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2025 bills / H.B. 21

H.B. 21 Criminal Code Recodification and Cross References (2025)

Became lawWritten by Rep. Gwynn, Matthew H. · carried in the Senate by Sen. Keith Grover

  1. Introduced
  2. House committee
  3. House vote
  4. Senate committee
  5. Senate vote
  6. Signed into law

What this bill does

This bill rewrites and reorganizes many Utah criminal offense laws, mainly in Title 76 chapters 9 and 10, to use a standard format and clearer wording, and moves some offenses into their own separate statutes. It also moves libel and certain weapons and gang-loitering rules into other titles, repeals references to the defunct Utah Trade Commission, adds missing penalties for some explosives offenses, and fixes several errors from the 2024 recodification.

Plain-English summary written by AI from the official description. Check the official text below.

Official description
  • reorders language into a standardized format and clarifies existing law, including the offenses in Title 76, Chapter 9, Offenses Against Public Order and Decency, and Chapter 10, Offenses Against Public Health, Safety, Welfare, and Morals
  • reorganizes Title 76, Chapters 9 and 10 into a new organization to better align with the contents of the statutes
  • reorganizes offenses to enact an embedded offense as a stand-alone statute or statutes, including offenses concerning:
  • emergency reporting, interference, and false reports
  • prohibited use of a party line or public pay telephone
  • commercial obstruction
  • electronic communication harassment and disclosure of personal information
  • cruelty to animals, dog fighting, and police service canines, including aligning exemptions and defenses based on the elements of each offense
  • voyeurism
  • abuse or desecration of a dead human body
  • criminal street gang activities
  • tobacco sales and related offenses
  • gambling and related offenses
  • bus hijacking and related offenses
  • money laundering and related offenses
  • the use of a laser pointer
  • unlawful littering and related offenses
  • unlawful possession, use, or control of a vehicle with a contraband compartment
  • unlawful tattooing or piercing of a minor
  • labeling of explosives and related offenses
  • weapons offenses and related statutes
  • corporate fraud and related offenses, including unlawful acts by a director, officer, or agent
  • nuisances
  • pornography and related offenses, including placing the definition of pornography in the relevant definition section
  • prostitution, sexual solicitation, and related offenses
  • kickbacks and related offenses
  • for clarity, places contents of Title 76, Chapter 9, Part 5, Libel, into Title 45, Chapter 2, Libel
  • for clarity, places certain contents of Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 5, Weapons, into Title 53, Public Safety Code
  • for clarity, places certain law enforcement requirements concerning gang loitering from Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 9, Prohibition of Gang Activity, into Title 53, Chapter 25, Law Enforcement Requirements
  • for clarity, defines a minor as an individual younger than 21 years old for the offense concerning public intoxication
  • for clarity, provides a more detailed description of an actor for purposes of offenses involving providing a weapon to a minor
  • for clarity, technically revises language concerning vicious animal offense
  • for clarity, removes definition of image in offense concerning failure to report child sexual abuse material by a computer technician
  • adds penalty provisions to offenses concerning high explosives that had been inadvertently omitted
  • repeals certain statutes concerning the Utah Trade Commission, which entity no longer exists
  • for clarity, provides which prostitution-related offenses do not apply to a minor
  • makes technical corrections to certain statutes resulting from inadvertent omissions in the 2024 criminal code recodification, including:
  • reinserting a provision guaranteeing Native American rights in the statute concerning establishment of a prohibited item policy in a correctional or mental health facility
  • reinserting the penalty to the offense of alteration of proposed legislative bill or resolution
  • providing clarifying language regarding the identity of the actor in the offense concerning trafficking in warrants
  • adds a coordination clause to explain that amendments to certain sections in this bill will be superseded or amended by amendments to those sections in H.B. 133, Dangerous Weapons Amendments, if both bills pass and become law
  • makes technical and conforming changes
Full text and history on le.utah.gov →

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