State Rep. Kera Birkeland, best known for sponsoring legislation banning transgender girls from high school sports and restricting which bathrooms and locker rooms transgender individuals can use, is resigning from the Legislature after winning reelection this fall.
Birkeland posted on social media Thursday that she needs to spend more time with her family, particularly her parents, and will resign from her seat effective Jan. 10, 2025 — 11 days before the start of the General Session.
“My family and professional commitments have increasingly required my attention away from home, a trend I anticipate will persist for the next year or two,” she wrote in a resignation letter to House Speaker Mike Schultz that Birkeland posted on social media.
“My time as a representative in the Utah House has been immensely fulfilling, bringing joy and passion,” she wrote. “Ultimately though, it is not the title that defines us, but rather the impact we make in uplifting those we serve.”
In July, Birkeland was hired as director of policy for the Montana Grain Growers Association, although she never disclosed the hiring in her required conflict of interest disclosure. Her next disclosure would be due Jan. 10, the day her resignation takes effect. Montana’s legislative session opens Jan. 6, 2025.
In a statement, Schultz said that Birkeland had been “a fierce advocate for the people in House District 4 and for the people of Utah. I’m proud to call her a colleague and, more importantly, a friend.”
Birkeland was appointed to fill a vacancy in House District 4 — which covers portions of Daggett, Duchesne, Morgan, Rich and Summit counties — in April 2020. She won reelection with 60% of the vote last month.
Her House replacement will be chosen by the Republican delegates in District 4.
This story is breaking and may be updated.
