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SB 303UTAHSession 2026State Billdead
Did Not Advance

Utah updates criminal record expungement eligibility and protective order rules

Original title: Expungement Amendments

Last action · March 6, 2026: Senate/ received from HouseSponsors: Stephanie Pitcher and 1 other

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Proposed

The Utah Legislature modifies criminal record expungement laws by adjusting waiting periods, clarifying numerical conviction limits, and setting eligibility rules regarding active protective orders and stalking injunctions, effective May 6, 2026.

Why it matters

Individuals seeking to clear past convictions must navigate revised eligibility criteria involving active protective orders, stalking injunctions, and total conviction counts across separate s.

Background
  • Expungement in Utah allows eligible criminal records to be sealed or restricted from public inspection under specific statutory conditions. context
  • The Bureau of Criminal Identification operates within the Utah Department of Public Safety and processes applications for criminal history expungements. context

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.

Directly affected

Individuals seeking expungement

Petitioners must meet updated waiting periods, numerical conviction limits, and protective order restrictions to obtain a certificate of eligibility.

Directly affected

Bureau of Criminal Identification

The bureau is responsible for evaluating criminal histories and issuing or withholding certificates of eligibility based on the revised statutory criteria.

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

Does an active protective order prevent someone from getting an expungement?
Yes. A petitioner is not eligible for a if there is an active civil protective order, criminal protective order, or criminal stalking injunction against them.
How do previous traffic offenses affect expungement eligibility limits?
When determining eligibility based on criminal history limits, the bureau does not consider pending cases or prior convictions for traffic offenses, infractions, minor regulatory offenses, or automatically expunged clean slate cases.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the Senate · in the House.

Procedural history

28 actions
  1. Mar 6, 2026Senate
    Senate/ received from House
  2. Mar 6, 2026House
    House/ to Senate
  3. Mar 6, 2026House
    House/ strike enacting clause
  4. Mar 3, 2026HouseIntroduced
    House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
  5. Mar 3, 2026House
    House/ received from Senate
  6. Mar 3, 2026Senate
    Senate/ to House
Show 22 earlier actions
  1. Mar 3, 2026SenateFloor
    Senate/ passed 3rd reading
  2. Mar 3, 2026Senate
    Senate/ 3rd reading
  3. Mar 2, 2026SenateFloor
    Senate/ passed 2nd reading
  4. Mar 2, 2026Senate
    Senate/ 2nd reading
  5. Feb 25, 2026Senate
    Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
  6. Feb 25, 2026Senate
    Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted
  7. Feb 25, 2026Released
    LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0303S01
  8. Feb 25, 2026Version Sponsor
    LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0303S01
  9. Feb 24, 2026Senate
    Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
  10. Feb 24, 2026Senate
    Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation
  11. Feb 24, 2026Legislative Fiscal Agency
    LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0303S01
  12. Feb 24, 2026Legislative Fiscal Analyst
    LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0303S01
  13. Feb 19, 2026Senate
    Senate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
  14. Feb 18, 2026Released
    LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0303
  15. Feb 18, 2026Version Sponsor
    LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0303
  16. Feb 18, 2026SenateCommittee
    Senate/ to standing committee
  17. Feb 17, 2026SenateIntroduced
    Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
  18. Feb 17, 2026Senate
    Senate/ received bill from Legislative Research
  19. Feb 17, 2026Legislative Fiscal Agency
    LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0303
  20. Feb 17, 2026Legislative Fiscal Analyst
    LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0303
  21. Feb 17, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel
    Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed
  22. Feb 17, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel
    Bill 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

Stephanie PitcherSenate · District 14DemocraticPrimary sponsor
Jake SawyerHouse · District 9RepublicanCosponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Tightened Protective Order Restrictions for Expungement

The legislation explicitly incorporates civil and criminal protective orders as disqualifying factors for receiving an expungement certificate.

Bureau of Criminal Identification

Connected Entities

Jake Sawyer, Bureau of Criminal Identification, Stephanie Pitcher and 2 more
PersonJake Sawyer“House Sponsor”Map →
OrganizationBureau of Criminal Identification“Issues certificates of eligibility for expungement”Map →
PersonStephanie Pitcher“Chief Sponsor in the Senate”Map →
OrganizationDepartment of Public Safety“Parent department of the Bureau of Criminal Identification”Map →
OrganizationBoard of Pardons and Parole“Grants pardons relevant to expungement orders”Map →

Sources

Open source document

le.utah.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance20
    Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
  • Controversy20
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz30
    Current news / social attention level

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