# Utah S.B. 71: Evidence Retention Amendments Utah S.B. 71, Evidence Retention 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-SB71-2026GS - 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. 71 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Evidence Retention Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-01-05 - Last action: 2026-03-23, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Abuse, Neglect, or Dependency, Attorneys, Crimes, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Sexual Offenses, Weapons, Assault and Battery, Homicide, Kidnapping - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 7 (133 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - DNA evidence protections for felony defendants: benefit, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah custodians must preserve biological evidence from violent felonies for the longest applicable retention period. This includes custody for listed serious convictions, charging deadlines, and one year after direct appeals end. Timely state postconviction and federal habeas… - Longer evidence protection for felony defendants: benefit, medium. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah agencies must keep felony evidence for the longest applicable retention period. For listed serious convictions, that includes the entire time the convicted person remains in custody. Listed crimes include homicide, kidnapping, sexual offenses, robbery, felony firearm dis… - Defendants get notice before evidence disposal: benefit, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, Utah agencies seeking to return or discard evidence they no longer must keep need a written request. It must identify the evidence, explain why retention is unnecessary, and describe steps to preserve enough evidence for prosecution. Prosecutors must acknowledge receipt withi… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Ken Ivory (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-26 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 72 | 0 | | | 2026-02-25 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 11 | 0 | | | 2026-02-17 | Senate | Senate/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-17 | Senate | Senate/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 24 | 0 | | | 2026-02-17 | Senate | Senate/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-13 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd reading | pass | 21 | 0 | | | 2026-01-27 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 5 | 0 | | ## Actions (34) - 2026-03-23: Governor Signed - 2026-03-11: Senate/ to Governor (Senate) - 2026-03-11: Senate/ received enrolled bill from Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Senate/ enrolled bill to Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-03: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-02: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-02: Bill Received from Senate for Enrolling - 2026-02-26: Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-26: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-26: House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate (House) - 2026-02-26: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-26: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-25: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-02-25: House/ committee report favorable (House) - 2026-02-25: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-19: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-02-18: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-02-17: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ passed 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ uncircled (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ circled (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Senate/ 3rd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Senate/ passed 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-02-13: Senate/ 2nd reading (Senate) - 2026-01-29: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-01-29: Senate/ committee report favorable (Senate) - 2026-01-27: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-01-20: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-01-16: Senate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (Senate) - 2026-01-07: Senate/ received bill from Legislative Research (Senate) - 2026-01-05: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-03: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/SB0071.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-05: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0071.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/SB0071.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0071.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-SB71-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).