Mike Schultz

• S.B. 305 Hospital Quality Incentive Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Supports the bill, saying it would help offset state and hospital costs created by federal changes, and urges support.

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  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise and supported this bill, uh, representatives due to the big beautiful bill passing, uh, in our earlier, uh, last year. Uh, it will cost the state and hospitals roughly an additional $500 million over the next five years. While this bill doesn't make up the full gap of that, uh, it would make up a significant portion of it. So it is an important, uh, uh, piece of legislation that will help save the state of Utah, uh, money, uh, in making those reimbursements, uh, back to the hospitals into the future. So this is a good piece of legislation that will help the state of Utah's budget. So with that, I'd urge your …

  ▶ Watch at 1:12:20

• H.R. 8 Resolution Admonishing and Censuring Judge Don M. Torgerson · House floor debate (day 42) · Mar 3, 2026

  Supports the resolution, citing public reaction and the lack of apology, and disputes claims about the plea agreement's terms on additional incarceration.

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  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also rise, uh, in support of this, uh, motion or, uh, resolution. And I would like to add a little context, uh, to, to this. Since I, uh, myself and the good minority leader came out in a very public way against the comments that were made on this, when that happened, my phone rang, uh, by, uh, all types of, uh, citizens all across the state, mostly outraged, but also by a lot of defense attorneys defending the actions and comments of Judge Torgeson. And you can't defend what was said as the good representative from Herriman mentioned what was in that video, I can't even say on this house floor, but I promise …

  ▶ Watch at 1:30:37

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House floor debate (day 35) · Feb 24, 2026

  Rep. Schultz described the Senate amendments to H.B. 274, including changes to sentencing commission membership and the guidelines authorization process, and urged the body's support.

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  Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. I would, uh, this, uh, third substitute. Uh, the changes made in the Senate restores two defense attorneys to the commission. It, uh, removes the juvenile prosecutor as a voting member of, uh, uh, sorry. The removes the Juab Juvenile prosecutors, uh, as a voting as as members of the, uh, sentencing commission. And it moves the J-O-J-J-O-C chair to a non-voting member. Uh, it swaps out one of the sheriffs, uh, for a police chief, and it adds a requirement for at least one sheriff prosecutor and defense attorney to be from rural Utah to ensure we have statewide representation on the commission. It also clarifies the authorization process for the sentencing guidelines, …

  ▶ Watch at 8:25

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee · Feb 12, 2026

  Opens by addressing the chair and asks whether to adopt the substitute before presenting the bill.

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  Senator Brammer. Thank you. Chair Brammer. Thank you. Go Ahead. Thank, thank you, uh, committee members. I appreciate the opportunity to be here, uh, today, uh, to present HB 2 74, uh, with you all. Uh, Mr. Mr. Chair? I don't know. I I have a sub. Do you want to adopt that first or do you wanna wait until I don't presentation? We, why don't we adopt it and then we'll, we'll go from there.

  ▶ Watch at 2:10:49

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee · Feb 12, 2026

  Explains the second substitute, which restores defense attorneys to the commission, removes juvenile prosecutors, makes JJOC non-voting, and requires rural representation, and cites public safety concerns and recent changes to sentencing guidelines.

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  Thank you, uh, Mr. Chair. I appreciate it. Uh, appreciate the opportunity. Uh, the second sub is a product of working together, trying to find a pathway forward with many stakeholders, uh, defense attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement. And I'm grateful for all of their input. Uh, and so, uh, we've, we've came to some sort of an agreement, I think on, on the second sub. Uh, it restores all the defense attorneys, the three defense attorneys to the commission. It, uh, removes all the juvenile prosecutors and, and moves JJOC to, uh, chair to non-voting, but they're still on the commission. It adds a requirement for at least one sheriff, uh, a prosecutor and defense attorney to be from rural …

  ▶ Watch at 2:11:48

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee · Feb 12, 2026

  Apologizes for offense caused by the earlier version, thanks stakeholders for working together, and asks to continue moving the bill forward.

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  Vote. Uh, yeah. Thank you Mr. Chair. And I, I appreciate this, this time, and I, I, I just maybe wanna apologize a little bit. I know, uh, that when this bill first came out, um, and, and people saw it, and I, I offended quite a few people and some of them were close friends, um, with some of the changes that were, were made to this bill. And, uh, that wasn't the intent, uh, to, to, to make offense. And, and for that, I, I truly do apologize. Um, and so, uh, you know, I, but I couldn't be more proud of the way groups came together on this, honestly. Um, groups that don't always see eye, eye, …

  ▶ Watch at 2:32:48

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House floor debate (day 18) · Feb 6, 2026

  Moves to adopt amendment number one.

