A Utah bill to restrict the allowable age gap between an underage minor and his or her adult spouse cleared its first legislative hurdle Monday.

The Senate Health and Human Services committee voted unanimously — without debate — to endorse SB76. The bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

Currently in Utah, a minor must be at least 16 years old to be married, but those under the age of 18 must have signed consent from a parent or guardian and permission from a juvenile court. State law also already restricts a judge from allowing a 16- or 17-year-old from marrying anyone more than seven years older.

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With SB76, sponsor Senator Jen Plumb, D-Salt Lake City, wants to lower that legal age gap for minors to four years. Her bill would also restrict the courts from issuing a written authorization for a minor to marry until at least 72 hours after the time at which the minor and his or her parent or legal guardian file paperwork for permission.

“Ultimately, for me, it is about protecting our young, our kids,” Plumb told lawmakers on the Senate committee. “It is likely more our girls, but it is all of our kids who could be put in vulnerable situations when they’re in this young, critical time in their lives.”

Jennifer Brinton, a pediatrician and a member of the Utah chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, urged support of the bill.

“I really wish that children weren’t victimized by child marriage at times, but unfortunately the data shows that sometimes it’s used to cover up statutory rape and sometimes child trafficking happens as well, giving kids fewer options for their future,” Brinton said.

Brinton cited a 2021 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health that showed nearly 300,000 minors under 18 were legally married in the U.S. between 2000 and 2018, and a vast majority were ages 16 or 17. The study also found that included mostly girls wed to adult men an average of four years older or more.

“I really recommend looking at ways we can help strengthen the support and protection for these youth, to not limit their future potential and to not make them victims without a voice,” Brinton said.

Over the last five years, the Utah County Clerk’s Office has issued 28 marriage licenses to 32 minor applications, according to Russ Rampton, who works in that office’s marriage license division. He said in that time frame, the average age gap was about one and a half years, while the highest was three and a half years.

Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said her office has issued seven marriage licenses to minors since 2019. Of those seven, she said three had an age gap larger than four years. “But for the most part, most of them were relatively close in age,” she said, speaking in support of Plumb’s bill.

Lawmakers then voted unanimously to pass the bill and forward it to the full Senate for consideration.

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