Senate passes substitute of domestic-violence bill requiring a 2-minute lethality screening, creates nonpublic database

The Utah Senate on Jan. 30 approved a second substitute to Senate Bill 117, advancing a measure that mandates an 11-question lethality assessment (LAP) in intimate-partner domestic violence responses and funds a nonpublic database for law enforcement to consult. The substitute passed under suspension of rules and will be transmitted to the House.

Sponsor Senator Wyler described the bill as the product of statewide meetings with police chiefs, judges, defense attorneys and victims’ advocates. He said the measure would "mandate that law enforcement take 2 minutes and ask these 11 questions" and that the answers would guide immediate safety steps, such as connecting victims to shelter services and advising temporary relocation. The bill also includes appropriations to ensure there are staff and hotlines available when officers make referrals.

Wyler argued the database is intended to help officers spot patterns of repeated calls or threats: "The database is not public... it would only be available to the police and to law enforcement," he said, and clarified that LAP results "would be available to a judge when he's deciding on, or she is deciding on issues of bail." Senators expressed both support and concern during floor discussion.

Senator Winterton asked directly about long-term consequences of a record in the database: "Is this something that will mar somebody for life?" Wyler acknowledged those concerns, saying the database is meant to inform officer discretion rather than to be used for sentencing, and noted the substitute includes technical language and appropriations to staff the system. Senator Kwan and Senator Vickers spoke in favor, saying the measure "transcends culture" and could help prevent escalation when agencies lack cross-jurisdictional communication.

After procedural motions to substitute and to suspend the three-reading requirement, the Senate recorded that the second substitute to Senate Bill 117 "passes and will be sent to the House for their consideration." The Senate then observed a moment of silence for Gabby Petito; Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson and family members were present in the chamber.

The bill's next step is consideration in the House; the transcript records the Senate's passage and the sponsor's description of the LAP and database but does not include bill text or statutory citations in full.