Committee OKs bill making it a misdemeanor to leave children in car

SALT LAKE CITY – A bill making it a misdemeanor to leave children unattended in a vehicle passed a legislative committee Monday.

Senate Minority Caucus Manager Ben McAdams, D-Salt Lake, said his bill, SB124, is aimed at parents who leave their children behind for convenience, putting them at risk for heat or cold exposure or dehydration.

McAdams said the bill was requested by West Valley City authorities so those parents wouldn't have to be charged with child abuse or neglect. Instead, McAdams said, they would face the equivalent of a traffic ticket.

Both the Utah PTA and the Eagle Forum spoke in favor of the bill, but a representative of the Weber County 9/12 organization opposed it as unnecessary.

The bill now goes to the House.

— Lisa Riley Roche