H.B. 24 Criminal Penalty Amendments

What this bill does

The bill lowers several minor traffic offenses to infractions, including speeding 21 to 29 miles per hour in school zones and careless driving. It makes driving without insurance a Class C misdemeanor, and a person cited for lacking proof of insurance can have the charge dismissed or the fine reduced if they show they were insured.

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

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Every vote

• 9 yes, 0 no, 2 absentHouse Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee: vote to change the bill · Jan 23, 2026Who voted how
• 9 yes, 0 no, 2 absentHouse Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee: Amendment Recommendation · Jan 23, 2026Who voted how
• 9 yes, 0 no, 2 absentHouse Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee: vote to approve it · Jan 23, 2026Who voted how
• 69 yes, 0 no, 6 absentFinal House vote · Feb 3, 2026Who voted how
• 6 yes, 0 no, 3 absentSenate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee: vote to approve it · Feb 12, 2026Who voted how
• 20 yes, 1 no, 8 absentFirst of two Senate votes · Feb 18, 2026Who voted how
• 21 yes, 2 no, 6 absentFinal Senate vote · Feb 27, 2026Who voted how

Hearings and debates

• Jan 23, 2026 House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (27 turns)

  1. Unknown speaker38:15speaker not certain

     Do you need it to, yeah. Reminder little Rusty. Sorry. Whenever. What's that? Oh yeah, Whenever you're ready. Turned on yet. There we go. That sound right now. Okay.

  2. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox38:47

     So, hospital 24. Um, the first one here today, um, is doing a, a few different things. Um, note, I wanna note that I'm gonna speak to the substitute and then we also have an amendment that we need to adopt there. But, uh, we're doing a, a handful of a handful of things here. Uh, one of these, uh, we found, in fact, if I could have, where is he? Dan, with the sentencing commission. If you wanna introduce yourself Officially,

  3. Dan Strong, Sentencing Commission39:17

     Dan Strong. Alright, Dan. Strong director of the Senate. Hold On. Okay. There you go, Dan. Strong director of the sentencing Commission. There we are. There's the handful

  4. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox39:28

     of operative things that we're doing here. One of those is that we have, um, an insurance issue when, when folks don't have insurance, that we're, we're attempting to make sure there's some ambiguity in the system where they sometimes are not charged a charge for an infraction. Um, you know, when you encounter someone who causes an accident and doesn't have insurance, we wanna make sure that that's charged appropriately as a misdemeanor. And so we're addressing that. Um, so we're increasing the penalty on that one. And then we have, you know, repealing, uh, a clerical issue on that side. Um, and then reducing the criminal offense, so when someone is speeding in a school zone from 20 to 29 miles an hour on a first offense. So our goal in that scenario is to coach and counsel more than jail. Um, and then it also allows us to take some of the pressure out of the system. And when they are over that level, or it's a repeat offense, we increase the penalty. And Dan can answer any technical questions or if there's anything else you'd like to say, Dan.

  5. Dan Strong, Sentencing Commission40:49

     Only that on the, uh, you summarized it very well. Thank you, representative.

