The Utah House voted Tuesday to codify a Utah Supreme Court ruling that requires biological fathers to assert their rights in court before an adoption if they wish to raise the child themselves.

Representatives approved HB74 by a vote of 54-18. It's a response to a court battle in which a biological father attempted to gain parental rights outside of the state but did not follow Utah's procedures. Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem, who voted for the bill, said she wanted her colleagues to be clear that it restricts a father's rights.

"Utah already has one of the strictest adoption laws in the country and gives the least amount of rights to fathers," Fowlke said. "This is another step in that direction."

The bill adopts in law the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling that a biological father out of state who knows that the mother is in Utah must file for his rights in Utah's legal system, said Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, the bill's sponsor.

"Adoption is important in Utah," Allen said, adding the bill helps facilitate it.