# Utah S.B. 290: Victim and Witness Privacy Amendments Utah S.B. 290, Victim and Witness Privacy Amendments, is a 2026 General Session Senate bill sponsored by Heidi Balderree (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-23 (Governor Signed) (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB290-2026GS - 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. 290 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Victim and Witness Privacy Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-02-12 - Last action: 2026-03-23, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Heidi Balderree (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Electronic Privacy, Technology, Criminal Procedure, Judicial Operations, Victims - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 8 (109 yes, 3 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Defendants get notices about investigated devices: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, prosecutors must disclose required electronic evidence under Utah’s criminal court rules. When they disclose it, they must identify each device law enforcement received, searched, or downloaded during the charged-offense investigation. The notice must state whether electronic… - Court-paid lawyers but limits for self-represented defendants: mixed, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, self-represented criminal defendants cannot personally access, view, search, or copy private victim or witness data. This includes defendants who have not yet hired a lawyer. When a defendant seeks access, the judge must appoint a lawyer if a search is necessary for a fair pr… - Victim privacy protections limit defense access: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah protects private victim and witness data that is not evidence required for disclosure. The data must be nonpublic and carry a reasonable expectation of privacy. Agencies must use it only for legitimate law enforcement or prosecution purposes and keep it in a controlled s… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Heidi Balderree (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Ariel Defay (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-06 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 61 | 0 | | | 2026-03-04 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 9 | 0 | | | 2026-03-03 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-03 | Senate | Senate/ substituted | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-03 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 26 | 0 | | | 2026-03-02 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-24 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 7 | 0 | | | 2026-02-24 | Senate | Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 6 | 3 | | ## Actions (38) - 2026-03-23: Governor Signed - 2026-03-13: Senate/ to Governor (Senate) - 2026-03-13: Senate/ received enrolled bill from Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-11: Senate/ enrolled bill to Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-11: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-10: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-10: Bill Received from Senate for Enrolling - 2026-03-06: Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-06: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-03-05: House/ Rules to 3rd Reading Calendar (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ 3rd Reading Calendar to Rules (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-03-04: House/ committee report favorable (House) - 2026-03-04: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-03-03: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-03-03: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-03-03: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-03: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Senate/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2026-03-02: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2026-03-02: Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-02-25: Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-02-24: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-24: Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-02-20: Senate Comm - Not Considered - 2026-02-18: Senate Comm - Not Considered - 2026-02-17: Senate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Senate/ received bill from Legislative Research (Senate) - 2026-02-12: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-11: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/SB0290.pdf) - Substitute #3, 2026-03-02: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0290S03.pdf) - Substitute #2, 2026-02-23: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0290S02.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-02-20: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0290S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-02-12: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0290.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/SB0290.pdf) - [Substitute #3 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0290S03.pdf) - [Substitute #2 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0290S02.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0290S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0290.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-SB290-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).