Senator Hinkins told the Human Services Standing Committee that SB 57’s first substitute would expand Utah’s newborn safe‑relinquishment period from 30 days to 90 days and provide funding to expand outreach and education about the program.

Patrice Arent, former state senator and chair of the Newborn Safe Haven advisory board, described the statute and urged the panel to fund outreach. “This is an alternative to abortion. This is the third option,” Arent said, explaining the law allows birth parents to leave a newborn at a hospital anonymously and have child‑welfare agencies place the child in a safe home.

Arent and other witnesses told the committee the law has saved lives since its enactment and said outreach is critical because the option only works if parents know it exists. Sam Peterson, who said he was adopted under the law, testified about the personal impact: “You’re looking at a product of what this law has produced,” Peterson told the committee, and both he and his adoptive mother urged lawmakers to fund awareness efforts so people in crisis find the option.

The bill’s sponsor and advisory‑board witnesses described several implementation choices the committee weighed: Utah’s law designates hospitals as the only safe‑relinquishment locations to ensure infants are found and cared for; the person relinquishing an infant may remain anonymous; and expanding the statutory age would require updates to training, signage and outreach materials statewide. Witnesses urged funding so the Department of Education and other agencies can update materials and training; one witness noted that prior staff and federal grants had supported outreach but that current resources were limited.

Testimony included estimates and national context: the sponsor said 14 states now allow longer relinquishment windows than Utah, and committee testimony cited the most recent safe‑relinquishment known to them as October 2024. Witnesses flagged potential additional options for study — for example, “baby boxes” used in some states — and cited cost estimates from national associations (roughly $20,000 or more for initial placement and roughly $500 per year for maintenance), but committee witnesses said the bill does not currently fund baby boxes.

Committee members adopted a first substitute to SB 57 and thereafter moved to pass the first substitute out of committee with a favorable recommendation. The committee recorded the voice votes as in favor; individual roll‑call tallies were not specified in the transcript.