The Utah State Senate Health and Human Services Standing Committee met Feb. 26 and voted favorably to advance several health-related bills to the Senate floor, approving measures that tighten definitions around mental‑health practice, update advance‑directive law, preserve newborn screening review processes, protect access to medication‑assisted treatment in residential programs, and make technical changes to civil‑commitment and health‑facility licensing statutes.

The committee moved the most contested items early: Senate Bill 48, titled Behavioral Health Amendments, cleared the committee with a favorable recommendation after proponents said the bill draws “guardrails” around what constitutes mental‑health practice and creates an education/enforcement fund to address unlicensed practice. Sponsor remarks flagged draft language under review that would target life‑coaching practices used to deliver conversion‑therapy‑type interventions; the sponsor said that language was not ready for committee review but could be added later.

The panel also advanced Senate Bill 134, a state adoption of a revised Health Care Decisions Act drafted by the Uniform Law Commission, which updates advance‑directive forms and default surrogate rules; committee members and health‑care stakeholders discussed an amendment to add a physician as an additional default surrogate and the Department of Health preparing a form to document a surrogate’s authority.

Other measures advanced included a newborn‑screening bill (SB 60) intended to keep a specific condition “on the radar” of the state’s newborn screening advisory committee rather than immediately mandate testing; House Bill 14, which clarifies when licensed emergency services personnel may use their skills in hospital or clinic settings; Senate Bill 65, which prohibits residential treatment programs or sober‑living homes from requiring that people on FDA‑approved medication‑assisted treatment (MAT) discontinue those medications as a condition of entry; Senate Bill 76, which narrows the allowable age gap in certain minor marriages and adds a 72‑hour waiting period; House Bill 16, extending the Health Facility Administrator Act; and a substitute (first substitute HB 56) that makes technical changes to emergency civil‑commitment procedures.

Votes at a glance

- SB 48, Behavioral Health Amendments — Passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation; committee recorded the vote as 4–0 in favor.
- SB 134, Health Care Decisions Act Amendments — Passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation; committee recorded the vote as unanimous (3–0 in committee roll call reported at time of passage).
- SB 60, Newborn Testing Amendments — Advanced with a favorable recommendation; committee action recorded as passed (vote tally not specified in the transcript excerpt).
- HB 14 (House substitute), Emergency Service Personnel Amendments — Passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation; committee recorded the vote as unanimous (4–0 reported at time of passage).
- SB 65, Medication‑Assisted Treatment Amendments — Passed out of committee as amended; committee recorded the vote as 5–0 in favor.
- SB 76, Marriage Amendments — Passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation; vote recorded as unanimous in committee (tally not specified in the transcript excerpt).
- HB 16, Health Facility Administrator Act Amendments — Passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation; committee recorded the vote as 5–0.
- First substitute HB 56, Civil Commitment Modifications — Passed out of committee with a favorable recommendation; committee recorded the vote as 5–0.

Key items and what committee members and witnesses said

SB 48 — Behavioral Health Amendments: Sponsor and public testimony
Sponsor remarks: The senator presenting SB 48 said the bill follows an interim OPLER review and seeks to clarify the “scope of mental health practice” and to create “an education enforcement fund” to help root out unlicensed practice. The sponsor told the committee they are continuing to craft language to address life‑coaching practices that amount to conversion therapy but that the draft language was not ready for committee review.

Support and concerns: Craig Bickmore, a clinical hypnotherapist who identified himself to the committee as someone legislators have referred clients to for decades, told the committee he supports the bill and praised the sponsor’s approach to “surgically putting things in here that keep legitimate people legitimate.” The Utah Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (represented by Sarah Straub) and the Utah Mental Health Counselors Association (represented by Jessica Black) both testified in support, saying the bill would help prevent unlicensed life coaches from providing unauthorized mental‑health treatment and from circumventing discipline by rebranding as coaches. Straub and Black warned that some life‑coaching advertisements claim training in “transformative psychotherapeutic modalities” and that children had been seen by coaches in ways that the witnesses characterized as conversion therapy.

Committee action: Senator Plumb moved to pass SB 48 with a favorable recommendation; the committee recorded the vote as unanimous (4–0) and advanced the bill.

SB 134 — Health Care Decisions Act Amendments: Uniform Law Commission revisions
Sponsor remarks and expert presentation: The bill adopts a modernized version of the Health Care Decisions Act drafted by the Uniform Law Commission. Mary Gay Jones, a Utah commissioner to the Uniform Law Commission and former general counsel to the Legislature, explained the draft updates: remote witnessing for advance directives, clarified definitions of capacity, expanded default surrogate lists to reflect contemporary family structures, and plain‑language simplified forms. Jones said stakeholders including Intermountain Health, the Utah Hospital Association, the Medical Association, AARP, the Utah Commission on Aging and the Disability Law Center reviewed the draft.

Public comment and suggested changes: Michelle Macomber of the Utah Medical Association and Dave Gessel of the Utah Hospital Association expressed appreciation for the modernization but raised concerns about the breadth of the proposed “health care professional” definition and asked for time to implement operational changes. Macomber asked the committee to continue work on clarifying what level of clinician may act in place of a physician in some circumstances. Gessel suggested extending the effective date to give hospitals and the department time to produce a form and update procedures; the sponsor and committee members agreed a later effective date or substitute could be used, and the sponsor said he would prepare a substitute amendment addressing the timing and related concerns.

Committee action: The committee adopted Amendment 1 to the bill and passed SB 134 to the floor with a favorable recommendation; the committee recorded the vote as unanimous (3–0 as reported at time of passage).

