Both parties point to lawmakers using this 'sneaky' tactic to kill popular bills

• Governor Spencer Cox is supposed to be the only elected leader in Utah with the power to "veto" a bill, but some committee chairs stop ideas from being debated or discussed before it even gets that far.

• Republican lawmakers have complained about Rep. Ryan Wilcox (R-Ogden).

• Democrat lawmakers have complained about Rep. Kay Christofferson (R-Lehi) and Rep. Calvin Musselman (R-West Haven).

• Almost every lawmaker we’ve interviewed agrees with the old adage that the legislature is just like high school; if you’re not one of the cool kids, it can be tough to get anyone to listen to your bills or ideas.

SALT LAKE CITY — Republicans and Democrats say some Utah lawmakers are playing games, using a “sneaky” tactic designed to kill popular bills.

Some legislators call it a “pocket veto.”

Others simply call it working in the shadows.

The tactic is fairly simple. It begins when a bill is assigned to a committee. In Utah, the chairs of these committees have sole discretion on which bills are placed onto an agenda for discussion and debate.

That means, in a body of 104 lawmakers, it only takes one person to make a decision that stops the bill from being heard publicly.

Some committee chairs tell FOX 13 News that they’ve always worked to ensure that each bill is agendized, no matter how much they might dislike the ideas being presented.

Others see no problem with using their power to single-handedly kill a bill.

This story will contain quotes from interviews with more than a dozen lawmakers. Some of those lawmakers asked for anonymity, not wanting to be named because they don’t want to be labeled as “whiners,” which makes it even more difficult for them to pass legislation.

Most likely to succeed? Or class clown?

Voters and lawmakers often feel the same way: the halls of the Utah State Capitol aren’t much different than the playground or the cafeteria.

Some days, you hear gossip.

Some days, you will be judged for who your friends are.

It helps to be part of the right group, but just having an “R" next to your name might not be enough in Utah’s Republican supermajority.

One lawmaker – a Republican who asked to not be named – called it a “popularity contest.”

He’s thankful to be considered “one of the cool kids,” which means he’s able to pass bills.

Others like Rep. Brett Garner, D-West Valley City, described being an “outcast.”

“The game is rigged,” Garner said. “It’s going to hurt everybody.”

WATCH: Ben McAdams explains how the videos we watched in elementary school don't fully explain the "shadow process" of how a bill gets killed

Ben McAdams explains how the videos we watched in elementary school don't fully explain the "shadow process" of how a bill gets killed

Ben McAdams was a member of the Utah State Senate from 2009 to 2012 – prior to being elected to serve as the mayor of Salt Lake County.

“It takes more than just a good idea or a good bill to be a good legislator,” McAdams said. “I don’t know that I was one of the cool kids, but I tried to be nice to everybody.”

McAdams was a rising star in the Utah Democratic Party, known for being politically moderate.

He says he prided himself on being able to foster important relationships with committee chairs, yet he still witnessed some of his bills die as part of the “shadow process.”

“There is kind of a natural unwritten order that is very frustrating,” McAdams said. “I saw it happen many many times. I saw it happen to my bills. I saw it happen to bills that I supported. I also saw it happen to bills that I didn’t like."

McAdams later served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021.

“The legislature, in many cases is like high school,” McAdams said. “People get jealous. They want to get revenge!”

HB 547 - Police quotas

Our interest in “pocket vetoes” started with House Bill 547 , a bipartisan piece of legislation which would have imposed harsher penalties on police departments with ticket quotas.

Like most bills, it has a backstory.

The Utah State Legislature banned police quotas in 2018 , but that hasn’t stopped the Ogden Police Department from instituting a “point system” that rewards officers based on the number of tickets they write.

“We have at least one police agency that’s basically ignoring the law,” said Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross. “They can’t treat the laws like a smorgasbord and pick the ones they like and ignore the ones they don’t like.”

Several officers spoke with FOX 13 News in 2023 to expose the point system.

• Police quotas are illegal, but Ogden says it has a ‘point system’ instead

• Emails reveal Ogden Police Department's ticket-for-revenue strategy

• 110+ Utah police agencies say they don’t use quotas or point-based evaluations

In August, Ogden PD Chief Eric Young was summoned to testify before the Administrative Rules and General Oversight Committee.

Members of that committee were not impressed with the chief's explanations.

