Surveillance and Investigatory Technology Amendments

51
63G-7-301
63I-1-277
77-23e-101
77-23e-102
77-23e-201
77-23e-202
77-23e-203
77-23e-204
77-23e-205
0
Surveillance and Investigatory Technology Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Ryan D. Wilcox
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill concerns the use of surveillance and investigatory technology.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines terms;
establishes limitations on the ability of a law enforcement agency to use a surveillance or
investigatory technology;
provides for the exclusion of information obtained in violation of law in certain
circumstances;
creates a private right of action against a law enforcement agency for the law enforcement
agency's prohibited use of a surveillance or investigatory technology, and waives
governmental immunity for the private right of action;
requires a law enforcement agency to annually report information concerning the law
enforcement agency's use of certain technology to the State Commission on Criminal
and Juvenile Justice (commission);
requires the commission to annually collect and report information received from law
enforcement agencies regarding the use of certain technology to the Law Enforcement
and Criminal Justice Interim Committee;
creates a sunset review for the law enforcement agency technology data reporting
requirements; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63G-7-301
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 9
63I-1-277
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Third Special Session, Chapter 5
77-23e-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 9
ENACTS:
77-23e-201
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
77-23e-202
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
77-23e-203
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
77-23e-204
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
77-23e-205
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
REPEALS:
77-23e-101
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 200
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
63G-7-301
is amended to read:
63G-7-301
. Waivers of immunity.
(1)
(a)
Immunity from suit of each governmental entity is waived as to any contractual
obligation.
(b)
Actions arising out of contractual rights or obligations are not subject to the
requirements of Section
63G-7-401
,
63G-7-402
,
63G-7-403
, or
63G-7-601
.
(c)
The Division of Water Resources is not liable for failure to deliver water from a
reservoir or associated facility authorized by Title
73, Chapter 26
, Bear River
Development Act, if the failure to deliver the contractual amount of water is due to
drought, other natural condition, or safety condition that causes a deficiency in the
amount of available water.
(2)
Immunity from suit of each governmental entity is waived:
(a)
as to any action brought to recover, obtain possession of, or quiet title to real or
personal property;
(b)
as to any action brought to foreclose mortgages or other liens on real or personal
property, to determine any adverse claim on real or personal property, or to obtain an
adjudication about any mortgage or other lien that the governmental entity may have
or claim on real or personal property;
(c)
as to any action based on the negligent destruction, damage, or loss of goods,
merchandise, or other property while it is in the possession of any governmental
entity or employee, if the property was seized for the purpose of forfeiture under any
provision of state law;
(d)
subject to Section
63G-7-302
, as to any action brought under the authority of Utah
Constitution, Article I, Section 22, for the recovery of compensation from the
governmental entity when the governmental entity has taken or damaged private
property for public uses without just compensation;
(e)
as to any claim for attorney fees or costs under Section
63G-2-209
,
63G-2-405
, or
63G-2-802
;
(f)
for actual damages under Title
67, Chapter 21
, Utah Protection of Public Employees
Act;
(g)
as to any action brought to obtain relief from a land use regulation that imposes a
substantial burden on the free exercise of religion under Title
63L, Chapter 5
, Utah
Religious Land Use Act;
(h)
except as provided in Subsection
63G-7-201(3)
, as to any injury caused by:
(i)
a defective, unsafe, or dangerous condition of any highway, road, street, alley,
crosswalk, sidewalk, culvert, tunnel, bridge, viaduct, or other structure located on
them; or
(ii)
any defective or dangerous condition of a public building, structure, dam,
reservoir, or other public improvement;
(i)
subject to Subsections
63G-7-101(4)
and
63G-7-201(4)
, as to any injury proximately
caused by a negligent act or omission of an employee committed within the scope of
employment;
(j)
notwithstanding Subsection
63G-7-101(4)
, as to a claim for an injury resulting from a
sexual battery, as provided in Section
76-5-418
, committed:
(i)
against a student of a public elementary or secondary school, including a charter
school; and
(ii)
by an employee of a public elementary or secondary school or charter school who:
(A)
at the time of the sexual battery, held a position of special trust, as defined in
Section
76-5-404.1
, with respect to the student;
(B)
is criminally charged in connection with the sexual battery; and
(C)
the public elementary or secondary school or charter school knew or in the
exercise of reasonable care should have known, at the time of the employee's
hiring, to be a sex offender, a kidnap offender, or a child abuse offender as
described in Section
53-29-202
, required to register under Title 53, Chapter 29,
Sex, Kidnap, and Child Abuse Offender Registry, whose status as a sex
offender, kidnap offender, or child abuse offender would have been revealed in
a background check under Section
53G-11-402
;
(k)
as to any action brought under Section
78B-6-2303
;
(l)
as to any action brought to obtain relief under Title
53H, Chapter 7, Part 7
, Student
Legal Representation;
(m)
as to any action brought under Section
53-30-301
;
and
(n)
as to any action or suit brought under Section
20A-19-301
and as to any
compensation or expenses awarded under Subsection
20A-19-301(5)
.
