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

House Political Subdivisions Committee · February 13, 2026
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Summary

A substitute to HB 335 would have allowed sheriffs to designate certain command positions as at-will rather than merit; after testimony from unions and law-enforcement representatives about due process and chilling effects, a roll-call vote failed to advance a favorable recommendation.

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…

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