Utah State Rep. Kera Birkeland announced Thursday afternoon she’s resigning from the legislature on Jan. 10, days before the 2025 General Session is set to begin.
Birkeland, whose district includes eastern Summit County and the Snyderville Basin, said “right now my family, particularly my parents, need more of my time.”
My priorities are:
— KeraBirk (@KeraBirk) December 26, 2024
My Faith
My Family
My constituents
Right now my family, particularly my parents, need more of my time.#utleg pic.twitter.com/0LJXCxhEgI
The Morgan County Republican posted the resignation letter she sent to Utah’s Republican House Speaker Mike Shultz on X. Birkeland was appointed to the legislature in 2020 and was reelected to her District 4 seat by a 20% margin over Democrat Kris Campbell of Park City in November.
Birkeland is known for sponsoring legislation aiming to nullify NDAs in sexual harassment cases, restricting which bathrooms transgender Utahns can use in public buildings and legalizing the lottery, among many others.
In a November interview, Birkeland told KUER she didn’t plan to introduce legislation affecting transgender Utahns in the upcoming legislative session.
Under Utah law, when a state representative resigns mid-term, the governor appoints a replacement who is nominated by the resigning lawmaker’s party.
In 2022, KUER reported that the Utah GOP generally nominates replacements with special elections. Only Republican delegates in Birkeland’s district, which spans Daggett, Duchesne, Rich, Morgan and Summit counties, would vote on the replacement.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who makes the appointment, is also a Republican.
Unlike when a state senator resigns, the new representative is allowed to serve out the remainder of the term, which in this case, would expire at the end of 2026.
The Utah Legislature’s 2025 General Session begins Jan. 21.
