Plea in Abeyance Amendments

7
76-3-301.7
77-2a-1.5
77-2a-2
0
Plea in Abeyance Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Grant Amjad Miller
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses a plea in abeyance.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
modifies the requirements for compensatory service;
requires a prosecuting attorney to offer a plea in abeyance in certain circumstances and
provides requirements for that agreement to a plea in abeyance; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
76-3-301.7
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapters 259, 331
77-2a-2
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapters 214, 431
ENACTS:
77-2a-1.5
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
76-3-301.7
is amended to read:
76-3-301.7
. Compensatory service -- Credit for cost of court-ordered treatment
or course.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Compensatory service" means service or unpaid work performed by a person, in
lieu of the payment of a criminal fine
or a fee for a plea in abeyance described in
Section
77-2a-1.5
, for:
(i)
a state or local government agency;
(ii)
an entity that is approved as a nonprofit organization under Section 501(c) of the
Internal Revenue Code; or
(iii)
any other entity or organization if prior approval is obtained from the court.
(b)
"Eligible offense" means a criminal conviction, including a traffic offense.
(2)
(a)
When a defendant is sentenced to pay a fine for an eligible offense
or a fee for a
plea in abeyance described in Section
77-2a-1.5
, the court shall consider allowing the
defendant to complete compensatory service in lieu of the payment of the fine or
account receivable
, exclusive of any victim restitution imposed
or the fee
.
(b)
Notwithstanding Subsection
(2)(a)
, the court may not allow a defendant to complete
compensatory service in lieu of the payment of any victim restitution that is imposed
for an eligible offense.
(3)
A
The court shall inform a
defendant who intends to forfeit bail
or who
, who
is
ordered to pay a fine by the court for an eligible offense
shall be informed by the court
,
or who is required to pay a fee for a plea in abeyance described in Section
77-2a-1.5
for
an eligible offense,
of the opportunity to perform compensatory service in lieu of the
fine or bail
fine, fee, or bail
amount.
(4)
The court shall credit timely completed compensatory service reported in accordance
with Subsection
(5)
against the
fine or bail
fine, fee, or bail
amount at the rate of $12
per hour and shall allow the defendant a reasonable amount of time to complete the
service.
(5)
(a)
The court shall provide the defendant with instructions that inform the
organization:
(i)
about the requirements in Subsection
(5)(b)
; and
(ii)
that making a written false statement to the court about the defendant's
compensatory service is punishable as a class B misdemeanor pursuant to Section
76-8-504
.
(b)
The defendant shall report compensatory service hours to the court in a letter that:
(i)
is on the organization's official letterhead and includes contact information for the
organization's representative;
(ii)
specifies the number of hours for which the defendant provided service;
(iii)
contains a brief description of what the service involved; and
(iv)
(A)
is signed by an authorized representative of the organization; or
(B)
is in a form otherwise acceptable to the court.
(6)
The court may refuse to accept compensatory service:
(a)
completed prior to the date of sentencing;
(b)
that has been submitted to another court for credit; or
(c)
completed at an agency or organization or is a type of service that is specifically
prohibited by the court.
(7)
In addition to any other provision of this section, a court may order that the unpaid
amount of the criminal accounts receivable, that is not the principal or interest amount
owed for restitution, be reduced in the amount of the cost of any treatment or course if:
(a)
the treatment or course was ordered by the court as part of the case;
(b)
the defendant has completed the court's requirements related to the treatment or
course;
(c)
the defendant provides proof that the defendant completed the court's requirements
and paid the cost of the treatment or course; and
(d)
the court finds that payment of an unpaid amount of a criminal accounts receivable
will impose manifest hardship on the defendant or the defendant's family.
Section 2. Section
77-2a-1.5
is enacted to read:
77-2a-1.5
. Offer of a plea in abeyance.
(1)
As used in this section, "convicted" means the same as that term is defined in Section
76-3-201
.
(2)
A prosecuting attorney shall offer a plea in abeyance to a defendant if:
(a)
the individual has never been convicted of an offense;
(b)
the individual is charged with:
(i)
retail theft, as described in Section
76-6-602
;
(ii)
the unlawful purchase, possession, or consumption of alcohol by a minor, as
described in Section
32B-4-409
; or
(iii)
a misdemeanor offense for possession of a controlled substance in violation of
Subsection
58-37-8(2)(a)(i)
; and
(c)
the individual was 18 years old at the time of the offense.