  6. Dan Strong, Sentencing Commission40:53

     Um, the, just to clarify the no insurance, because I believe if you look at the draft, that is probably the most confusing, complicated part. Um, there were two statutes, both targeting people who are driving uninsured. Um, one is an older one that had to do with just driving while your vehicle's uninsured. The other one was later to try to catch cases where we maybe can't prove on the spot that the person is not insured, but they don't have any proof of insurance. And over time, those statute have sort of been used interchangeably, even though one has an infraction penalty and one has a Class C. So the goal here is to just align them so that if you don't have insurance, it's a Class C. If you were the unfortunate person who just didn't bring proof with you that day, um, you can go to court and prove that your car actually was insured and you can have that dismissed. That's not new that was in the original code, but we've moved it to the, uh, the same code section as driving while uninsured. Um, we did this in collaboration with prosecutors who work in, in misdemeanor courts on these cases who have said that, um, it's, it's sort of confusing and, and ad hoc, um, kind of a, kind of depending on the officer whether a case comes through one or the other. And so people, or some people are getting an unjust benefit perhaps, um, of getting kind of the lighter charge even though they actually had no insurance. And with so many ways to verify your insurance on the spot these days with the cell phone or, uh, there's a, a database officers have access to if they've gone through all those steps and you don't have proof that more than likely that you were uninsured. And so we're sort of presuming that, but you can still get it, uh, dismissive. You can prove otherwise before your, uh, your trial date or your court date. And then on the other, um, penalties having to do with traffic offenses, um, we looked into these as a sentencing commission, um, and found that although these had been charges Class C misdemeanors and that trick is a requirement for people to come into court and deal with them, um, in the vast majority of those lower level speeding school zone cases or careless driving cases, if they did come in to challenge it, they were getting an infraction or a plea abeyance to an infraction anyway. It was only the much more severe cases that were being treated as c misdemeanor. So this hopefully just aligns the code with the reality on the ground and saves people, um, who are having to kind of take time outta their day to go receive that sort of standard offer from having to do that. And again, I think the, uh, prosecutors we work with also have supported that change.

  7. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox43:05

     Yeah. If there are any questions and we've completed the presentation, okay.

  8. Committee chair (presiding)43:11

     Uh, thank you to the committee. Any questions? Okay. Seeing none to the public. Anyone want to comment to this? Okay. No one online.

  9. Ryan Robinson, Statewide Association of Prosecutors43:30

     Good afternoon committee. My name's Ryan Robinson. I'm the policy director for, uh, statewide Association of Prosecutors and also the West Valley City prosecutor. Some of the saddest people I've seen, or mo most scared people I've seen in a, in a courtroom or people charged with Class C misdemeanor, careless driving and, uh, speeding in a school zone. Often they come in with no criminal record, little or no driving record, and are horrified that they're gonna have a misdemeanor on the record that they might lose employment or have to report being a, a criminal on their, you know, future job applications. And as Dan said, almost always, they're reduced to infractions. This isn't a charge where prosecutors often or frankly ever, you know, seek a jail sentence where a class C misdemeanor would, would have a benefit. And, uh, so we're supportive of, uh, the ask to reduce these, uh, two charges. And also, uh, we we're supportive of clarifying the no insurance section so that they're more in conformity with each other so that, as was mentioned, they don't, uh, get used inappropriately and interchangeably kind of randomly, uh, to the benefit of some and, and not of others. Ensuring that they're all class C misdemeanors also allows for an argument for restitution someone causes, uh, an accident, uh, when they're, uh, uninsured. So, uh, we think this is a good bill and we'd ask you to support it.

  10. Committee chair (presiding)45:01

      Thank you. Anyone else? Okay. There's no one online, so we'll bring it back to the committee for, uh, committee action or discussion. You know, Mind we need to approve that substitute and amendment. That's, yeah. Is that, uh, Representative Whyte or Lee White?

  11. Rep. Stephen L. Whyte45:32

      Yeah, go ahead. Thank you. Uh, Mr. Vice Chair. Motion to adopt the first substitute to HB 24.

  12. Committee chair (presiding)45:39

      That's in line. Uh, would you like to speak to that? I'll waive. Okay. Um, to the, uh, let's see. The sponsor. You spoke to it already? Yeah. Anyone, uh, from the committee? No comments. So that's in line. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Seeing none. Okay.

  13. Rep. Stephen L. Whyte46:01

      And to the bill, uh, Representative Whyte. Thank you Mr. Vice Chair. Motion to favorably recommend HB 24 criminal penalty amendments as substituted.

  14. Committee chair (presiding)46:11

      You need a substitute motion?

  15. Rep. Stephen L. Whyte46:14

      We do have an amendment to the substitute. Okay. Sorry to the sub. I just, if I can adjust that please to adopt the amendment.

