To track the status of this bill, find it on our Legislation Tracker. Click here to contact the sponsor of the bill to share your thoughts, or click here to email your Senator and Representative about it.
Libertas Institute supports this bill
Senate Bill 262 by Sen. Daniel McCay will place new limits on how law enforcement officers can use unmarked vehicles during traffic enforcement.
Specifically, it prohibits officers from using unmarked law-enforcement vehicles to initiate stops for ordinary traffic infractions such as speeding, running a stop sign, or other minor violations of Utah’s Traffic Code. An “unmarked law enforcement vehicle” is one without a visible roof light bar or identifying markings on both sides that are clearly visible from at least 25 feet away.
SB 262 aims to increase transparency and public trust by ensuring that most traffic stops are conducted from clearly marked law enforcement cars. If someone is pulled over, they should be able to see and recognize that the vehicle behind them is a police vehicle, not a random unmarked car.
The bill doesn’t ban the use of unmarked vehicles altogether. The bill still allows officers to use them to investigate potential crimes, including serious driving offenses or other criminal activity. The restriction only applies to traffic infractions. In other words, if an officer suspects criminal behavior beyond a basic infraction, they may still initiate a stop using an unmarked vehicle.