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  Thank you Mr. Speaker ProAm, I'd like to move amendment number one under my name.

  ▶ Watch at 18:43

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House floor debate (day 18) · Feb 6, 2026

  Explains that the amendment restores one defense attorney seat on the Sentencing Commission so defense attorneys have the same representation as victims.

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  You, Mr. Speaker. Yes. Uh, representative or Mr. Speaker, this adds in, uh, or incorporates a lot of the discussion that I've heard and, and concerns that I've heard that, uh, removing all of the defense attorneys off of the sensing commission, uh, is probably not, uh, appropriate. And so this takes and adds, uh, uh, uh, defense attorney back into the sentencing commission, uh, and makes it on par with the victims. So victims have one. And now defense attorneys would have one, um, with this amendment.

  ▶ Watch at 18:51

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House floor debate (day 18) · Feb 6, 2026

  Presents the bill, citing a recent case and concerns about Sentencing Commission membership and guidelines, and says it would remove two defense attorneys, add two prosecutors and two sheriffs, and direct review of guidelines for serious crimes.

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  Thank you Mr. Speaker, to Pro Tam. I I appreciate the opportunity to present this bill today. Uh, last year, Mr. Speaker, uh, judge Torgeson, uh, held a hearing with a defendant that was convicted on felony possession and distribution of videos of child pornography and the, uh, children being sexually assaulted. Uh, instead of giving him, uh, uh, incarcerate additional incarceration time, judge Torgeson let him off probation with time served only, no addition, no prison time whatsoever, no fines, and no community service. Uh, and after that, Mr. Speaker ProAm, my phone started blowing up significantly, mostly from people saying, uh, thank you for standing up and pointing out, uh, that what happened here was wrong. However, I …

  ▶ Watch at 19:42

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House floor debate (day 18) · Feb 6, 2026

  In summation, responds to criticism from the state bar, says the Legislature has constitutional authority over sentencing guidelines, and asks for the body's support.

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  Thank you. Uh, Mr. Speaker ProAm, uh, Mr. Speaker, I, I just want to clear up some miscommunication or some false information that's out there. I recently read an article, uh, in there where the, uh, the state or in one of the major newspapers that, uh, where the state bar was criticizing this bill, saying it was judicial over, excuse me, judicial overreach. Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. The constitution clearly defines what those recommendations should be to this legislature. That's where the constitution, uh, authority lies. Now, in 1995, this legislature created the sentencing commission and also created spots for the judiciary. There are two judges that sit on this, uh, uh, uh, sentencing commission, and I …

  ▶ Watch at 34:03

• H.B. 251 Diligence Claims Water Amendments · House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee · Feb 2, 2026

  Supports the bill, saying recording these historic ponds would benefit the state and public and that the Fresno scraper video was appreciated.

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  Uh, I'm gonna quote our good, uh, chair on this and say, this is a good bail. Just about Perfect. It was close. I started off a little weak, but I feel like I ended strong with it. You did You Bill, bill Good, Mr. Speaker? Uh, no. I, uh, I just wanna commit, commend the sponsor. And, uh, I, I do believe that this is, this is needed. Um, and I think this is beneficial on a whole host of fronts, um, in regards to, uh, proving up on some, on some old claims. And, and I think one thing that we've kind of glossed over is there's some benefit to the state too, in having these recognized, uh, …

  ▶ Watch at 1:27:37

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026

  Schultz opened by saying he would present a first substitute of his short original bill.

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  Thank you, Madam Chair. Appreciate it. Thank you. Uh, committee members of the Judiciary Committee. I appreciate the opportunity to be here. Uh, representatives. Madam Chair, I had, uh, just the original bill, and as you noticed, it was on one page, well, two pages, front and back, and it was a great bill. Uh, and, uh, one of the people I was talking to nicknamed it the Little beautiful Bill. And so we're gonna change it. It's still a beautiful bill, uh, but there's a first sub online, and that's the what I will be presenting to, if that's okay with you.

  ▶ Watch at 39:26

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026

  Schultz explained the bill replaces the three defense attorney seats on the Sentencing Commission with sheriffs and prosecutors, citing a lenient child sexual abuse material sentence within commission guidelines, and said the substitute directs the commission to revise guidelines for serious crimes and requires sentences to reflect crime seriousness.