; and
(o)
as to any action brought under Section
77-23e-204
.
(3)
(a)
As used in this Subsection
(3)
:
(i)
"Code of conduct" means a code of conduct that:
(A)
is not less stringent than a model code of conduct, created by the State Board
of Education, establishing a professional standard of care for preventing the
conduct described in Subsection
(3)(a)(i)(D)
;
(B)
is adopted by the applicable local education governing body;
(C)
regulates behavior of a school employee toward a student; and
(D)
includes a prohibition against any sexual conduct between an employee and a
student and against the employee and student sharing any sexually explicit or
lewd communication, image, or photograph.
(ii)
"Local education agency" means:
(A)
a school district;
(B)
a charter school; or
(C)
the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(iii)
"Local education governing board" means:
(A)
for a school district, the local school board;
(B)
for a charter school, the charter school governing board; or
(C)
for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, the state board.
(iv)
"Public school" means a public elementary or secondary school.
(v)
"Sexual abuse" means the offense described in Subsection
76-5-404.1(2)
.
(vi)
"Sexual battery" means the offense described in Section
76-5-418
, considering
the term "child" in that section to include an individual under 18 years old.
(b)
Notwithstanding Subsection
63G-7-101(4)
, immunity from suit is waived as to a
claim against a local education agency for an injury resulting from a sexual battery or
sexual abuse committed against a student of a public school by a paid employee of
the public school who is criminally charged in connection with the sexual battery or
sexual abuse, unless:
(i)
at the time of the sexual battery or sexual abuse, the public school was subject to a
code of conduct; and
(ii)
before the sexual battery or sexual abuse occurred, the public school had:
(A)
provided training on the code of conduct to the employee; and
(B)
required the employee to sign a statement acknowledging that the employee
has read and understands the code of conduct.
(4)
(a)
As used in this Subsection
(4)
:
(i)
"Institution of higher education" means the same as that term is defined in Section
53H-1-101
.
(ii)
"Policy governing behavior" means a policy adopted by a higher education
institution or the Utah Board of Higher Education that:
(A)
establishes a professional standard of care for preventing the conduct
described in Subsections
(4)(a)(ii)(C)
and
(D)
;
(B)
regulates behavior of a special trust employee toward a subordinate student;
(C)
includes a prohibition against any sexual conduct between a special trust
employee and a subordinate student; and
(D)
includes a prohibition against a special trust employee and subordinate student
sharing any sexually explicit or lewd communication, image, or photograph.
(iii)
"Sexual battery" means the offense described in Section
76-5-418
.
(iv)
"Special trust employee" means an employee of an institution of higher education
who is in a position of special trust, as defined in Section
76-5-404.1
, with a
higher education student.
(v)
"Subordinate student" means a student:
(A)
of an institution of higher education; and
(B)
whose educational opportunities could be adversely impacted by a special
trust employee.
(b)
Notwithstanding Subsection
63G-7-101(4)
, immunity from suit is waived as to a
claim for an injury resulting from a sexual battery committed against a subordinate
student by a special trust employee, unless:
(i)
the institution of higher education proves that the special trust employee's
behavior that otherwise would constitute a sexual battery was:
(A)
with a subordinate student who was at least 18 years old at the time of the
behavior; and
(B)
with the student's consent; or
(ii)
(A)
at the time of the sexual battery, the institution of higher education was
subject to a policy governing behavior; and
(B)
before the sexual battery occurred, the higher education institution had taken
steps to implement and enforce the policy governing behavior.
Section 2. Section
63I-1-277
is amended to read:
63I-1-277
. Repeal dates: Title 77.
Reserved
Section
77-23e-205
, regarding annual reporting requirements for law
enforcement agency use of a surveillance or investigatory technology, is repealed July 1, 2033
.
Section 3. Section
77-23e-102
is amended to read:
23e. Limitations on Government Use of Technology
1. Government Use of Facial Recognition Technology
77-23e-102
. Definitions.
As used in this
chapter
part
:
(1)
"Department" means the Department of Public Safety, created in Section
53-1-103
.