  16. Committee chair (presiding)46:24

      Yes. Withdraw your motion. Withdraw your motion. And thank you.

  17. Rep. Stephen L. Whyte46:28

      I withdraw the motion, please. We give a new motion. Yeah. And this would be, the motion would be to adopt the amendment to the substitute to HB 24.

  18. Committee chair (presiding)46:39

      Right. Uh, would you like to speak to that? Waive? Thank you. And

  19. Rep. Stephen L. Whyte46:43

      Literally just a few drafting fixes.

  20. Committee chair (presiding)46:46

      Okay. Yeah. No, no. Substantive. Yeah. Alright. Anyone from the committee? No comments? Uh, uh, we'll put that motion forward. All in favor of adopting the amendment. Say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Seeing none. Okay.

  21. Committee chair (presiding)47:00

      And now to Representative Whyte for what's hopefully the final motion.

  22. Rep. Stephen L. Whyte47:06

      Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Motion to favorably recommend HB 24 criminal penalty amendments as amended with the substitute and motion is in order.

  23. Committee chair (presiding)47:15

      Would you like to speak to that? Uh, thank you.

  24. Rep. Stephen L. Whyte47:18

      Um, the work that has been done on these issues of pulling the parties together to collaborative work on it with over the interim to be able to help address the situations, I think have been vetted very well and fully supportive of it.

  25. Committee chair (presiding)47:32

      Okay. Thank you, uh, to the, uh, bill sponsor.

  26. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox47:38

      Yeah, thank you. Um, no, I I will mention that, uh, people ask the, the question, do we really want to do, you know, x, y, Z all the time? And this is a good example of, you know, Juab sentencing, commission, defense, all, you know, seeing what makes sense and where we're causing confusion and problems in the court system, uh, with the courts we're seeking to reduce their burden already. Hopefully this does that a little bit. Thanks.

  27. Committee chair (presiding)48:02

      Okay. Thank you. Uh, is there anyone from the committee that would like to comment or, okay. Seeing none back to the maker of the motion waive. Thank you. Okay, so we have before US hb, uh, 24 criminal penalties, amendments. Second substitute. First substitute as amended. Uh, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Seeing none that passes. Thank you.

• Feb 3, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (4 turns)

  1. Unknown speaker16:44speaker not certain

     For substitute house bill 24 Criminal penalty amendments by Representative Wilcox. This bill was heard in law enforcement and criminal justice with the vote of 9 0 2

  2. Speaker (presiding)16:56

     Representative Clancy.

  3. Unknown speaker16:58speaker not certain

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Your motion, motion to circle that motion is ordered. Go and place the motion. The motion before is house circle first substitute HP 24. All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Roll. That motion passes.

  4. Speaker (presiding)17:10

     The bill has been circled. Madam Reading Clerk

• Feb 3, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (11 turns)

  1. Speaker (presiding)42:22

     Aye. Any opposed? Will that motion passes First substitute HB 24 is uncircled and before the body for its consideration. Back to your Representative Wilcox.

  2. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox42:31

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to adopt the second substitute HB 24. That motion is an order. Would you like to speak to it? Juror? Mostly it's just technical, uh, issues that the attorney caught that we needed to fix.

  3. Speaker (presiding)42:43

     Thank you Representative. Uh, we'll go our discussion to the motion to adopt second substitute HB 24. I'm going place the motion. The motion before the house adopt second substitute HB 24 under Representative Wilcox's name. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any the opposed rule that motion passes The bills been unc or sorry the bill's been substitute and before the body for further consideration back to your Representative Wilcox.

  4. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox43:14

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to adopt amendment number three in my name. Second representative. I'm trying to look for amendment number three. Representative. I'm not seeing an amendment Number three on the system. I retract that motion Mr. Speaker and move the first amendment.

  5. Speaker (presiding)44:05

     Thank you representative. That motion is in order. Would you like to speak to that motion?

