Utah House Democrats' leader says she's frightened of hyper-partisanship on the right 

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• Benjamin Wood
• Members of the Utah House of Representatives debate on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024.

CAPITOL HILL—While Utah leaders work to lure Major League Baseball and other investment to the Beehive State, Republicans in the Legislature are banning diversity initiatives, dictating who can and can't use the bathroom and fighting with the federal government over clean air standards.

Those contradictions were highlighted by Utah House Democrats on Wednesday, who expressed concern over what they view to be deepening partisanship among their majority colleagues.

"Who's going to really want to come to Utah?" said House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City. "I'm seeing some of the legislation coming before us and it really frightens me. It shows me we're moving more partisan than I've ever seen."

Speaking to members of the press, Romero noted other Republican-sponsored bills, like a proposal to require display of the biblical 10 Commandments in classrooms and another that passed out of committee on Tuesday that would allow for religious chaplains in public schools. The chaplain bill, HB514, caught the attention of the Satanic Temple—a non-theistic organization that employs the scare of "Satan" to highlight religious discrimination by public entities—with a representative testifying remotely in committee that local Satanists would welcome the opportunity to work with schoolchildren.

"It’s not about the individuals writing the bill, it’s about the policy," Romero said. "Does the policy really match the people of Utah? Or do the people of Utah need to wake up and say 'Who’s representing me?'"

Sen. Todd Weiler, a Woods Cross Republican whose district includes a portion of Salt Lake City, noted that while hundreds of bills are proposed, most of the laws that ultimately pass the Legislature do so with bipartisan support. He pointed to a resolution condemning state school board member Natalie Cline—who is facing widespread calls to resign after targeting a child online—as an example of the majority and minority parties working together on behalf of the state.

"One of the frustrating parts of serving in the Legislature is that we don't get to choose our colleagues. The voters do," Weiler said. "While it's true that the Utah House appears to have become a bit more conservative during the last election, the vast majority of bills debated and passed by the Legislature are unanimous or nearly unanimous."

But other members of the House minority caucus expressed similar concerns about the majority party. Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Sandy, said that too many bills seek to apply criminal penalties to what should be civil infractions. He pointed to a bill, HB424, that changes the definition of "Lewdness Involving a Child" to include acts that "simulate" sexual activities, and which could be elevated to a felony level on repeat violations and require a person to be listed on the Sex Offender Registry alongside much more violent and egregious offenders.

Some Democrats worry that HB424 could be used to target drag shows, Pride events and other pro-LGBTQ programming. The bill passed the House last week in a 59-9 vote, and Romero said those in her caucus who opposed the legislation were inundated on social media with accusations of being "groomers."

"We've been called every name in the book," Romero said.

Stoddard said the political climate is such that even if a member of the majority opposes a specific bill, they may feel compelled to vote for it and avoid recrimination. He also suggested that some lawmakers are looking to promote their personal preferences by making alternative viewpoints illegal.

"It’s really not the way we should be legislating," he said.

Republican lawmakers are also debating legislation that would cut back on Medicaid services, continuing years of effort to undermine the health care program both before and after Utahns voted for its expansion in 2018. Rep. Brett Garner, D-West Valley, said the public has made its support for Medicaid clear, both through the initiative vote and through the local patients who participate in the Medicaid program.

"There are many people who are depending on these services," Garner said. "They would be severely hurt if thees funding cuts went through."

Romero said that partisanship is threatening to "turn back time" on issues of public health and criminal justice. And its the most vulnerable residents of the state, she said, who are impacted by a majority that operates outside of mainstream attitudes.

"We already have marginalized communities, how much more can we marginalize people?" Romero said. "We’re erasing them."