SALT LAKE CITY — John Dougall’s feud with the Utah Legislature is continuing over the state's bathroom law which blocks blocks transgender people from using public restroom or public locker room facilities consistent with their gender identity unless they have fully transitioned.
The law has led to hoax complaints to the tip line of the Utah State Auditor’s office, which was required to be set up after the legislation passed.
In his role as state auditor, Dougall is tasked with investigating if a government entity complies with the law — such as offering enough unisex spaces. He says he will not investigate whether someone is using the appropriate bathroom.
"Unfortunately, there clearly is still a misunderstanding of the Office’s duties under the Statute," Dougall wrote in a statement.
Over the last three weeks, Dougall claims his office has been flooded with more than 12,000 complaints, mostly fraudulent, about the new law. Now, he says, only five of those complaints appear legitimate.
"While none of those five complaints detail a clear allegation of a violation of Statute, each complaint might reflect a good-faith effort to attempt to make plausible allegation of a government entity’s violation of Statute," said Dougall. "We will review these five complaints to determine whether the allegations require further investigation, as required by the legislature’s mandate codified in Statute."
