SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill Saturday that expands the state Supreme Court from five justices to seven as frustration has mounted among Republican lawmakers over a string of defeats before the tribunal.

Advocates for the change argued that it would help improve the court’s efficiency, but legal experts said it could have the opposite effect and set a dangerous precedent at a time of tension between the branches of government. The state’s judiciary did not ask for more justices on the court.

Democrats, who were united in opposition to the bill, called the timing suspicious. The Legislature has been preparing an appeal of a ruling that gave Democrats a strong shot at picking up one of Utah’s four Republican-held congressional seats in the fall.

New justices could be in place when the court decides the fate of the congressional map.

Because the bill received approval from more than two-thirds of legislators, it took effect immediately after the governor signed it, allowing him to bypass a several-month waiting period to start adding justices.

In Utah, justices are appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate. Justices in many other states are elected.

Most states have five or seven Supreme Court justices, but a few have nine. Cox, a Republican, has said the additions would put Utah in line with other states of its size. He has denied that the policy is politically motivated, noting that Republican governors and senators have made all recent appointments.

Once he fills the new seats, Cox will have appointed five of the seven sitting justices.

Last month Republican lawmakers took authority from state Supreme Court justices to select their own chief justice and gave that power to the governor.

“Seven sets of eyes reviewing the most complex and difficult issues our state has ever faced is better than having only five sets of eyes,” said House Majority Leader Casey Snider, a Republican sponsor of the bill.

John Pearce, who recently retired as associate chief justice, said this month that he doubted the change would make the court more efficient.

“The more sets of comments you have to take into account, the longer the process takes,” Pearce said. “If what the Legislature is hoping to do is speed up the work of the court, it’s going to be counterproductive.”

Two states — Arizona and Georgia — have added justices in the past decade after making similar arguments about efficiency.

In the first few years after Arizona grew its court in 2016, several past and present justices said it made things less efficient because more people had to review opinions before they could be published.

Arizona’s court now issues slightly more rulings per year, while Georgia’s issues slightly fewer than before.

Utah Chief Justice Matthew Durrant told legislators on the opening day of the 2026 session the court had “essentially no backlog” and urged them to add judges to lower courts, where the need is greater. Bill sponsors responded by adding some lower court judges and clerks.

The Utah State Bar has raised concern over the expansion and other proposals that it said would weaken the judiciary’s independence. Among them is a bill that would create a new trial court with exclusive jurisdiction to hear constitutional challenges. The governor would appoint three judges who would be confirmed by the Senate.

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Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Utah Legislature is sending the courts expansion bill to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, making it one of the first bills to make it to his desk for the 2026 session.

The bill, SB134, passed after a vote on the House floor Friday morning, 57 to 18. Once Cox signs the bill, as expected, it will mark the first time since 2016 that a state has increased the number of judges on its Supreme Court bench.

The court expansion bill, headed by Sen. Chris Wilson, R-Logan, adds two more judges to the state Supreme Court’s five-person bench. It also adds judges to the Court of Appeals, and one district court judge each in Salt Lake City, St. George and Provo.

So much of the feedback given through public comment during the bill’s circulation in the legislature was focused on opposition to the two additional Supreme Court justices.

Wilson’s bill, and others focused on overhauling the judiciary this session, have been accused of court packing, ignoring the requests made by the state’s judiciary and trying to breach the independent separation of powers between the two governing bodies.

When asked during Senate availability what it says about the House and Senate’s priorities to be sending this bill so quickly through the Legislature, Senate President Stuart Adams said, “It tells you we value the courts.”

Wilson added that SB134 is the “biggest commitment” Utah lawmakers have made to their law-interpreting counterparts. During the House floor vote, the bill’s floor sponsor, Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, said he hopes that public perception sees the bill as “in the spirit with which it is offered, which is that of one in hopes of being helpful.”

Utah Democrats oppose Utah court expansion, but GOP says it’s overdue

Despite GOP lawmakers’ intentions, the bill was largely opposed by their Democratic colleagues. Rep. Grant Amjad Miller, D-Salt Lake City, said that though he favored some of what the bill offered, he ultimately voted against it because it doesn’t prioritize the needs of the public. He also noted “the great expense” it would cost the state to expand the Supreme Court alone.

“The courts have issued a wish list to us,” Miller said during the House floor vote. “At the top, they have asked for support for their staff and for their judiciary clerks and assistants. Nowhere in their wish list have they asked for two Supreme Court justices.”

Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Sandy, added that he believes adding more judges to the bench would further complicate the process.

“I don’t think that this is the route if we want to speed up our cases,” he said. “The hold up is in the district court and occasionally in the court of appeals, but is not the Supreme Court.”

Despite their opposition, Wilson said that “it’s a great bill” and “a great step forward … ”Looking at the number of filings, looking at the case complexity, it’s obvious, in my opinion, with the data and evidence, that it’s long overdue.”

Oklahoma State Cowboys (14-6, 2-5 Big 12) at Utah Utes (9-11, 1-6 Big 12)

Salt Lake City; Saturday, 6 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Utah takes on Oklahoma State after Keanu Dawes scored 23 points in Utah’s 91-78 loss to the BYU Cougars.

The Utes are 8-3 on their home court. Utah is 2-5 in games decided by at least 10 points.

The Cowboys have gone 2-5 against Big 12 opponents. Oklahoma State scores 86.2 points and has outscored opponents by 5.8 points per game.

Utah makes 46.6% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.5 percentage points higher than Oklahoma State has allowed to its opponents (44.1%). Oklahoma State averages 86.2 points per game, 4.7 more than the 81.5 Utah allows.

The Utes and Cowboys face off Saturday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Terrence Brown is scoring 22.2 points per game with 2.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists for the Utes. Don McHenry is averaging 18.5 points over the last 10 games.

Kanye Clary is averaging 9.6 points and 4.9 assists for the Cowboys. Anthony Roy is averaging 18.3 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Utes: 2-8, averaging 78.7 points, 28.5 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 5.7 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.3 points per game.

Cowboys: 5-5, averaging 82.5 points, 32.1 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 8.3 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.