HB 254

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1Plea in Abeyance Amendments
  2026 GENERAL SESSION
  STATE OF UTAH
  Chief Sponsor: Grant Amjad Miller
  Senate Sponsor:
2
3   LONG TITLE
4   General Description:
5This bill addresses a plea in abeyance.
6   Highlighted Provisions:
7This bill:
8▸ modifies the requirements for compensatory service;
9▸ requires a prosecuting attorney to offer a plea in abeyance in certain circumstances and
10   provides requirements for that agreement to a plea in abeyance; and
11▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
12   Money Appropriated in this Bill:
13None
14   Other Special Clauses:
15None
16   Utah Code Sections Affected:
17   AMENDS:
1876-3-301.7, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapters 259, 331
1977-2a-2, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapters 214, 431
20   ENACTS:
2177-2a-1.5, Utah Code Annotated 1953
22
23   Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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24Section 1. Section 76-3-301.7 is amended to read:
2576-3-301.7 . Compensatory service -- Credit for cost of court-ordered treatment
26   or course.
27   (1) As used in this section:
28(a) "Compensatory service" means service or unpaid work performed by a person, in
29lieu of the payment of a criminal fine or a fee for a plea in abeyance described in
30Section 77-2a-1.5, for:
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31(i) a state or local government agency;
32(ii) an entity that is approved as a nonprofit organization under Section 501(c) of the
33Internal Revenue Code; or
34(iii) any other entity or organization if prior approval is obtained from the court.
35      (b) "Eligible offense" means a criminal conviction, including a traffic offense.
36  (2)(a) When a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine for an eligible offense or a fee for a
37      plea in abeyance described in Section 77-2a-1.5, the court shall consider allowing the
38      defendant to complete compensatory service in lieu of the payment of the fine or
39      account receivable[, exclusive of any victim restitution imposed] or the fee.
40      (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a), the court may not allow a defendant to complete
41compensatory service in lieu of the payment of any victim restitution that is imposed
42for an eligible offense.
43  (3) [A] The court shall inform a defendant who intends to forfeit bail[ or who] , who is
44      ordered to pay a fine by the court for an eligible offense[ shall be informed by the court] ,
45      or who is required to pay a fee for a plea in abeyance described in Section 77-2a-1.5 for
46      an eligible offense, of the opportunity to perform compensatory service in lieu of the [
47      fine or bail] fine, fee, or bail amount.
48  (4) The court shall credit timely completed compensatory service reported in accordance
49      with Subsection (5) against the [fine or bail] fine, fee, or bail amount at the rate of $12
50      per hour and shall allow the defendant a reasonable amount of time to complete the
51      service.
52  (5)(a) The court shall provide the defendant with instructions that inform the
53      organization:
54(i) about the requirements in Subsection (5)(b); and
55(ii) that making a written false statement to the court about the defendant's
56compensatory service is punishable as a class B misdemeanor pursuant to Section
5776-8-504.
58      (b) The defendant shall report compensatory service hours to the court in a letter that:
59(i) is on the organization's official letterhead and includes contact information for the
60organization's representative;
61(ii) specifies the number of hours for which the defendant provided service;
62(iii) contains a brief description of what the service involved; and
63(iv)(A) is signed by an authorized representative of the organization; or
64(B) is in a form otherwise acceptable to the court.
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65   (6) The court may refuse to accept compensatory service:
66(a) completed prior to the date of sentencing;
67(b) that has been submitted to another court for credit; or
68(c) completed at an agency or organization or is a type of service that is specifically
69prohibited by the court.
70   (7) In addition to any other provision of this section, a court may order that the unpaid
71amount of the criminal accounts receivable, that is not the principal or interest amount
72owed for restitution, be reduced in the amount of the cost of any treatment or course if:
73(a) the treatment or course was ordered by the court as part of the case;
74(b) the defendant has completed the court's requirements related to the treatment or
75course;
76(c) the defendant provides proof that the defendant completed the court's requirements
77and paid the cost of the treatment or course; and
78(d) the court finds that payment of an unpaid amount of a criminal accounts receivable
79will impose manifest hardship on the defendant or the defendant's family.
80Section 2. Section 77-2a-1.5 is enacted to read:
8177-2a-1.5 . Offer of a plea in abeyance.
82   (1) As used in this section, "convicted" means the same as that term is defined in Section
8376-3-201.
