Criminal Trespass Amendments

3
76-6-206
0
Criminal Trespass Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Thomas W. Peterson
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends the offense of criminal trespass.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
amends provisions in the offense of criminal trespass related to how notice is provided to
an actor that entering a certain property is unlawful.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
76-6-206
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapters 173, 295
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
76-6-206
is amended to read:
76-6-206
. Criminal trespass.
(1)
(a)
As used in this section:
(i)
"Enter" means intrusion of the entire body or the entire unmanned aircraft.
(ii)
"Graffiti" means the same as that term is defined in Section
76-6-101
.
(iii)
"Remain unlawfully," as that term relates to an unmanned aircraft, means
remaining on or over private property when:
(A)
the private property or any portion of the private property is not open to the
public; and
(B)
the person operating the unmanned aircraft is not otherwise authorized to fly
the unmanned aircraft over the private property or any portion of the private
property.
(b)
Terms defined in Sections
76-1-101.5
and
76-6-201
apply to this section.
(2)
An actor commits criminal trespass if, under circumstances not amounting to burglary
as defined in Section
76-6-202
,
76-6-203
, or
76-6-204
, a violation of Section
76-6-106.2
,
or a violation of Section
76-9-113
regarding commercial obstruction or Section
76-9-114

regarding aggravated commercial obstruction:
(a)
the actor enters or remains unlawfully on or causes an unmanned aircraft to enter and
remain unlawfully over property and:
(i)
intends to cause annoyance or injury to any person or damage to any property,
including the use of graffiti;
(ii)
intends to commit any crime, other than theft or a felony; or
(iii)
is reckless as to whether the actor's or unmanned aircraft's presence will cause
fear for the safety of another;
(b)
knowing the actor's or unmanned aircraft's entry or presence is unlawful, the actor
enters or remains on or causes an unmanned aircraft to enter or remain unlawfully
over property to which notice against entering is given by:
(i)
personal communication to the actor by the owner or someone with apparent
authority to act for the owner;
(ii)
fencing or other enclosure obviously designed to exclude intruders;
or
(iii)
posting of signs
or other boundary indicators
reasonably likely to come to the
attention of intruders;
or
(iv)
structures, fencing, or other physical barriers meant to manage or control the
movement of livestock.

(c)
the actor enters a condominium unit in violation of Section
57-8-7(8)
; or
(d)
the actor enters a sex-designated changing room in violation of Subsection
63G-31-302(3)
.
(3)
(a)
Except as provided in Subsection
(3)(b)
, a violation of Subsection
(2)(a)
,
(b)
, or
(d)
is a class B misdemeanor.
(b)
The following is a class A misdemeanor:
(i)
if a violation of Subsection
(2)(a)
or
(b)
is committed in a dwelling;
(ii)
if a violation of Subsection
(2)(d)
is committed while also committing the offense
of:
(A)
lewdness under Section
76-5-419
;
(B)
lewdness involving a child under Section
76-5-420
;
(C)
voyeurism under Section
76-12-306
;
(D)
recorded or photographed voyeurism under Section
76-12-307
;
(E)
distribution of images obtained through voyeurism under Section
76-12-308
;
or
(F)
loitering in a privacy space under Section
76-12-309
; or
(iii)
if a violation of Subsection
(2)(d)
is committed in a sex-designated privacy
space, as defined in Section
76-12-309
, that is not designated for individuals of
the actor's sex.
(c)
A violation of Subsection
(2)(c)
is an infraction.
(4)
It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:
(a)
the property was at the time open to the public; and
(b)
the defendant complied with all lawful conditions imposed on access to or remaining
on the property.
(5)
In addition to an order for restitution under Section
77-38b-205
, an actor who commits a
violation of Subsection
(2)
may also be liable for:
(a)
statutory damages in the amount of three times the value of damages resulting from
the violation of Subsection
(2)
or $500, whichever is greater; and
(b)
reasonable attorney fees not to exceed $250, and court costs.
(6)
Civil damages under Subsection
(5)
may be collected in a separate action by the
property owner or the owner's assignee.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-5-26 10:09 AM