SB 60 — Newborn Testing Amendments: process vs. immediate mandate
Sponsor remarks: Senator Hinkins said SB 60 was brought at a constituent’s request concerning pyruvate dehydrogenase complex disorder (PDCD). The sponsor acknowledged there is not yet an available standardized test for PDCD in the newborn panel and said the goal of the bill was to keep the condition “in the queue” for review by the newborn screening advisory committee when testing and treatments become available.

Expert testimony: Pediatric neurologist Dr. Russ Butterfield and other members of the newborn screening community described the existing rules‑based process used by the newborn screening advisory committee to evaluate candidate disorders (criteria include an available test and an effective treatment). Multiple witnesses urged following the established advisory committee process rather than immediate legislative mandate. The transcript shows some fiscal concerns attached to legislative approaches; the sponsor said staff and the Department of Health might reduce any previously estimated fiscal impact.

Committee action: The sponsor asked the panel to advance SB 60 to keep the condition on the advisory committee’s radar; the motion to pass out SB 60 with a favorable recommendation was accepted and the bill advanced (vote tally not specified in the committee transcript excerpt).

HB 14 (first substitute) — Emergency Service Personnel Amendments
Purpose: Representative Thurston’s house bill clarifies when licensed emergency medical technicians and paramedics may perform licensed clinical functions (IV insertion, medication administration, etc.) in non‑ambulance settings (hospitals, clinics) and establishes administrative criteria so their licensure can be used where appropriate. The sponsor presented a substitute that simplifies language for Department of Public Safety administration.

Committee action: The committee adopted the substitute and passed the bill with a favorable recommendation; committee roll call recorded the vote as unanimous (4–0 reported at passage).

SB 65 — Medication‑Assisted Treatment (MAT) Amendments
Sponsor remarks: The sponsor said the bill bans residential treatment programs and recovery residences from requiring patients to discontinue FDA‑approved MAT medications (methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone) as a condition of entry or continued residency. The sponsor framed the change as extending a standard already required of publicly funded programs into private residential programs and urged that forced discontinuation increases the risk of overdose.

Support: Adam Cohen, CEO of Odyssey House, and representatives of the Utah Substance Use and Mental Health Advisory Committee (Mia Nazger) and Utah support organizations testified in strong support, describing MAT as evidence‑based and lifesaving and urging passage.

Committee action: The committee passed SB 65 as amended with a favorable recommendation; the committee recorded a 5–0 vote in favor.

SB 76 — Marriage Amendments
Sponsor remarks: Senator Plumb presented SB 76 to narrow the permissible age difference for marriages involving 16‑ or 17‑year‑old minors from 7 years to 4 years and to require a 72‑hour waiting period between approval and issuance of a marriage license. The sponsor said the changes aim to protect minors and noted that Utah’s minors‑marriage counts have varied in recent years.

Public comment: Pediatricians and county clerks provided data or said they support the bill as a child‑protection measure. Testimony cited national research associating child marriage with adverse outcomes and trafficking risks.

Committee action: The committee advanced SB 76 to the floor with a favorable recommendation; the transcript records unanimous committee action (vote tally not specified in the excerpt).

HB 16 — Health Facility Administrator Act Amendments
Purpose and action: Representative Malloy (sponsor) presented HB 16 to extend the Health Facility Administrator Act to July 1, 2035, preserving the existing licensing and oversight framework for administrators of long‑term care and rehabilitation facilities. The committee passed the bill with a favorable recommendation (vote recorded as 5–0).

First substitute HB 56 — Civil Commitment Modifications
Sponsor remarks and purpose: Representative Eliason presented first substitute HB 56 as cleanup to last year’s civil‑commitment changes (from HB 299). The bill clarifies record release mechanics (allowing electronic records), aligns timing and holiday language to state holidays, relieves local mental‑health authorities of impractical duties, and adds a local mental‑health authority designee option to reduce HIPAA and operational conflicts.

Public comment: The Utah Association of Counties and local mental‑health authority representatives supported the substitute as a technical fix that reduces federal‑privacy conflicts and eases implementation.

Committee action: The committee adopted the first substitute and passed HB 56 with a favorable recommendation; recorded vote was 5–0.

What happens next

All advanced measures will be scheduled for floor consideration in the Senate. Multiple sponsors said they will prepare substitute language to address timing, effective dates or drafting clarifications before floor debate (SB 134 effective‑date timing; SB 134 forms/fiscal note; draft language related to conversion‑therapy concerns for SB 48; SB 60 potential fiscal issues). The committee adjourned after approving minutes and routine items.

Quotes (selected)

- Sponsor of SB 48: "We do create an education enforcement fund. This is a problem in our state and we do need to have an enforcement fund to be successful to root out those that are practicing mental health without a license." (senator presenting SB 48)

- Craig Bickmore (clinical hypnotherapist): "He's done an excellent job of surgically putting things in here that keep legitimate people legitimate... I would just urge you to support this bill." (public testimony on SB 48)

- Mary Gay Jones (Uniform Law Commission commissioner): "We actually hired what they call the plain language expert... so that anybody could just pick it up, read it, understand it, fill it out." (presentation on SB 134)

- Mia Nazger (Office of Substance Use and Mental Health): "USAVE recognizes that medication assisted treatment is an evidence based treatment for substance use disorder that reduces overdose deaths... The bill aligns with the recommendations of our behavioral health master plan and ensures continued access." (testimony in support of SB 65)

Ending

Committee members generally characterized the meeting as collaborative; a number of bills were advanced with unanimous committee support or without dissent recorded in the transcript excerpt. Sponsors committed to preparing substitutes or adjusted effective dates where stakeholders raised implementation or fiscal concerns. The committee adjourned after approving minutes and finishing the scheduled items for the Feb. 26 hearing.