Utah lawmakers are taking another swing at police ticket quotas, aiming to shut down what critics say are backdoor systems that still pressure officers to write citations.
Senate Bill 67 would tighten the state’s existing ban by forbidding law enforcement agencies from setting minimum citation numbers and from tying an officer’s ticket count to performance evaluations, promotions or discipline. In short, no more informal “hit these numbers or else” expectations.
Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that “we got report after report after report that some law enforcement agencies were still using a quota system,” and that some departments had simply rebranded those quotas as “point-based systems,” according to FOX 13 News. After hearing public testimony, the committee advanced SB 67 with a unanimous vote and sent it to the full Senate.
What the bill does
SB 67 defines an “impermissible quota” as any requirement or minimum standard about the number or percentage of citations an officer must issue. It would be illegal for a city, county or law enforcement agency to impose such thresholds or to use citation counts as a basis for personnel decisions, according to the Utah Legislature.
The bill does leave room for tracking police activity in other ways. Agencies could still log “metric-based interactions,” such as traffic stops that end in warnings instead of tickets. Targeted overtime or grant-funded enforcement operations would also be exempt from the quota ban, per the Utah Legislature.
Reporting and oversight
Under the introduced language, the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice would be required to collect and compile allegations that agencies are using quotas, then submit an annual report to the Legislature’s Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee. The commission would also have to accept public complaints about quota practices.
The draft bill sets an effective date of May 6, 2026, if it is passed and signed into law, according to LegiScan.
Responses and next steps
Nate Mutter of the Utah Law Enforcement Legislative Committee, which represents local police agencies, told lawmakers the group is neutral on the proposal, FOX 13 News reports.
Weiler has pitched SB 67 as a cleanup job on practices his office says continued despite an earlier legal ban on quotas. The Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to move the bill forward with a unanimous vote, according to FOX 13 News.
What to watch
SB 67 was introduced on Jan. 20 and received its committee hearing in mid-February. If it clears the full Senate, the bill will head to the House, and from there to the governor’s desk if it passes both chambers.
Members of the public can follow the bill’s text and official actions on trackers like LegiScan.
