UT HB0335

Peace officers in county sheriff's offices who supervise other officers and are within three levels of the sheriff in command structure are exempt from merit system protections, unless the sheriff designates the position as merit-covered before July 1, 2026

Current peace officers holding merit system positions before July 1, 2026 retain their merit protections unless they voluntarily accept a non-merit position or surrender their status

Merit system commissions must establish written policies with financial or other incentives to encourage officers with grandfathered merit status to voluntarily convert to exempt status

"Frontline peace officer supervisor" is defined as an officer who supervises other officers but does not supervise supervisors, and these positions remain in the merit system

Effective date is July 1, 2026