  6. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox44:10

     Yeah, I'm happy to. Sorry. Sorry about that. Uh, confusion. Mr. Speaker. Um, I think I have a draft of the amendment that lists three Q at the top rather than the published version. Um, now this one, uh, again, uh, in line with what we intended to do, um, uh, clarifies the, some of the details on the insurance piece.

  7. Speaker (presiding)44:32

     Thank you representative, uh, discussion to the motion to adopt, uh, amendment number one under Representative Wilcox's name on second substitute HB 24. See none. We'll go ahead and place the motion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Will that motion passes? The bill's been amended and before the body for its consideration. Back to you Representative Wilcox.

  8. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox44:55

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. I appreciate, uh, your time as we made some of those fixes. As you know, that's, that's sometimes why we circle a bill to make sure everything's wrapped up the way it needs to. Um, this bill, uh, does a couple of things. We, a couple of things is we're trying to target specifically those who are, uh, both committing crimes in a school zone. Um, and, uh, make sure that we're actually impacting that policy. And so we're doing a couple of things. We wanna make sure you understand. If somebody is driving through a school zone between 21 and 29 miles an hour, um, that's converted from a Class C misdemeanor to an infraction. If they are above that or on a second offense, that is increased. Um, the intent with this is to make sure that we are using our resources appropriately. We are discouraging people from doing what they shouldn't in these zones. And that we are focusing heavily on those who are, uh, violating, um, violating that with impunity. Whether it's an extreme speeding case over 20 miles an hour. Um, or of course if they're repeat offenders, um, the coach and counsel part of this would really come in the form of the infraction. Um, that can happen. We've had, you know, when grandma's driving through and she just doesn't quite get it. That's fine. That's one time. We'll, uh, pay the penalty, have that conversation. Uh, probably doesn't deserve the, the criminal record. If it goes above that or if that happens repeatedly, then we're talking the heavier fines than what we currently contemplate. Happy to answer any questions there.

  9. Speaker (presiding)46:37

     Thank you, Representative Wilcox. Discussion to the bill. Seeing none. Back to your Representative Wilcox for summation.

  10. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox46:46

      I'll waive. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Probation

  11. Speaker (presiding)46:47

      has been waived. Voting will now be open on second substitute. H. Representative MacPherson, would you like to vote? Would you like to vote? Representative Hansen? Would you like to vote? Seeing all present, having voted voting is now closed. Second substitute HB 24 passes this body with 69. Yes votes zero no votes will be sent to the Senate for its consideration.

• Feb 3, 2026 House floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (10 turns)

  1. Unknown speaker42:39speaker not certain

     that the attorney caught that we needed to fix.

  2. Speaker (presiding)42:43

     Thank you Representative. Uh, we'll go our discussion to the motion to adopt second substitute HB 24. I'm going place the motion. The motion before the house adopt second substitute HB 24 under Representative Wilcox's name. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any the opposed rule that motion passes The bills been unc or sorry the bill's been substitute and before the body for further consideration back to your Representative Wilcox.

  3. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox43:14

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. Motion to adopt amendment number three in my name. Second representative. I'm trying to look for amendment number three. Representative. I'm not seeing an amendment Number three on the system. I retract that motion Mr. Speaker and move the first amendment.

  4. Speaker (presiding)44:05

     Thank you representative. That motion is in order. Would you like to speak to that motion?

  5. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox44:10

     Yeah, I'm happy to. Sorry. Sorry about that. Uh, confusion. Mr. Speaker. Um, I think I have a draft of the amendment that lists three Q at the top rather than the published version. Um, now this one, uh, again, uh, in line with what we intended to do, um, uh, clarifies the, some of the details on the insurance piece.

  6. Speaker (presiding)44:32

     Thank you representative, uh, discussion to the motion to adopt, uh, amendment number one under Representative Wilcox's name on second substitute HB 24. See none. We'll go ahead and place the motion. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Will that motion passes? The bill's been amended and before the body for its consideration. Back to you Representative Wilcox.

