department of Health and Human Services - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 6 (135 yes, 1 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Families get clearer child welfare disclosures: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, the child welfare agency must notify every party when it files a covered report or family plan. Parties generally must share information they plan to present at least five days before dispositional hearings and other proceedings. Lawyers and parents without lawyers get access… - Foster parents get earlier removal review: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, foster parents can request court review before removal after 12 months of placement, down from two years. The assigned juvenile court judge handles the review, or another juvenile court judge when the assigned judge is unavailable. The agency must give personal and written ex… - Safe parents get temporary custody priority: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, courts must favor temporary placement with another parent who wants custody, unless placement is unsafe or harmful. This applies when that parent was not living with the child when the events leading to court involvement occurred. The court must record findings about the pare… - More families can set adoption contact: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, adoptive parents and birth parents or relatives can make contact agreements beyond children in agency custody. For enforcement, the court must approve the agreement before adoption and find it serves the child's best interest. Everyone claiming rights or duties must sign, and… - More relatives considered for child placement: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah counts more people as relatives when placing children, including first, second, and third cousins. Relatives include parents, siblings, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-aunts, and great-uncles by blood, marriage, or adoption. Certain permanent guard… - Parents get hearings but face limits: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, courts must hold shelter hearings within 72 hours of covered removals or emergency custody events, excluding weekends and holidays. Personal notice is due within one business day after removal or filing. Notice must explain the hearing, child involved, removal allegations and… - Child welfare records reach more investigators: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, professional licensing investigators can receive protected child welfare records for reported abuse- or neglect-related licensing violations. Authorized sharing also covers education licensing, Indian tribes, certain substance-abuse treatment, adoption agencies, preplacement… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Christine F. Watkins (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-19 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 70 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 6 | 0 | | | 2026-02-10 | Senate | Senate/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 24 | 0 | | | 2026-02-09 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd reading | pass | 25 | 0 | | | 2026-01-26 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 1 | | | 2026-01-26 | Senate | Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | ## Actions (33) - 2026-03-17: Governor Signed - 2026-03-03: Senate/ to Governor (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Senate/ received enrolled bill from Printing (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Senate/ enrolled bill to Printing (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-02-22: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-02-22: Bill Received from Senate for Enrolling - 2026-02-19: Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-19: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-19: House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate (House) - 2026-02-19: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-19: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-17: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-02-17: House/ committee report favorable (House) - 2026-02-13: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-11: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-02-10: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-02-10: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-02-10: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Senate/ passed 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Senate/ passed 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Senate/ 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-01-27: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-01-27: Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-01-26: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-01-26: Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-01-21: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-01-21: Senate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-01-15: Senate/ received bill from Legislative Research (Senate) - 2026-01-14: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-02-25: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/SB0141.pdf) - Substitute #2, 2026-01-26: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0141S02.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-01-20: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0141S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-14: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0141.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/SB0141.pdf) - [Substitute #2 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0141S02.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0141S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0141.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-SB141-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).