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Read. Follow. Verify.Utah Bill HB 135 Refines Definition of Cohabitant for Domestic Violence and Mitigation Laws
Last action · March 6, 2026: House/ filedSponsors: Carol Moss and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
This bill addresses the definition of a cohabitant.
Determines which family and household relationships qualify for specialized legal protections, protective orders, and sentence mitigation during criminal proceedings.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Defendants claiming battered person mitigation
Defendants must meet updated statutory definitions and adhere to strict notice and unanimous jury requirements to receive a reduction in offense level.
Petitioners seeking protective orders
The revised cohabitant definition directly impacts who qualifies for civil and criminal protective orders under Utah law.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main purpose of HB 135?
What is required for a defendant to claim battered person mitigation under the bill?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
14 actions- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ filed
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ strike enacting clause
- Mar 5, 2026HouseHouse/ comm rpt/ sent to Rules
- Mar 3, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Recommends Returned to Rules
- Jan 28, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
- Jan 20, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
Show 8 earlier actions
- Jan 20, 2026HouseHouse/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Jan 16, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0135
- Jan 16, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0135
- Jan 14, 2026HouseHouse/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Jan 2, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0135
- Jan 2, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0135
- Jan 2, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Jan 2, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselBill Numbered but not Distributed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Refinement of Domestic Relations Statutes
The bill tightly scopes the definition of cohabitant by explicitly delineating inclusions and exclusions for minor children and family relationships in criminal defense and protective order contexts.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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