“My eyes were opened. The law needs to change,” said Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Mountain Green. “Myself and some of my colleagues, we are going to pursue this.”

“The statute didn’t say quotas are okay if it’s one of ten criteria that are looked at,” said Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo. “We’ll be seeing a bill coming forward this year.”

WATCH: Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle speak to FOX 13 News about quotas

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle speak to FOX 13 News about quotas

Ogden voters like Dave Timmerman and Malik Dayo were also excited to see a change.

“This isn’t really a controversial topic,” Dayo said. “This isn’t a left or right issue... These are quotas that affect everyday people in Ogden who are struggling to make it every month.”

Timmerman, a former officer with the Salt Lake City Police Department, was especially interested in seeing Ogden PD held accountable.

“I’m not liberal, okay? I am a conservative, but I am not a Republican,” Timmerman said. “Did they just table the entire bill? Do you know what happened?”

The bill was assigned to the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee.

Rep. Ryan Wilcox (R-Ogden) never placed the bill on an agenda.

Several Republican lawmakers called it “home cooking.” They said they believe Wilcox killed the bill because of his close relationship with Chief Young.

“Ryan Wilcox is an elected official, which means he has 100% responsibility to put that bill on the table,” Dayo said. “If not? He’s not doing his job.”

FOX 13 News filed several requests under Utah’s public records law, seeking emails and text messages between Wilcox and Ogden employees.

In May, messages show Wilcox encouraged the chief after news stories questioning the city’s ticketing practices.

“Go Chief!!!” Wilcox texted on May 23, 2023.

“👍 👍” Chief Young responded.

After the bill died, Wilcox learned FOX 13 News was pursuing this story.

“The reporter is going after me now. 😂,” Wilcox wrote on February 29, 2024. “He’s mad we didn’t like his bill.”

“Like a bad rash, hurts in all the wrong places and only gets worse if you scratch 😂,” responded Chief Young.

Dayo said he believes the text messages show Wilcox prioritized his relationship with the chief over his own constituents.

"What kind of leadership is this?” Dayo said. “It’s not your bill. It’s my bill. You’re reporting on it. You’re doing your job. You’re an investigative reporter. That’s why we have the First Amendment, so you can bring accountability and transparency to our government, whether it’s good or bad. I guess they just don’t respect that. They don’t respect that.”

In a statement, Wilcox said there wasn’t enough time to hear the bill because it was introduced late in the session.

Our review of committee agendas shows the bill could have been heard on February 21, February 22, or February 26.

In fact, Wilcox's committee only heard two bills on February 26. One of those bills was introduced even later in the session. The meeting lasted just 27 minutes.

“That does not sound like government to me. That should be done away with. It does make it look like there is corruption,” Timmerman said. “I’m annoyed when certain people in office, and Ryan (Wilcox) is one of them, don’t listen to all of his constituency... As with many bills which sometimes make a difference, it seems like they don’t come to the light of day.”

Wilcox declined multiple requests for an on-camera interview in 2024.

He last agreed to an interview on May 17, 2023.

At the time, at least publicly, Wilcox mostly agreed with his fellow Republican lawmakers who spoke against police quotas.

WATCH: Rep. Ryan Wilcox speaks with FOX 13 News on May 17, 2023

Rep. Ryan Wilcox speaks with FOX 13 News on May 17, 2023 + full timeline

“When I talk to (police) chiefs, a lot of them cringe at the idea of a quota or anything even resembling one. Do you agree?” asked FOX 13 News investigative reporter Adam Herbets.

“Do I agree that chiefs cringe?” Wilcox responded, laughing.

“Do you feel anything similar to that?” Herbets asked.

“Yeah, I don’t like quotas either,” Wilcox said. “I don’t think the average citizen does... If there’s a wider issue that we need to address, I’m certain that we will.”

At the time, Wilcox said he believes the Ogden City Council should be able to address any necessary changes to the point system.

HB 498 - Firearm safety classes

Rep. Brett Garner (D-West Valley City) says he also had trouble getting his bills placed onto agendas during this year’s legislative session, and Wilcox was not the only committee chair to he had trouble with.

He agreed to speak with FOX 13 News, stating he’s not afraid to complain publicly about his legislative voice being “silenced” now that his term is set to expire next year.

House Bill 498 was assigned to the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee on February 13, 2024.

If passed, it would have created a pilot program to provide a firearm safety course in public schools.

