Democratic Rep. Carol Spackman Moss saw her bill pass its first test Thursday. A legislative committee approved the measure on an 8-2 vote, sending it on to the full House.

House Bill 94 would prohibit the state's Division of Juvenile Justice from placing violent kids or those who have committed sex offenses in residential neighborhoods.

"What rights do citizens expect to have for safety in their own community?" Moss asked fellow lawmakers.

While placement of group homes often spurs neighborhood outrage, HB94 is drawn directly from a yearlong fight over a proposed facility in Holladay.

In December, the city denied a business license to the Bountiful-based Futures Through Choices, which wanted to open a five-bed group home for teens with development disabilities who also had juvenile court convictions for sex offenses. The city argued the convictions made the proposed residents a threat to the community.

Futures responded with a federal lawsuit that accused Holladay of violating anti-discrimination statutes that protect the disabled.

Twenty-two of the 65 group homes that receive state funding are in residential neighborhoods, said Blake Chard, director of the Division of Juvenile Justice. And 45 percent of the children in those homes have convictions that would be prohibited by Moss' bill.

Some lawmakers who voted in favor of the proposal say they have concerns about what the bill says about reform efforts in the juvenile justice system.

"We either believe or don't believe in the system," said Rep. Brad King, D-Price.

jsantini@sltrib.com