  7. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox44:55

     Thank you Mr. Speaker. I appreciate, uh, your time as we made some of those fixes. As you know, that's, that's sometimes why we circle a bill to make sure everything's wrapped up the way it needs to. Um, this bill, uh, does a couple of things. We, a couple of things is we're trying to target specifically those who are, uh, both committing crimes in a school zone. Um, and, uh, make sure that we're actually impacting that policy. And so we're doing a couple of things. We wanna make sure you understand. If somebody is driving through a school zone between 21 and 29 miles an hour, um, that's converted from a Class C misdemeanor to an infraction. If they are above that or on a second offense, that is increased. Um, the intent with this is to make sure that we are using our resources appropriately. We are discouraging people from doing what they shouldn't in these zones. And that we are focusing heavily on those who are, uh, violating, um, violating that with impunity. Whether it's an extreme speeding case over 20 miles an hour. Um, or of course if they're repeat offenders, um, the coach and counsel part of this would really come in the form of the infraction. Um, that can happen. We've had, you know, when grandma's driving through and she just doesn't quite get it. That's fine. That's one time. We'll, uh, pay the penalty, have that conversation. Uh, probably doesn't deserve the, the criminal record. If it goes above that or if that happens repeatedly, then we're talking the heavier fines than what we currently contemplate. Happy to answer any questions there.

  8. Speaker (presiding)46:37

     Thank you, Representative Wilcox. Discussion to the bill. Seeing none. Back to your Representative Wilcox for summation.

  9. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox46:46

     I'll waive. Thank you Mr. Speaker. Probation

  10. Speaker (presiding)46:47

      has been waived. Voting will now be open on second substitute. H. Representative MacPherson, would you like to vote? Would you like to vote? Representative Hansen? Would you like to vote? Seeing all present, having voted voting is now closed. Second substitute HB 24 passes this body with 69. Yes votes zero no votes will be sent to the Senate for its consideration. Madam Reading Clerk

• Feb 9, 2026 Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee
• Feb 12, 2026 Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (16 turns)

  1. Committee chair (presiding)2:02:09

     All right, we're gonna go to House Bill 24 second Sub Representative Wilcox.

  2. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox2:02:16

     Thank you. Uh, this is, uh, one of the law enforcement criminal justice interim, uh, committee bills. Um, it addresses a couple of things. One, we're we're trying to take a nuanced approach to, uh, school zones. Um, and by focusing on those who are, uh, egregious violators in here, and at the same time recognizing, uh, the importance of, uh, kind of the, uh, coach and counsel for those who are the low level offenders had a number of, of folks who weren't aware or that kind of a thing, um, that probably didn't deserve the penalty that they ended up with, um, addresses, uh, insurance issue and, um, remove some of the duplicate code issues. Um, the fines are still pretty high. Um, and 10, 10 mile an hour plus still face criminal misdemeanor charges. Um, insurance issues come up a number of times with, uh, unlicensed, uh, provides an affirmative defense. If insurance is active at the time of the stop, the charge is dismissed, uh, for example. Um, but if a person can prove that they had insurance at the time of the action, then it's, it's also dismissed and court can waive the, the fine. Um, but what we're, what we're dealing with, uh, with these ones, um, is a consistent increase in folks who are driving around without it and without, uh, without proof. So it clarifies that as well should make it easier for citizens if we, whether or not they have the physical paper, we can look those up. I'm happy to answer any questions, but it's, it's pretty innocuous bill reducing some, uh, penalties and increasing a few others.

  3. Committee chair (presiding)2:04:01

     Alright, thank you. The good representative is happy to answer any questions. Mm-hmm. Um, I don't see any questions. Let me ask if there's members of the public. We have one, Mr. Strong. Anybody online? All right. We we're gonna take one in person, one online, Audrey Baron, and then we'll close the public hearing.