(2)
"Facial biometric data" means data derived from a measurement, pattern, contour, or
other characteristic of an individual's face, either directly or from an image.
(3)
(a)
"Facial recognition comparison" means the process of comparing an image or
facial biometric data to an image database.
(b)
"Facial recognition comparison" does not include biometric surveillance information
as that term is defined in Section
77-23d-102
.
(4)
(a)
"Facial recognition system" means a computer system that, for the purpose of
attempting to determine the identity of an unknown individual, uses an algorithm to
compare biometric data of the face of the unknown individual to facial biometric data
of known individuals.
(b)
"Facial recognition system" does not include:
(i)
a system described in Subsection
(4)(a)
that is available for use, free of charge, by
the general public; or
(ii)
a system a consumer uses for the consumer's private purposes.
(5)
(a)
"Government entity" means:
(i)
an executive department agency of the state;
(ii)
the office of:
(A)
the governor;
(B)
the lieutenant governor;
(C)
the state auditor;
(D)
the attorney general; or
(E)
the state treasurer;
(iii)
the Board of Pardons and Parole;
(iv)
the Board of Examiners;
(v)
the National Guard;
(vi)
the Career Service Review Office;
(vii)
the State Board of Education;
(viii)
the Utah Board of Higher Education;
(ix)
the State Archives;
(x)
the Office of the Legislative Auditor General;
(xi)
the Office of Legislative Fiscal Analyst;
(xii)
the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel;
(xiii)
the Legislature;
(xiv)
a legislative committee of the Legislature;
(xv)
a court, the Judicial Council, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and
similar administrative units in the judicial branch;
(xvi)
an institution of higher education as that term is defined in Section
53H-1-101
;
(xvii)
an entity within the system of public education that receives funding from the
state; or
(xviii)
a political subdivision of the state as that term is defined in Section
63G-7-102
.
(b)
"Government entity" includes:
(i)
every office, agency, board, bureau, committee, department, advisory board, or
commission of an entity described in Subsection
(5)(a)
that is funded or
established by the government to carry out the public's business; or
(ii)
an individual acting as an agent of a government entity or acting on behalf of an
entity described in this Subsection
(5)
.
(6)
(a)
"Image database" means a database maintained by a government entity that
contains images the government entity captures of an individual while the individual
interacts with the government entity.
(b)
"Image database" does not include publicly available information.
(7)
"Law enforcement agency" means a public entity that exists primarily to prevent, detect,
or prosecute crime or enforce criminal statutes or ordinances.
(8)
"Trained employee" means an individual who is trained to make a facial recognition
comparison and identification and who has completed implicit bias training.
Section 4. Section
77-23e-201
is enacted to read:
2. Limitations on Law Enforcement Use of Technology for Surveillance or
Investigatory Purposes
77-23e-201
. Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1)
"Artificial intelligence technology" means the same as that term is defined in Section
13-72-101
.
(2)
"Biometric surveillance information" means the same as that term is defined in Section
77-23d-102
.
(3)
"Declared emergency" means a state of emergency that is declared by:
(a)
the president of the United States;
(b)
the governor in an executive order under Title 53, Chapter 2a, Part 2, Disaster
Response and Recovery Act; or
(c)
the chief executive officer of a political subdivision in a proclamation under Title 53,
Chapter 2a, Part 2, Disaster Response and Recovery Act.
(4)
"Facial recognition system" means the same as that term is defined in Section
77-23e-102
.
(5)
"Imaging surveillance device" means the same as that term is defined in Section
77-23d-102
.
(6)
"Law enforcement agency" means the same as that term is defined in Section
77-23e-102
.
(7)
"Location tracking" means information concerning the location of an individual or an
electronic device.
(8)
"Open-source data gathering" means the collection or analysis of information from
social media platforms, websites, or other digital actions or communications.
(9)
"Reverse-keyword information" means the same as that term is defined in Section
77-23f-101
.
(10)
"Reverse-location information" means the same as that term is defined in Section
77-23f-101
.
(11)
"Surveillance" means observing, collecting, monitoring, or recording an individual's
digital or physical activities or communications.
(12)
"Surveillance or investigatory technology" means a technology that can be used for
surveillance or the investigation of alleged criminal activity, using:
(a)
biometric surveillance information;
(b)
a facial recognition system;
(c)
an imaging surveillance device;
(d)
location tracking;
(e)
open-source data gathering;
(f)
reverse-keyword information; or
(g)
reverse-location data.
(13)
(a)
"Technology" means a computer system, device, application, software,
hardware, algorithm, program, or a similar product.
(b)
"Technology" includes artificial intelligence technology.
