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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Teenagers who want to be emancipated from their parents at age 16 will be able to do so under a bill moving through the state House of Representatives.
Currently, Utah laws doesn't outline standards for the courts to grant emancipation to teens.
Democratic sponsor Roz McGee of Salt Lake City says the bill would help those kids in unstable family situations who are able to take care of themselves.
She says kids who don't qualify for state foster care have a "fuzzy" legal status. The bill would allow them access to services and opportunities that usually require parental permission.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says the bill would help the "Lost Boys," a group of teenagers kicked out of the southern Utah polygamist town of Hildale.
The one thing the bill WON'T do is let every angry 16-year-old go out on their own. Teens would have to prove to a judge that the emancipation was warranted and that they can care for themselves.
The bill passed a House committee unanimously and now moves to the full House for consideration.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
