Facing a room of about 200 Utah educators, Gov. Spencer Cox apologized.

“Thank you for what you’re doing,” Cox said early Thursday, kicking off the annual “Show Up For Teachers” summer conference, hosted by Utah first lady Abby Cox.

“I know it’s been a rough year,” he continued. “I want to apologize for adding to that harshness that you felt during this year. Certainly, not my intention.”

In his remarks, Cox didn’t directly mention HB267, a bill that banned public-sector employees — including teachers, police officers and firefighters — from collectively bargaining. But the measure elicited mass opposition from state labor organizations — including the Utah Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union — as it moved through the Legislature.

Cox signed it into law Feb. 14. He has said he never liked the bill and that it “wasn’t something I was interested in, not something I would run.” But his decision not to veto the measure prompted some teachers to consider boycotting the summer conference. About 2,300 educators attended Thursday’s event, organizers said.

Labor groups quickly sought a referendum to overturn the law and in late April met the requirements to put a measure on the 2026 ballot to repeal it. It marked the most successful signature-gathering effort in state history, according to the lieutenant governor’s office.

The law has been put on hold pending the outcome of that election.

But before taking the stage Thursday, Cox indicated in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune that it’s possible a version of HB267 with “changes” could come before the 2026 vote.

“Conversations are happening with the Legislature, because of the blowback, because of the pushback,” Cox said. “It really got their attention.”

He is not sure what those changes might look like, he said, but “it is possible before a vote that there will be something out there.”

A spokesperson for the Utah Education Association on Thursday said its officials met with bill sponsor Rep. Jordan Teuscher late last month, but that spokesperson didn’t further detail the meeting, including what was discussed.

The organization, alongside 13 other labor unions, led the signature-gathering effort for the referendum as part of a coalition called “Protect Utah Workers.” That group was also involved in negotiations with lawmakers over the bill’s language as it moved through the Legislature.

“I warned the Legislature that this would happen,” Cox told The Tribune on Thursday, “and so the fact that it did is going to help turn things around.”

He said he hasn’t stopped hearing from teachers about the bill.

“Obviously, the majority of teachers are upset with it — but hopeful that we can work together to make it better moving forward,” Cox said.

Outside of Cox’s remarks, this year’s Show Up for Teachers event offered training sessions and freebies for teachers, including food, Amazon gift cards and school supplies.