# Utah S.B. 185: Child Welfare Parental Representation Program Amendments

Utah S.B. 185, Child Welfare Parental Representation Program Amendments, is a 2026 General Session Senate bill sponsored by Wayne A. Harper (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-23 (Governor Signed) (as of 2026-10-14).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB185-2026GS
- 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. 185
- State: Utah
- Session: 2026 General Session
- Title: Child Welfare Parental Representation Program Amendments
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-22
- Last action: 2026-03-23, Governor Signed
- Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Health and Human Services, Child Welfare, Judicial Operations, Indigent Counsel, Parental Defense
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 5 (116 yes, 1 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Utah strengthens legal support for parents: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah creates a state program to manage parental representation in child welfare cases. The state office must train and advise parents’ lawyers, including lawyers without office contracts. It must support legal services for parents who cannot afford lawyers through Indigent De…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Rex P. Shipp (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-19 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 71 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 11 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-09 | Senate | Senate/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 24 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | Senate | Senate Comm - Consent Calendar Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 |   |

## Actions (31)

- 2026-03-23: 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)
- 2026-02-18: House/ 2nd reading (House)
- 2026-02-18: House/ committee report favorable (House)
- 2026-02-17: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- 2026-02-11: House/ to standing committee (House)
- 2026-02-09: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House)
- 2026-02-09: House/ received from Senate (House)
- 2026-02-09: Senate/ to House (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Senate/ passed 3rd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Senate/ 2nd reading (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Senate/ comm rpt/ placed on Consent Calendar (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Senate Comm - Consent Calendar Recommendation
- 2026-02-03: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- 2026-01-28: Senate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (Senate)
- 2026-01-27: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate)
- 2026-01-23: Senate/ received bill from Legislative Research (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed

## Bill text

- Enrolled, 2026-02-25: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/SB0185.pdf)
- Introduced, 2026-01-22: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0185.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/SB0185.pdf)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0185.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-SB185-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).