Committee rejects favorable recommendation on bill letting sheriffs convert some command staff to at-will

SALT LAKE CITY — The House Political Subdivisions Committee debated and ultimately did not advance a favorable recommendation for a controversial change to county employment rules that would allow sheriffs to convert some command-level positions from merit status to at-will.

Representative Christopherson, sponsor of the second substitute to HB 335, said the measure is designed to let sheriffs “right-size” command structure while protecting frontline peace-officer supervisors. The substitute would allow each sheriff to make a one-time decision, before July 1, 2026, about which command positions are at-will; those choices would then remain in effect to avoid changing status with every election.

Union and front-line voices urged caution. Corey Holdaway of the Utah Public Employees Association warned the committee that making more positions at-will could chill employees’ willingness to push back or provide alternate perspectives. “My fear with this bill is that, if you make those employees that are pushing back or questioning or providing feedback that maybe you don't like, they're part of your leadership team, and you say, okay. Well, great. Then you're fired,” Holdaway said.

JC Jensen, an attorney who represents many Fraternal Order of Police members and a former deputy, described due-process protections that merit employees receive, including predisciplinary Loudermill hearings and the right to appeal to district court. Jensen warned that converting command staff to at-will would remove those protections and chill applications to supervisory ranks.

Supporters said the substitute tries to strike a balance. Representative Gwen, who is appointed rather than elected, said elected sheriffs should have options to have command staff who are at-will when necessary to carry out an administration’s mission, but she also acknowledged the difficulty of locking future sheriffs and employees into irrevocable choices.

The committee adopted the second substitute by voice vote but later considered a motion to recommend the substitute favorably. On a roll-call vote the committee did not record a favorable recommendation. The transcript records multiple named votes and a final chair statement that the "motion fails 6 to 4." The roll call lists several members' votes in the record.

What happens next: Because the committee did not give a favorable recommendation, the bill will not proceed from this committee as recommended; sponsors and stakeholders said they may continue to negotiate language to clarify the definition of command staff and the one-time decision mechanism.