4 Alleged 'Good Faith' Violations of Utah's 'Bathroom Bill' Couldn't Be Proven, Auditor Says

Of more than 12,000 complaints filed to a State Auditor's Office tip line set up after the passage of HB257, Utah's so-called transgender bathroom bill , five appeared to be “good faith” attempts at “plausible violations” of the law.

Utah State Auditor John Dougall announced Wednesday that after reviewing four of the five complaints, “we were unable to substantiate the allegations in any of the four complaints, but we noted two distinct issues “.

The examination of the fifth complaint is ongoing, he said.

Dougall said that of the more than 12,000 complaints his office received, “the overwhelming majority were frivolous at best and transparent hoaxes at worst.”

Among the government entities named in the four complaints, the auditor's office found the following:

• Duchesne County did not provide the auditor with the privacy compliance plan required by the county. “We reminded the county of its duty to adopt a compliance plan and gave it 30 days to do so.”

• The Provo School District has not yet adopted a final privacy compliance plan, but its draft privacy compliance plan appears to meet the requirements of the law. “We have given the Provo school district 30 days to adopt the plan.”

• Alpine School District has a privacy compliance plan that appears to comply with the law.

• The North Sevier Recreation Center has a privacy compliance plan that appears to comply with the law.

HB257, passed earlier this year, requires transgender people to use a public restroom or locker room corresponding to their sex assigned at birth, unless they have fully transitioned.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Kera Birkeland, R-Morgan, also requires government entities to provide single-occupant restrooms in new construction and review the feasibility of remodeling or remodeling projects.

HB257 requires the Utah State Auditor to establish a process to receive and investigate alleged violations of the statute by government entities. If the violations are substantiated, the government entity has 30 days to “cure the violation.”