  4. Dan Strong, Sentencing Commission and CCJJ2:04:22

     Um, Mr. Strong thank You Dan Strong for the sentencing commission and CCJJ as y'all know, sentencing commission. Um, that's pretty deep into our sentencing statutes. We have a, an anomaly subcommittee that meets over the interim to look at areas of the code that we think are, um, anomalous. And this was one where the traffic code over the years used to have a lot of misdemeanors in it. Most of them have moved to infractions. Most of the misdemeanors that are left are for pretty serious, uh, offenses like reckless driving that create real danger or, or, or result in injury. These seem to be sort of exceptions to that. A lot of, uh, folks in the public had also reached out, uh, to me or to others on a commission to express that they were getting some of these lower level offenses, but they were charged to c misdemeanors. They had to take time outta their day to go into court and resolve them. Um, and typically the re resolution they were being offered was a plea in ab advance to an infraction. Anyway. So with that in mind, we, um, suggested these revisions. On the other hand, the no insurance is one where there've been two statutes for years, and it's a little bit arbitrary as to how they get charged. One was an infraction, one was a misdemeanor. So this aligns them, but makes them, makes it a misdemeanor to not have or not carry insurance. But you can get it dismissed if you show that you did in fact have insurance at the time you were ticketed. So, thank you.

  5. Committee chair (presiding)2:05:34

     Thank you. And we'll go to Aubrey online. Aubrey, can you turn on your camera and tell us your name and what county you reside in?

  6. Audrey Baron, resident2:05:44

     Hi, I am Audrey Baron. I reside in Salt Lake City. Um, although I'm attending online, the out of town for work, um, I'm an attorney, but I am just here speaking on my own behalf. I'm one of the citizens that, um, raised the concern about this and asked that the lobby changed. I, um, was very surprised to be pulled over first meeting in a school zone in February of last year. I was in a busy business district of Main Street where the normal speed limit, I think is 35 or 40 miles per hour. And there was one light for the school zone, and I, I must have missed it. Um, and I was even more surprised when I didn't get a ticket, but instead got a summons to criminal court. Um, I was new to Utah, I'm a licensed attorney out of state, and I was actually sitting for the Utah bar at that time. So right away I had to report this to the Utah State Bar. Um, I was worried that it was going to delay my application and prevent me from getting employment. And I was also prepared to ask for a jury trial. I was not about to accept a criminal misdemeanor for this. Um, and when I Uintah court, I spoke with the DA and was informed that all of these, by definition, their office reduces them to an infraction, which seemed like a huge waste of judicial resources. Um, and also I looked around the courtroom and saw lots of working class people who had to arrange childcare or call out sick from work. And even worse, I saw some people get bench warrants for, um, failing to appear, which could happen 'cause you are a little late in opening your mail. Um, so I am in favor of, of this bill. Obviously, I, I support it. I'm the luckiest person that this could have happened to. I speak English, I'm an attorney. Um, I was prepared to handle it, and still it was very stressful for me and, and kind of a waste of time all around. I have one, um, I guess disagreement with the bill, which is the cap at 10 miles per hour. I think, like in my case, that wouldn't have helped me because I thought I was maintaining the normal speed limit. But that normal speed limit is well above the 20 miles per hour. That is a school zone. So my suggestion would be that a first offense is an infraction, um, and that a second offense would be a misdemeanor. I think the mistake people make is not realizing it's a school zone and giving someone an infraction deters them in the future. It deterred me. I now, everywhere I go, I'm on the hunt for a school zone sign. So, um, that's my only disagreement with the bill. But overall, I support the change in just keeping people out of the criminal justice system when they don't need to be involved in that way. Thanks.

  7. Committee chair (presiding)2:08:16

     Thank you. And I'm assuming you passed the bar exam?

  8. Audrey Baron, resident2:08:20

     I did. I'm now barred in Tuesday. Thank you.

