POLITICS + GOVERNMENT

State Auditor says very few bathroom bill complaints made on “good faith”

Jun 6, 2024, 11:30 AM

A white sign shows directions to the bathrooms at the Utah State Capitol....

Signage for the restrooms at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (Megan Neilsen/Deseret News)

(Megan Neilsen/Deseret News)

SALT LAKE CITY — The State Auditor has found just five viable complaints, out of thousands, related to the state’s new “bathroom bill.”

H.B. 257 is the law that requires people to use the bathroom matching the gender they were assigned at birth.

State Auditor John Dougall said they received 12,000 complaints last month in an online form where anyone can submit a tip. 

Dougall said that only five of the complaints were made in “good faith.” However, they were not able to substantiate any of them. 

“This is very unique for us. I mean, clearly, the legislature was throwing us into the culture war,” he said. “And there’s folks that, the culture warriors out there that … (are) driving a certain narrative, and other people were responding to that narrative . And we were stuck in the middle of it.”

Dougall said his job is to ensure the state entities follow the law.

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State Auditor says very few bathroom bill complaints made on “good faith”