Garner said the bill would have had bipartisan support and that several conservative groups were looking forward to testifying in favor of the bill.

Wilcox has not responded to requests for comment.

“I don’t know what it was with him,” Garner said. “It could have been that I voted against the baseball stadium bill and spoke against his school safety bill . We had debate in the House of Representatives on that. I don’t know if he took offense to that. I hope not. I felt like I had a pretty good working relationship with him.”

WATCH: Rep. Brett Garner discusses three of his bills that never made it onto an agenda

Rep. Brett Garner discusses three of his bills that never made it onto an agenda

HB 201 - Speed cameras in school zones

House Bill 201 was assigned to the House Transportation Committee on January 18, 2024.

The bill would have allowed police to use speed cameras in school zones.

The committee chair – Rep. Kay Christofferson, R-Lehi – declined to put the bill on an agenda.

“We prioritized the ones that we felt had a change to go through. I didn’t think this had a chance to go through,” Christofferson said. “It takes time and bandwidth, and it’s just something that I felt like. I didn’t even want to open it up to the vote.”

Garner said a hearing with testimony from law enforcement might have changed Christofferson’s mind, if the bill was given a chance.

“The committee chairs have quite a bit of power to hold a bill. If they don’t want to let a bill out, they don’t have to,” Christofferson said. “Even if it did have support, I could have said, ‘No, I don’t want to let it out.’ ... Sometimes, you just say, ‘I don’t want to take the time.’ We have plenty of other bills.”

HB 168 - Political contributions

House Bill 168 was assigned to the House Government Operations Committee on February 6, 2024.

The bill would have made a change to the state website , making it easier for the public to find out which candidates a particular donor is contributing to.

The committee chair – Rep. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven – declined to put the bill on an agenda.

“It was a little confusing to me,” Musselman said. “You can already see who is contributing to what. What service would we be supplying the general public just to make it simpler?”

Musselman also noted it would have cost money to make changes to the state website.

Garner said any confusion about the bill would have been cleared up, had it been placed on the agenda for discussion.

“They don’t like it when people try and reveal who was trying to influence them,” Garner said. “They don’t want that transparency. They like it dark. (An) easy way for people to not know what’s going on.”

“You have to prioritize as the committee chair which bills go through the process,” Musselman said.

Some disagree with the high school analogy

Garner said he believes his bills weren’t agendized because he was too outspoken – making him not one of the “cool kids” on Capitol Hill.

He believes most lawmakers are “thin skinned” and “take a lot of things too personally.”

“I’ve been fairly vocal and voted no on a lot of things,” Garner said. “They don’t like it when people speak up. They want someone who plays along with their game... They don’t want transparency. They don’t want to take on kids getting killed in crosswalks. They don’t want to take on the violence in our schools.”

Mason Hughes, communications director for the Utah Democratic Party, said the tactic is not new. He believes it is being discussed more openly now that Republicans have started feuding amongst each other.

“Any time a piece of legislation is too popular, committee chairs do this kind of underhanded thing where they keep it from getting on an agenda,” Hughes said. “It’s a way for them to defeat popular legislation without blowback from the public.”

Voters who spoke with FOX 13 News said the tactic promotes government distrust.

“I would never vote for any candidate (who does this),” Dayo said. “It doesn’t matter what side you’re on. Put the legislation on the table, and let’s see if it passes or not. That’s how democracies work. It shouldn’t be a popularity contest.”

“It’s the popular kid kind of thing,” Timmerman said. “Everybody’s afraid to actually do the right thing.”

Some lawmakers disagree with the high school analogy. They admit relationships are important, but they think it’s more about being courteous than fitting in.

“I’ve never had a problem with a chairman putting my bill on the agenda for the standing committee hearing,” said Rep. Doug Owens, D-Millcreek.

“You don’t have to be a popular kid,” said Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy. “You just have to have emotional intelligence.”

WATCH: Ben McAdams says the games were even worse in Washington DC

Ben McAdams says the games were even worse in Washington DC

McAdams said he believes Utah legislators often have a mutual respect for one another, which hopefully makes committee chairs less likely to play games.

The games are even worse in Washington DC, he says, because that respect often doesn’t exist at the federal level.

“The public wants to see it happen the way that it’s supposed to happen,” McAdams said. “But if you’re a jerk to your colleagues? They’re not going to go out of their way to help you.”

“That is a valuable skill in high school, and it’s a valuable skill in the legislature.”

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