  9. Committee chair (presiding)2:08:22

     Congratulations. All right, we're gonna close the, oh, I'm, I'm sorry. Uh, we're gonna close the public hearing. I announced, I asked, I said two, and I warned everyone last week when I was kind of grumpy that I was gonna stick to it. Uh, so we're gonna close the public hearing and bring it back to the committee. Uh, for action. Senator Musselman,

  10. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman2:08:45

      I move to re uh, favorably recommend HB 24 criminal penalty amendments, the second sub to criminal penalty amendments, rather.

  11. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman2:08:54

      I'll, I'll speak to that real Quick. Okay. Please. Um, yeah, this is the, the good chair could, could applaud. 'cause overall this is a reduction in, in enhancement or opposite of that, right? And, um, oftentimes we can do this administratively through administrative violations instead of criminal conduct. This is, this is, you know, keeping strong penalties, maintaining high fines, is targeting, you know, the true criminal classification towards dangerous conduct instead of some of these, um, lesser penalties and using administrative violations. So with that, that's

  12. Committee chair (presiding)2:09:29

      It. All right, Senator, I'm Representative Wilcox. Would you like to sum?

  13. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox2:09:34

      Uh, no, I'm, I didn't know that, uh, she was gonna come testify, but I'm grateful to hear Audrey's testimony today and that you heard that, um, she's clearly not a criminal trying to break the law and, and, uh, you know, be prevented from receiving her bar license here. So I, I appreciate the intent of the bill and ask your support. Thank you.

  14. Committee chair (presiding)2:09:54

      Thank you. Um, alright. All in favor of the motion To favorably recommend Ryan Wilcox's house Bill 24 second sub to the floor of the Senate. Say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Chair that passes unanimously six to zero.

  15. Committee chair (presiding)2:10:09

      And, uh, Senator Brammer, would you be able to chair Mr. Speaker? You're gonna think that I'm being rude, but I have to go present in your house, business and Labor Committee and they're telling me to come right now. So, um, anyways, so we're gonna let, um, Senator Brammer chair,

  16. Sen. Brady Brammer2:10:38

      Thanks. Alright,

• Feb 18, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (10 turns)

  1. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox58:47

     Um, it adjusts the classification for several traffic related offenses, generally downgrading minor moving violations, uh, to infractions while increasing penalties for failing to provide proof of insurance. Um, for just a couple examples. School zones, those are being downgraded from misdemeanors to infractions. Uh, careless driving downgraded. And uh, but as it pertains to the insurance in kind of our, our modern world, most of us now can have a proof of insurance on our, on our, uh, on our phones. And that can be just accessed through websites automatically. Updated way it was in the code before. If you didn't have the proof of insurance with you, but you were insured, that was an infraction. If you were driving without insurance, then that was a Class C misdemeanor. This is making it a Class C misdemeanor either way. Now that, that being said, even though that's an upgrade. And, and overall the bound, the bill is a downgrade in penalties that one upgrade. I wanna clarify a couple of things. If you were cited, let's say, for operating a vehicle without proof of, uh, insurance, which is usually means in this day you don't have insurance. Um, but if you came before the court and could provide that you did have insurance, they would simply wipe it away. Or even if you did provide that you had gotten insurance since the violation, they could reduce from a $400 to a $100 fine. So it's a very soft touch, but it, it elevates that one, um, issue of, of, and we have issue of underinsured motorists trying to make people more aware and have the proper insurance on their vehicle. With that, that concludes my presentation. Mr. President pro tem.

  2. Presiding officer1:00:29

     Alright. To the bill. Seeing no discussion, Senator Musselman?

  3. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman1:00:35

     Uh, I say I I'd move that, uh, second substitute to HB 24 criminal penalty minutes. Be read for the third time. The question is, shall second substitute house bill 24? Be read a third time roll call vote.

