Utah Senate passes ban on law enforcement ticket quotas

Utah Senate passes ban on law enforcement ticket quotas

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SALT LAKE CITY — Cities may soon have to find other ways to collect revenue, now that a prohibition on law enforcement ticket quotas passed the Senate.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, the sponsor of SB154, amended the bill to protect the rights of officers to collect useful data while still prohibiting the requirement of ticket quotas being placed upon them by their superiors.

The bill specifically penalizes any sanctions placed or punishments performed on an officer for failing to meet a certain amounts of arrests made or tickets written.

Sen. Don Ipson, R-St. George, and Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, spoke in opposition to the bill Wednesday.

Ipson remarked that if there's a problem area, such as drunken driving, the bill would prevent police chiefs from targeting that area and saving lives. He said the state Legislature has no business interfering with that local authority.

Hillyard said the Legislature is "using a sledgehammer to kill a fly" with the bill, adding that its language is too broad.

Most senators were supportive of the bill.

Sen. Jake Anderegg, R-Lehi, talked about how wrong it is to give "that feeling" to people when they know they are being pulled over to meet a quota and collect revenue.

Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, who was on the committee that approved the bill for the Senate's discussion, reitereated that he had seen firsthand the pressure police officers are put under to collect revenue when he was a city councilman.

With only two no votes, the Senate passed the bill. It now goes to the House for consideration.

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Preston Cathcart

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