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Utah bans polygraph tests for those reporting sexual assault

A state legislator was moved to sponsor the bill — now signed into law — following a Salt Lake Tribune-ProPublica investigation that showed how polygraphs can retraumatize sexual abuse victims.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, reacted Thursday after the signing of a bill banning polygraph requests for alleged sexual assault victims. Romero, who first sponsored the measure in 2024, grew emotional as she described how an alleged victim’s story, first highlighted in Salt Lake Tribune and ProPublica reporting, motivated her to keep pushing the legislation.