  4. Senate clerk1:00:49

     Senator Vickers Spery Lewin Aye. Bramer bus us Fillmore es camia Fillmore Aye. Grover Aye. Harper Aye. Kins Ipson Aye. Johnson Aye. Juab McKay? Aye. Nce macl Milner Aye. Musselman Aye. Owens pitcher Plum rebe Sandal Stevenson Stratton bickers Weiler Aye. Wilson Aye. Winterton Aye. President Adams Second substitute house Bill 24.

  5. Presiding officer1:01:45

     Having received 20 yay votes, one nay vote, eight being absent shall be read a third time. Senator Wilson,

  6. Sen. John D. Johnson1:01:56speaker not certain

     President pro tem to motion that we table on third for physical impact second substitute house bill 24. The motion is to table second substitute house bill 24 on third.

  7. Presiding officer1:02:11

     All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. The bill will be tabled on. Third Senator Weiler.

  8. Sen. Todd Weiler1:02:21

     Thank you Mr. President. Motion to encircle house bill 1 0 8. Motion to Uncer House Bill 1 0 8.

  9. Presiding officer1:02:31

     Minors in state custody amendments. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. The bill is Uncircled. Senator Weiler.

  10. Sen. Todd Weiler1:02:42

      Thank you. Um, this bill, This builds on a bill that representative, um, the good representative and I, um, passed last year.

• Feb 27, 2026 Senate floor debate▶ Watch
  Transcript (6 turns)

  1. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox32:20

     actually a reduction in penalties. Um, although it's a reduction in penalties, the infraction is still there and uh, with the infraction comes of course fines. So the fines are still high for speeding in school zones and careless driving. But the idea is to re reduce these, um, to infractions from, uh, class C misdemeanors. Um, to try to an overall effort just to reduce some penalties that were probably not functioning as we thought they might or, or knew functioning in a way that was productive. Um, there is one portion in here where it is technically an increase, but I want to clarify. So this is proof of insurance. We had a fine for not having a proof of insurance and then a greater fine for have not having insurance at all this day and age with digital wallets and, and digital cards. And to be able to email, it's pretty easy to show your proof of insurance. Uh, that's a rare circumstance. The acts a greater issue is not having insurance at all. So we're just getting rid of the infraction for not proof and just keep keeping it at a solid c for not having insurance. But if you can prove that you have insurance, go to court and prove it, then they'll wipe away the fine. And if you can, if you can, uh, get insurance and between then and court, they'll reduce the fine as well. So that's my presentation. Thanks.

  2. Senate presiding officer (Pres. Adams)33:46

     Thank you for that presentation. Is there a discussion to the bill? See none. Senator Brammer back to you for summation or a motion. Senator Musselman?

  3. Sen. Calvin R. Musselman33:55

     Yeah, I'd, uh, call the question. Thanks. Did I say Oh, I'm sorry. That's okay. Senator. Senator Musselman looking at him talking to me. That's all good. Yes, you're good. Call the No, I'll go to, I'll keep with you. Call the question, uh, Mr. President Prote. And the question is, shall second subject to house Bill 24 pass Roll call vote.

  4. Senate clerk (roll call)34:18

     Senator Vickers Baldry Lewin Brammer Brammer Bus Comore Escamilla Fillmore Fillmore Grover Aye. Harper Aye. Hankins Ipson Aye. Johnson Juab McKay Mikel Milner Musman Owens pitcher Plum Rebe Sandal Stevenson Stratton Bickers Wilder Weiler Wilson. Aye. Winterton Bus

  5. Senate President Adams (presiding)35:13

     President Adams Second Substitute house Bill 24, having received 22 yay votes one nay vote. Six being a, okay, let me recall that second subject to House Bill 24, having received 21 na votes, two na votes, six being absent passes, the Senate will be signed by the Senate President pro tem and return to the house for the signature of the speaker.

  6. Senate presiding officer (Pres. Adams)35:42

     Next bill up is House Bill 2 43, house Bill 2 43, gambling revisions. Senator Brammer.