© Utah State Senate @utahsenateParis Hilton celebrates passage of Utah's troubled teen institution reform bill
Paris Hilton took to social media on Wednesday to praise the Utah House of Representatives' Tuesday passage of a troubled teen institution reform bill.
"I am so proud to share that SB127, the bill I testified on behalf of has passed the Utah legislature which means it will become law!" the heiress captioned the celebratory post on Instagram.
Hilton recalled her teenage experience at Provo Canyon School, a psychiatric youth residential treatment center, while addressing the state's Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee on Feb. 8. She urged them to pass the bill, aimed at creating regulation for residential treatment centers for troubled teens.
"This bill protects thousands of youth in residential care from cruel punishments, strip-searches, and seclusion, bans the use of chemical restraint and peer restraint, ensures youth have unmonitored communication with their families, prohibits gender-based discrimination, creates suicide prevention policies, and more," Hilton wrote in her Instagram post.
Hilton shared footage of her testimony, during which she recounted the mistreatment she says she and other students experienced.
"So much of the abuse and trauma I experienced at Provo would now be illegal under this new law," Hilton said.
She added, "When I was at Provo Canyon School, I dreamed of making a difference. The teenage version of me would be so incredibly proud to know I accomplished my goal of protecting youth who are experiencing abuse in the name of treatment."
State Sen. Michael McKell, who introduced the bill, thanked Hilton in a tweet.
"Thank you @ParisHilton for bringing attention to this critical issue," he wrote.
The bill was approved in a 70-2 vote in the Utah House on Tuesday, after being unanimously approved by the Utah Senate on Feb. 16, according to the Deseret News.