Section 3. Section
77-2a-2
is amended to read:
77-2a-2
. Plea in abeyance agreement -- Negotiation -- Contents -- Terms of
agreement -- Waiver of time for sentencing.
(1)
At any time after acceptance of a plea of guilty or no contest but before entry of
judgment of conviction and imposition of sentence,
the court may,
and
upon motion of
both the prosecuting attorney and the defendant,
the court may
hold the plea in abeyance
and not enter judgment of conviction against the defendant nor impose sentence upon
the defendant within the time periods contained in Rule 22(a)
,
of the
Utah Rules of
Criminal Procedure.
(2)
A defendant shall be represented by counsel during negotiations for a plea in abeyance
and at the time of acknowledgment and affirmation of any plea in abeyance agreement
unless the defendant knowingly and intelligently waives the defendant's right to counsel.
(3)
A defendant has the right to be represented by counsel at any court hearing relating to a
plea in abeyance agreement.
(4)
(a)
Any
Subject to Subsection
(6)
, a
plea in abeyance agreement entered into
between the prosecution and the defendant and approved by the court shall
, subject
to Subsection
(7)
,
include a full, detailed recitation of the requirements and
conditions agreed to by the defendant and the reason for requesting the court to hold
the plea in abeyance.
(b)
If the plea is to a felony or any combination of misdemeanors and felonies, the
agreement shall be in writing and shall, before acceptance by the court, be executed
by the prosecuting attorney, the defendant, and the defendant's counsel in the
presence of the court.
(5)
(a)
Except as provided in
Subsection
(5)(b)
Subsections
(5)(b)
and
(5)(c)
, a plea may
not be held in abeyance for a period longer than 18 months if the plea is to any class
of misdemeanor or longer than three years if the plea is to any degree of felony or to
any combination of misdemeanors and felonies.
(b)
(i)
For a plea in abeyance agreement that the Division of Adult Probation and
Parole created in Section
64-14-202
supervises, the plea may not be held in
abeyance for a period longer than the initial term of probation required under the
adult sentencing and supervision length guidelines, as defined in Section
63M-7-401.1
, if the initial term of probation is shorter than the period required
under Subsection
(5)(a)
.
(ii)
Subsection
(5)(b)(i)
does not:
(A)
apply to a plea that is held in abeyance in a drug court created under Title
78A, Chapter 5, Part 2, Drug Court, or a problem solving court approved by
the Judicial Council; or
(B)
prohibit court supervision of a plea in abeyance agreement after the day on
which the Division of Adult Probation and Parole supervision described in
Subsection
(5)(b)(i)
ends and before the day on which the plea in abeyance
agreement ends.
(6)
(c)
Notwithstanding Subsection
(5)
, a
A
plea may be held in abeyance for up to
two years if the plea is to any class of misdemeanor and the plea in abeyance
agreement includes a condition that the defendant participate in a problem solving
court approved by the Judicial Council.
(7)
(6)
(a)
A plea in abeyance agreement may not:
(a)
(i)
be approved unless the defendant, before the court, and any written
agreement, knowingly and intelligently waives time for sentencing as designated
in Rule 22(a)
,
of the
Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure; or
(b)
(ii)
notwithstanding any other provision of law, include as part of the
requirements and conditions agreed to by the defendant that the defendant will
forfeit a firearm owned by the defendant if the offense the defendant will plea to is
not an offense that would make the defendant a restricted person under Section
76-11-302
or
76-11-303
or federal law.
(b)
For a plea in abeyance described in Section
77-2a-1.5
:
(i)
the plea in abeyance agreement may not:
(A)
require incarceration of the defendant; or
(B)
require the defendant to pay a fee of $200 or more; and
(ii)
the plea in abeyance agreement shall allow the defendant to perform
compensatory service as described in Section
76-3-301.7
in lieu of the fee
described in Subsection
(6)(b)(i)(B)
.
Section 4.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
1-14-26 12:56 PM