Salt Lake County may have given itself some breathing room by adding beds to its two detention centers this summer, but looming changes to overcrowding rules have jail officials feeling unsettled.

Starting Sept. 1, a new state law will restrict the sheriff’s ability to issue overcrowding releases . The law, HB312 , was sponsored by Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, and was passed this year.

“It’s been a pretty hectic eight months or so since we’ve been moving in this direction to increase our capacity in the jail,” Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Matt Dumont told the County Council on Tuesday. “... [Issuing overcrowding releases] was one of our primary population controls in the jail.”

In preparation for the upcoming changes, the county added 248 new beds to its s

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