The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Utah Penalizes Public Assistance Fraud Involving Third-Party Application Facilitators
Last action · March 24, 2026: Governor SignedSponsors: Ryan Wilcox and 1 other
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Does
Utah law now makes it a criminal offense to knowingly assist an applicant in submitting inaccurate or false public assistance information, with penalties scaling from misdemeanors to felonies based on the monetary value involved. The legislation also updates criminal provisions concerning benefit misuse and adds the new facilitation offense to the list of predicate crimes for patterns of unlawful activity.
Changes criminal liability for individuals who help others complete public assistance forms, tying felony and misdemeanor penalties directly to the dollar value of improperly obtained benefits and expanding state racketeering laws.
- HB 454 was introduced during the 2026 General Session of the Utah Legislature and signed into law by the Governor on March 24, 2026. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Public assistance applicants
Applicants face increased legal accountability for application accuracy and potential prosecution if third parties submit false information on their behalf.
Third-party application facilitators
Individuals or groups assisting applicants with public assistance forms are subject to criminal penalties ranging from misdemeanors to felonies for knowingly including false data.
State agencies administering public assistance
Agencies such as the Department of Workforce Services and the Department of Health and Human Services operate under updated statutory definitions for fraud and unlawful activity patterns.
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 happens if someone repays the benefits obtained through fraud?
How is the penalty level determined for public assistance fraud?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
38 actions- Mar 24, 2026Lieutenant Governor's office for filingEnrolledGovernor Signed
- Mar 12, 2026HouseHouse/ to Governor
- Mar 12, 2026HouseHouse/ received enrolled bill from Printing
- Mar 11, 2026HouseHouse/ enrolled bill to Printing
- Mar 11, 2026Clerk of the HouseEnrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
- Mar 6, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingDraft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
Show 32 earlier actions
- Mar 6, 2026Legislative Research and General Counsel / EnrollingBill Received from House for Enrolling
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
- Mar 6, 2026HouseHouse/ received from Senate
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ to House
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ signed by President/ returned to House
- Mar 6, 2026SenateFloorSenate/ passed 3rd reading
- Mar 6, 2026SenateSenate/ 3rd reading
- Mar 3, 2026SenateSenate/ 2nd reading
- Mar 3, 2026SenateSenate/ comm rpt/ placed on Consent Calendar
- Mar 2, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Consent Calendar Recommendation
- Mar 2, 2026SenateSenate Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 25, 2026SenateCommitteeSenate/ to standing committee
- Feb 24, 2026SenateIntroducedSenate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 23, 2026SenateSenate/ received from House
- Feb 23, 2026HouseHouse/ to Senate
- Feb 23, 2026HouseFloorHouse/ passed 3rd reading
- Feb 23, 2026HouseHouse/ uncircled
- Feb 23, 2026HouseHouse/ circled
- Feb 23, 2026HouseHouse/ 3rd reading
- Feb 17, 2026HouseHouse/ 2nd reading
- Feb 17, 2026HouseHouse/ committee report favorable
- Feb 13, 2026HouseHouse Comm - Favorable Recommendation
- Feb 11, 2026HouseCommitteeHouse/ to standing committee
- Feb 4, 2026HouseHouse/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
- Feb 3, 2026ReleasedLFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0454
- Feb 3, 2026Version SponsorLFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0454
- Feb 3, 2026HouseIntroducedHouse/ 1st reading (Introduced)
- Feb 3, 2026HouseHouse/ received bill from Legislative Research
- Feb 2, 2026Legislative Fiscal AgencyLFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0454
- Feb 2, 2026Legislative Fiscal AnalystLFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0454
- Feb 2, 2026Legislative Research and General CounselNumbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Feb 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.
Expansion of Racketeering Predicates
The bill explicitly adds public assistance fraud offenses, including third-party facilitation, to the list of predicate crimes used to prosecute patterns of unlawful activity.
Connected Entities
Sources
le.utah.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools