U TAH S TATE 2015 L EGISLATIVE S ESSION An Overview of Legislation Passed In the 2015 Utah Session Impacting the Law Enforcement Officers P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved While the last year has spurred tremendous debate and controversy over the use of force and negative publicity of the law enforcement profession in general by the media and press, the 2015 Utah State Legislative Session was one of the most favorable in recent memory for those in blue.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved Over 85 laws were presented which in some way altered the way in which officers policed. Most, like House Bill (HB) 79, alter existing law slightly by changing the requirement to wear seat belts from a secondary offense to a primary offense.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved But several, like HB 176, created new rights allowing a parent, who is not subject of the investigation, to be present during an interview of their minor child.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved This presentation focuses on those bills which passed the session and specifically impact officers and their families.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved HB 85, Peace Officer Training Amendments, sponsored by Representative Marc Roberts allows the Utah Legislature to appropriate up to $500,000 each year from the Uninsured Motorist Identification Restricted Account for law enforcement training through 2020.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved FOP was responsible for securing the sponsor for this important legislation which allows POST to be properly funded to continue to provide the necessary training to assist and prepare Utah’s law enforcement officers for the challenged presented by the profession.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved HB 288, Line-Of-Duty Death Benefits, sponsored by Representative Paul Ray, required all employers of public safety officers to provide continuing health coverage for a surviving spouse and dependent children (up to age 26) in the event of a line of duty death of an officer. The legislation requires employers to assist officers in applying for other death benefits from other agencies.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved HB 288, also revised the lump sum settlement from the Utah Retirement System from $1000 flat award to a sum equal to the fallen officer’s six month salary.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved HB 361, Investigation Protocol for Peace Officers Use of Force, by Representative Marc Roberts, created statewide protocols of how critical shooting incident would be investigated. It is now required that department not investigate themselves in these types of incidents to eliminate potential conflict of interests.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved SB 65,In-State Tuition for Families of Public Safety Officers, by Senator Curt Bramble, the legislation waives in-state tuition for children of a fallen officer who attends a state-run institution of higher education.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved HB 325, Utah Law Enforcement Memorial License Plate, by Representative Lee Perry, a Utah Legislators and a working highway patrol trooper, creates a special license plate to fund the operation of the Utah Law Enforcement Memorial for fallen officers.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved SB 115, Assault Offenses Amendments, by Senator Dan Thatcher, makes it easier to charge a criminal with an assault on a police officer by changing existing code from “an attempt to do violence” by a bad guy to “a substantial risk” which may or may not include an attempt.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved Legislation which didn’t pass, but was considered and may be moved upon in future sessions include, HB 77, Post Retirement Employment, by Representative Rich Cunningham, which proposes to allow retiring public employees to be able to reemploy in other agencies of state or local government without forgoing their retirement benefits earned in their first public employee profession.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved HB 386, Body Cameras for Law Enforcement Officers, by Representative Dan McCay, which would have required all street officers to wear body cameras.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE 2015 UTAH LEGISALTIVE SESSION OF LAWS IMPACTING OFFICERS P REPARED BY THE U TAH F RATERNAL O RDER OF P OLICE © All rights reserved For a more detailed and complete report on all legislation which passed the 2015 Utah Legislative Session please go to or visit the Legislation tab at for more details on legislation specific to the profession of law enforcement.