Section 5. Section
77-23e-202
is enacted to read:
77-23e-202
. Limitations on law enforcement agency use of technology for
surveillance or investigatory purposes -- Exceptions.
(1)
(a)
Except as provided in Subsection
(2)
, on or after July 1, 2027, a law enforcement
agency may not use a surveillance or investigatory technology unless the use of the
surveillance or investigatory technology is specifically authorized by state statute.
(b)
A state statute that regulates the use of a surveillance or investigatory technology
constitutes an authorization under Subsection
(1)(a)
.
(c)
A law enforcement agency is considered to be using a surveillance or investigatory
technology under this section regardless of whether:
(i)
the law enforcement agency's use is based on a purchase, contract, trial, pilot
program, or demonstration; or
(ii)
the law enforcement agency obtains information from the use of a surveillance or
investigatory technology by requesting or directing another entity to use the
surveillance or investigatory technology on the law enforcement agency's behalf.
(2)
A law enforcement agency may use a surveillance or investigatory technology that is
not specifically permitted by state statute if the use of the surveillance or investigatory
technology is:
(a)
limited to one 30-day period; and
(b)
in response to a declared emergency.
(3)
(a)
Except as provided in Subsection
(3)(b)
, an update or upgrade to, or expansion of,
a surveillance or investigatory technology that is authorized for use under Subsection
(1)(a)
is not considered a new surveillance or investigatory technology that requires a
new statutory authorization under Subsection
(1)(a)
.
(b)
An update or upgrade to, or expansion of, an existing surveillance or investigatory
technology authorized under Subsection
(1)(a)
requires a new statutory authorization
if the update, upgrade, or expansion adds or enables a new operational capability or
data collection or analysis function.
(4)
Nothing in this section permits the use of any technology that is prohibited under state
or federal law, and a surveillance or investigatory technology may only be used as
permitted under applicable state and federal law.
Section 6. Section
77-23e-203
is enacted to read:
77-23e-203
. Exclusion of information.
Information obtained in violation of the provisions of this part is subject to the rules
governing exclusion as if the information were obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment
to the United States Constitution or Utah Constitution, Article I, Section 14.
Section 7. Section
77-23e-204
is enacted to read:
77-23e-204
. Right of action for violation.
(1)
Subject to Section
78B-3-101.3
, a person who has been injured by a law enforcement
agency's use of a surveillance or investigatory technology in violation of Section
77-23e-202
may bring an action against the law enforcement agency for the relief
described in Subsection
(2)
if:
(a)
the law enforcement agency's use of the surveillance or investigatory technology was
a knowing or reckless violation of Section
77-23e-202
; and
(b)
the information obtained as a result of the violation described in Subsection
(1)(a)

caused the person's injury.
(2)
If in the action described in Subsection
(1)
the court finds by a preponderance of the
evidence a violation described in Subsection
(1)
, the court shall award:
(a)
compensatory damages established by the plaintiff, or $2,000, whichever is greater;
(b)
preliminary and other equitable or declaratory relief; and
(c)
reasonable attorney fees and reasonably incurred litigation costs.
(3)
It is a complete defense to an action brought under this section if the law enforcement
agency acted under a good faith determination that Section
77-23e-202
permitted the
conduct that caused the violation of Section
77-23e-202
.
Section 8. Section
77-23e-205
is enacted to read:
77-23e-205
. Annual reporting requirements for law enforcement agency use of a
surveillance or investigatory technology.
(1)
Beginning on July 1, 2028, a law enforcement agency shall annually, on or before July 1
of each year, report to the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice:
(a)
the type and, if applicable, the name and vendor, for each surveillance or
investigatory technology that the law enforcement agency used during the preceding
year; and
(b)
the authorization under Section
77-23e-202
for each item described in Subsection
(1)(a)
, including:
(i)
for an authorization under Subsection
77-23e-202(1)(a)
, for a surveillance or
investigatory technology that is authorized by state statute, the citation to the state
statute that authorizes the use of the surveillance or investigatory technology; and
(ii)
for an authorization under Subsection
77-23e-202(2)
, for a surveillance or
investigatory technology temporarily used in response to a declared emergency:
(A)
the dates that the surveillance or investigatory technology were used by the
law enforcement agency;
(B)
the date of the declared emergency; and
(C)
the entity that declared the emergency.
(2)
The State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice shall:
(a)
compile a report of the data submitted under Subsection
(1)
; and
(b)
annually on or before October 1, provide the report to the Law Enforcement and
Criminal Justice Interim Committee.
Section 9.
Repealer.
Title.
Section 10.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-27-26 11:46 AM