Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                          H.B. 322
                   SEXUAL ASSAULT INVESTIGATION AMENDMENTS
                                           2024 GENERAL SESSION
                                                STATE OF UTAH
                                        Chief Sponsor: Angela Romero Senate Sponsor: Luz Escamilla
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  LONG TITLE
  General Description:
      This bill address sexual assault investigations by law enforcement agencies.
  Highlighted Provisions:
      This bill:
      ▸ requires the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council to establish a model sexual
  assault investigation policy that can be used by law enforcement agencies;
      ▸ requires a law enforcement agency to report to the State Commission on Criminal and
  Juvenile Justice whether the law enforcement agency has complied with certain statutory
  requirements regarding sexual assault investigations; and
      ▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
  Money Appropriated in this Bill:
      None
  Other Special Clauses:
      None
  Utah Code Sections Affected:
  AMENDS:
      53-6-107, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 182
      53-6-109, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 316
      53-24-102, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 158
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  Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 53-6-107 is amended to read:
        53-6-107 . General duties of council.
  (1) The council shall:
      (a) advise the director regarding:
     H.B. 322                                                                                Enrolled Copy
            (i) the approval, certification, or revocation of certification of any certified academy
                established in the state;
            (ii) minimum courses of study, attendance requirements, and the equipment and
                facilities to be required at a certified academy;
            (iii) minimum qualifications for instructors at a certified academy;
            (iv) the minimum basic training requirements that peace officers shall complete
                before receiving certification;
            (v) the minimum basic training requirements that dispatchers shall complete before
                receiving certification; and
            (vi) categories or classifications of advanced in-service training programs and
                minimum courses of study and attendance requirements for the categories or
                classifications;
       (b) recommend that studies, surveys, or reports, or all of them be made by the director
            concerning the implementation of the objectives and purposes of this chapter;
       (c) make recommendations and reports to the commissioner and governor from time to
            time;
       (d) choose from the sanctions to be imposed against certified peace officers as provided
            in Section 53-6-211, and dispatchers as provided in Section 53-6-309;
       (e) establish and annually review[ ] :
            (i) minimum use of force standards for all peace officers in the state;
            [(f)] (ii) [establish and annually review ]minimum standards for officer intervention
                and the reporting of police misconduct based on Section 53-6-210.5; and
            (iii) the best practices for investigating sexual assaults;
       (f) in consultation with the Utah Victim Services Commission's subcommittee on rape
            and sexual assault created in Subsection 63M-7-903(5)(b), create and, if necessary,
            annually update a model sexual assault investigation policy based on the best
            practices established in Subsection (1)(e)(iii) that can be adopted and used by a law
            enforcement agency; and
       (g) perform other acts as necessary to carry out the duties of the council in this chapter.
   (2) The council may approve special function officers for membership in the Public Safety
       Retirement System in accordance with Sections 49-14-201 and 49-15-201.
         Section 2. Section 53-6-109 is amended to read:
         53-6-109 . Mandatory compliance with minimum use of force standards.
        Peace officers and the agencies that employ peace officers shall comply with, and
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     Enrolled Copy                                                                                H.B. 322
  enforce compliance with, the minimum use of force standards described in Subsection [
  53-6-107(1)(e)] 53-6-107(1)(e)(i).
        Section 3. Section 53-24-102 is amended to read:
        53-24-102 . Sexual assault offense reporting requirements for law enforcement
  agencies.
  (1) As used in this section:
      (a) "Commission" means the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice created
          in Section 63M-7-201.
      (b) "Sexual assault offense" means:
          (i) rape, Section 76-5-402;
          (ii) rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.1;
          (iii) object rape, Section 76-5-402.2;
          (iv) object rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.3;
          (v) forcible sodomy, Section 76-5-403;
          (vi) sodomy on a child, Section 76-5-403.1;
          (vii) forcible sexual abuse, Section 76-5-404;
          (viii) sexual abuse of a child, Section 76-5-404.1;
          (ix) aggravated sexual abuse of a child, Section 76-5-404.3;
          (x) aggravated sexual assault, Section 76-5-405; or
          (xi) sexual battery, Section 76-9-702.1.
  (2) (a) Beginning January 1, 2025, a law enforcement agency shall[ ] :
          (i) annually, on or before April 30, submit a report to the commission for the previous
              calendar year containing the number of each type of sexual assault offense that:
              [(i)] (A) was reported to the law enforcement agency;
              [(ii)] (B) was investigated by a detective; and
              [(iii)] (C) was referred to a prosecutor for prosecution; and
          (ii) submit a report to the commission on whether the law enforcement agency has
              created and publicly posted on the law enforcement agency's website:
              (A) the policy described in Subsection 53-24-101(1)(a); and
              (B) the guide described in Subsection 53-24-101(2)(a).
      (b) A law enforcement agency shall:
          (i) compile the report described in Subsection [(2)(a)] (2)(a)(i) for each calendar year
              in the standardized format developed by the commission under Subsection (3); and
          (ii) publicly post the information reported in Subsection [(2)(a)] (2)(a)(i) on the law
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      H.B. 322                                                                           Enrolled Copy
                enforcement agency's website.
   (3) The commission shall:
      (a) develop a standardized format for reporting the data described in Subsection (2);
      (b) compile the data submitted under Subsection (2); and
      (c) annually on or before August 1, publish a report of the data described in Subsection
            (2) on the commission's website.
        Section 4. Effective date.
       This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 53-6-107, 53-6-109, 53-24-102
Enrolled: 53-6-107, 53-6-109, 53-24-102