84   (2) A prosecuting attorney shall offer a plea in abeyance to a defendant if:
85(a) the individual has never been convicted of an offense;
86(b) the individual is charged with:
87(i) retail theft, as described in Section 76-6-602;
88(ii) the unlawful purchase, possession, or consumption of alcohol by a minor, as
89described in Section 32B-4-409; or
90(iii) a misdemeanor offense for possession of a controlled substance in violation of
91Subsection 58-37-8(2)(a)(i); and
92(c) the individual was 18 years old at the time of the offense.
93Section 3. Section 77-2a-2 is amended to read:
9477-2a-2 . Plea in abeyance agreement -- Negotiation -- Contents -- Terms of
95   agreement -- Waiver of time for sentencing.
96   (1) At any time after acceptance of a plea of guilty or no contest but before entry of
97judgment of conviction and imposition of sentence, [the court may, ] and upon motion of
98both the prosecuting attorney and the defendant, the court may hold the plea in abeyance
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99      and not enter judgment of conviction against the defendant nor impose sentence upon
100      the defendant within the time periods contained in Rule 22(a)[,] of the Utah Rules of
101      Criminal Procedure.
102  (2) A defendant shall be represented by counsel during negotiations for a plea in abeyance
103      and at the time of acknowledgment and affirmation of any plea in abeyance agreement
104      unless the defendant knowingly and intelligently waives the defendant's right to counsel.
105  (3) A defendant has the right to be represented by counsel at any court hearing relating to a
106      plea in abeyance agreement.
107  (4)(a) [Any ] Subject to Subsection (6), a plea in abeyance agreement entered into
108      between the prosecution and the defendant and approved by the court shall[, subject
109      to Subsection (7),] include a full, detailed recitation of the requirements and
110      conditions agreed to by the defendant and the reason for requesting the court to hold
111      the plea in abeyance.
112      (b) If the plea is to a felony or any combination of misdemeanors and felonies, the
113agreement shall be in writing and shall, before acceptance by the court, be executed
114by the prosecuting attorney, the defendant, and the defendant's counsel in the
115presence of the court.
116  (5)(a) Except as provided in [Subsection (5)(b)] Subsections (5)(b) and (5)(c), a plea may
117      not be held in abeyance for a period longer than 18 months if the plea is to any class
118      of misdemeanor or longer than three years if the plea is to any degree of felony or to
119      any combination of misdemeanors and felonies.
120      (b)(i) For a plea in abeyance agreement that the Division of Adult Probation and
121Parole created in Section 64-14-202 supervises, the plea may not be held in
122abeyance for a period longer than the initial term of probation required under the
123adult sentencing and supervision length guidelines, as defined in Section
12463M-7-401.1, if the initial term of probation is shorter than the period required
125under Subsection (5)(a).
126(ii) Subsection (5)(b)(i) does not:
127(A) apply to a plea that is held in abeyance in a drug court created under Title
12878A, Chapter 5, Part 2, Drug Court, or a problem solving court approved by
129the Judicial Council; or
130(B) prohibit court supervision of a plea in abeyance agreement after the day on
131which the Division of Adult Probation and Parole supervision described in
132Subsection (5)(b)(i) ends and before the day on which the plea in abeyance
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133agreement ends.
134[(6)] (c) [Notwithstanding Subsection (5), a] A plea may be held in abeyance for up to
135two years if the plea is to any class of misdemeanor and the plea in abeyance
136agreement includes a condition that the defendant participate in a problem solving
137court approved by the Judicial Council.
138   [(7)] (6)(a) A plea in abeyance agreement may not:
139[(a)] (i) be approved unless the defendant, before the court, and any written
140agreement, knowingly and intelligently waives time for sentencing as designated
141in Rule 22(a)[,] of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure; or
142[(b)] (ii) notwithstanding any other provision of law, include as part of the
143requirements and conditions agreed to by the defendant that the defendant will
144forfeit a firearm owned by the defendant if the offense the defendant will plea to is
145not an offense that would make the defendant a restricted person under Section
14676-11-302 or 76-11-303 or federal law.
147(b) For a plea in abeyance described in Section 77-2a-1.5:
148(i) the plea in abeyance agreement may not:
149(A) require incarceration of the defendant; or
150(B) require the defendant to pay a fee of $200 or more; and
151(ii) the plea in abeyance agreement shall allow the defendant to perform
152compensatory service as described in Section 76-3-301.7 in lieu of the fee
153described in Subsection (6)(b)(i)(B).
154Section 4. Effective Date.
155   This bill takes effect on May 6, 2026.
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