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  Thank You. Thank you. So, representatives, uh, let me just go start by going through the current, uh, makeup of the Sensing Commission, um, board. Uh, you have A-C-C-J-C-C-J-J Director, department of Corrections Director, board of Pardons and Parole, uh, member Victim Services Commission, uh, uh, attorney General Designee, rehabilitation Professional Criminal Prosecutor, juvenile Prosecutor Sheriff's Association, uh, state court administrator District, uh, judge, juvenile judge, a criminal defense attorney, indigent defense attorney, and a Juab Juvenile, uh, defense attorney, a juvenile justice director, a juvenile justice oversight chair. I want you to notice one thing in that list. One victims service commission, one person representing victims, three members representing the defense. I think that's quite honestly sad that we …

  ▶ Watch at 40:05

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026

  Schultz said it was not requested by them, but those groups shared his concerns when he spoke with them.

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  It didn't, but, uh, when I had the opportunity to speak with them about the concerns that I had, they had similar concerns. And so while it did not come from them, uh, the conversations that I've had that with those in this space have referenced similar con, similar concerns that I have had

  ▶ Watch at 48:35

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026

  Schultz said he did not know about other states and argued that past penalty reductions have hurt public safety, adding that defense attorneys' role belongs in the courtroom.

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  I'm not aware of what other states have, uh, as far as whether they, what their sentencing commissions look like or even if they have sentencing commissions, uh, at all. So, um, one of the things that's been really concerning to me, and I, you know, I hate to admit this, uh, but my first few years in the legislature, there was a big push to reduce crimes and reduce penalties. And, uh, you know, I went along with the notion of, you know, we probably need to try to reform not incarcerate. Well, we've seen now, uh, looking at that eight, 10 years later, that the consequences of not holding people accountable to their decisions, uh, that they make, …

  ▶ Watch at 49:16

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026

  Schultz said he had not researched that but contrasted three defense seats with only one victim seat.

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  You know, I haven't went into that. I did, uh, watch a video the other day of somebody from the sentencing commission opposing it, and I don't know who it was, or maybe, maybe it wasn't actually someone from the sentencing commission. But I, you know, you look at it and I see what happens here inside the committees, and I see the defense attorneys arguing for little to no, uh, punishment for the heinous crimes, and it disappoints me. And I recognize that, uh, defense attorneys three out of 15 members, but I also come back to victims only one out of 15.

  ▶ Watch at 51:12

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026

  Schultz said he is open to other ideas, noting defense attorneys told him they would still oppose the bill even if one defense seat were kept.

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  I think there's a number of different ways that you can look at this. I'm open to continuing the discussion and dialogue as we move forward. If there's different ideas and ideas out there that are, that, that are being floated, I'm happy to do that. I had the opportunity to sit down, uh, with, uh, um, the defense, uh, defense attorney, uh, the other day, maybe it was yesterday, and I threw out, Hey, if I threw one on, and they said, yeah, no, we're still going to be opposed to it. So I'm open to those conversations, uh, as, as we move forward. And I, I suspect especially, uh, if the bill makes it outta the house, once …

  ▶ Watch at 52:16

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026

  Schultz said public safety is government's top responsibility, that past penalty reductions were a mistake, and that law enforcement and prosecutors are frustrated with offenders being released quickly.

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  It was Mr. Madam Chair. Uh, to, to that point, and, you know, I've had, as public safety has been a top concern over the last two years, starting last year, uh, here in the state of Utah. And the citizens are pushing back. And again, I hate to admit it, but I was one of the ones 10 years ago that voted for a comprehensive package of bills that reduced, uh, a lot of, uh, penalties. And we got it wrong, and now we're going to pay the price, and we've got it. I get it. There's a lot of things that, uh, some of these decisions are tough, but public safety is government's number one responsibility in my …

  ▶ Watch at 54:22

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026

  Schultz said the legislature created the Sentencing Commission and is responsible for it, repeated concerns about the Torgeson case guidelines, said defense attorneys rejected his offer of a single seat, and said he would keep seeking a solution while defense attorneys retain their courtroom role.

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  Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, I have several thoughts. Uh, first, uh, chief Ross, um, and his comment around being confused, chief Ross and I came to the Capitol, uh, about the same time, sounds like. And, uh, it was, and that, that's why I started off this, uh, conversation around, uh, we as a legislature made some serious mistakes, um, in that 2015 through 2018 era, I'm gonna say, and maybe even a little bit beyond, and, uh, released and relaxed, a bunch of penalties. And, uh, we're bearing the consequences of that today. It used to be, when I first came to the legislature that, uh, education, transportation were the top priorities for citizens of the state last …

  ▶ Watch at 1:42:36

• H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026

  Schultz thanked the committee for its time and discussion.

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  You. Thank you, Madam Chair, committee members appreciate your time today and discussion. Thank you.

  ▶ Watch at 1:56:24

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