-my commitment to you-
I take the constitutional Oath of Office seriously. By default, I run every decision through the constitutional filter, in order to best protect our God-given rights. As I teach my scouts, I will do my best to ensure that I “leave it better than I found it.” Obviously, every issue cannot be addressed here. Please reach out directly if you have any specific questions.
education
With a lifelong music educator for a mother, and a wife who has served as both a teacher and librarian, (and all five children in local schools) Ryan understands the importance of education and safety in our schools.
Over the last several legislative sessions Ryan has made school safety a focus of the state with Utah leading out across the nation.
Meeting with high school students from Ogden County about politics and encouraging civic engagement.
2023 – School Safety Requirements (HB61): Created the state's first School Security Chief position and laid the groundwork for statewide school safety standards. The bill appropriated $391,000 in direct state costs over two years to fund the task force and hire the new State Security Chief.
2024 – School Safety Amendments (HB84): The state's biggest school-security overhaul, creating the school guardian program, required panic alert devices and video camera access, and mandated threat reporting. The bill established "Alyssa's Law" emergency communication requirements. Passed 63-9 in the House with $100 million one-time appropriation to the State Board of Education's School Safety and Support Grant Program, plus roughly $5.6 million in additional ongoing/one-time state costs for Department of Public Safety personnel, systems integration, guardian stipends, and a $2.1 million Student Intervention Early Warning software program.
2025 – School Safety Amendments (HB40): Makes adjustments to HB84 from 2024, including modifying deadlines and adding screening and training requirements for School Safety personnel. Established a School Safety Foundation
School Safety Foundation (HB560): Created a mechanism allowing the state to formally approve nonprofit foundations to raise private funds and accept donations for school safety equipment.
2026 – School Security Amendments (HB43): Establishes the School Safety Support Program to support school security personnel on campuses. Creates a framework for funding to charter schools and school districts based on student enrollment. Requires submission of annual security plans to receive state funds.
School Security Personnel Standards (HB44): Refines school guardian regulations and training requirements. Establishes visitor management procedures and requires the Cybersecurity Commission to produce guidelines for LEA’s. The bill provides for around $54,500 in ongoing costs.
School Cybersecurity Amendments (HB42): This bill built on past school safety efforts, focusing specifically on developing cybersecurity standards for school districts.
Economic Mobility
Ryan believes in a Free-Market economy. He believes that free market capitalism has been the means lifting more people from poverty than any other system. That singular opportunity is the hope that fuels the American Dream.
Ryan believes that the state government has a role to play here, particularly as it relates to education. Investments in secondary education must be tied directly to the economic and business needs of the state. This means heavy investment in the arts, sciences, engineering and particularly, vocational training. As workers and families confront the new economy, we must ensure that we offer the relevant and necessary training that will allow us to provide for our families and ensure that the dream lives on in our communities.
2025 – Regulatory Oversight Amendments (HB474): Known as the Utah REINS Act, modeled on the federal REINS Act. This bill requires state agencies to get statutory approval before enacting new rules that cost $2 million or more over five years, and legislative review for rules costing $1 million or more over five years. It also allows citizens to formally challenge occupational licensing regulations through the Office of Professional Licensure Review.
Representative Wilcox received the "Legislator of the Year" award for deregulatory leadership from the Utah chapter of Americans for Prosperity.
second amendment
“…the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Utah Bull Elk taken on the North Slope of the Uintah’s on his last hunting trip with his dad. October, 2010
Ryan grew up on a farm and still likes to hunt and fish, but none of that is really why he is so passionate about the second amendment. During his first campaign, he received his first death threats. The perpetrators were brazen enough to leave the voicemail on the home answering machine. They threatened not just the candidate, but his family as well.
He quickly called his friends at the Weber County Sheriff’s office, and signed up for Utah concealed-carry training. In addition to the discovery that his wife Kristina is a dead-eye shooter, they soon found that such issues are often an unfortunate staple of public life.
While in office, he sponsored and co-sponsored several pieces of legislation designed to protect our second amendment rights, and successfully maintained an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association of which he remains a lifetime member.
law enforcement & First Responders
UHP Colonel handing my late grandmother the flag from my grandfather’s casket. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict, after which se served as a Utah Highway Patrol for 35 years.
As the grandson of a Utah Highway Patrol Trooper here in Northern Weber County, Ryan is intimately aware of the sacrifices made by those who choose to serve and protect the rest of us. As a legislator, he has worked on legislation to ensure that Utah is taking care of those who take care of us.
2022 – First Responder Mental Health Services Amendments (HB23): This bill established Utah's first responder mental health grant program; it requires agencies to provide mental health services and support to first responders and their families. HB23 passed the House unanimously, 74-0, with a $5 million one-time grant from the state General Fund to launch the program.
2023 – First Responder Mental Health Amendments (HB59): Refines and expands the 2022 program by broadening the scope of individuals and agencies who are eligible for grant program funding. This bill additionally provides these resources on a regular and ongoing basis for first responders.
First Responder Mental Health Services Grant Program (HB278): Creates a grant program within the Utah Board of Higher Education to provide resources for students at certain state universities who are studying to become mental health therapists.
2024 – First Responder Mental Health Services Grant Program Amendments (HB67): This bill expands which institutions (including private, accredited nonprofits) can be eligible for the $6,000/year mental health scholarship. The bill additionally widens eligibility for applicants.
First Responder Mental Health Services Amendments (HB378): Additional refinements to the program and expansion of services. Provides mental health resources to agencies and includes service expansion provisions to individuals who have subsequent non-first-responder status. Includes safeguards to limit funds awarded to institutions with a history of improper use of funds.
Domestic Violence
2023 – Domestic Violence Amendments (SB117): Established Utah's Intimate Partner Lethality Assessment Protocol. This requires police to conduct a standardized risk assessment whenever they respond to a domestic violence call to help identify victims at the highest risk of being killed. Passed the House unanimously.
As the Chair of the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, Representative Wilcox worked closely with Senator Weiler on the development of this legislation and similar bills to ensure its passage.
“Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.”