They're the guys in the green and tan coats. The security guards who walk around, rarely cracking a smile, enforcing the rules at the Capitol. They guard doors, keeping the public out of specific areas. They sit and watch, making sure people don't stand in front of certain windows. And they show people where the restrooms are.

"We try to help out the public," said Mike Mitchell, the House's sergeant at arms. "We're not here to harass people, we're just here to keep order and make sure things run smoothly."

Mitchell is one of two dozen retired men who work as security guards during the Utah Legislative session each year. Women are allowed to be guards, but in almost 20 years, there's only been one who tried the job and she didn't stick around.

"She didn't like it, so she got her husband to take the job," joked Mitchell, a guard of 11 years.

Guard leaders said few women apply for the $9-an-hour job. And when Mitchell's wife applied a few years ago, she was hired as a secretary instead.

"It's not that we wouldn't hire them," said Mitchell, a 62-year-old Midvale resident. "If they don't mind men, they can work out here."

Bob Gardner, the Senate's sergeant at arms, said he doesn't think the Capitol is playing into traditional stereotypes just because the men are guards and women are secretaries or work in the kitchen. (His wife, Evie, has run the Senate kitchen for about a dozen years.) Gardner, who's been a guard for 17 years, said he would consider a woman for the job, but there are rarely vacancies.

The last hire he made was five years ago.

Mitchell agreed, saying most guards like the job and return year after year. It's rare when there's an open spot.

"They die or they just don't want to come back - we don't usually fire anyone," Mitchell said.

Gardner manages the nine "tan coats," ages 50 to 83, who guard the Senate chambers. Their main duty: Make sure lobbyists and the public stay off the Senate floor.

Since he started in 1991, there's only one lawmaker who remains, Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan. Gardner said other than senators, not much has changed.

Gardner, 72, said he enjoys the political environment.

"It's interesting to see the wheels of lawmaking work," he said.

Mitchell oversees 14 "green coats" who take care of the House chambers. The men, most of whom have military experience, range in age from 62 to 83 and include retired educators, businessmen and a roofer.

Their main jobs are to keep people off of the House floor and help people navigate the Capitol. Most people want to know where the committee rooms are or who their representative is or where the restrooms are. Guards know to stay out of lawmakers' business and not to eavesdrop on conversations, Mitchell said.

"We don't hear the back-room talks," he said.

Guards said they've figured out who are the nice lawmakers and the not-so-nice ones by the treatment they receive.

Still, politics is rarely an issue among the guards because the group is about half Democrat, half Republican and includes some Independents, they said.

"Once you've been up here, you realize there are some good people on both sides of the aisle," Mitchell said.

As for enforcing the Capitol rules, Joe Pepper, a "green coat" of nine years, said the most challenging part of the job is making sure everyone in the building is there for a reason. If someone looks out of place, guards are supposed to offer assistance, he said.

"The votes are sometimes life-changing for some; and you don't know how they're going to react," Pepper said.

Some advocates who spend much of their time on Capitol Hill during the session said they think "the coats" are sometimes on a power trip. Others said they couldn't have learned the Capitol's ins and outs without the guards.

Linda Hilton, a low-income advocate who's been on the hill for 10 years, said the guards sometimes treat people differently. She sometimes feel that they make up "the rules" because they are not posted anywhere.

"It depends on the day what the rules are," she said.

Robyn Lipkowitz, a children's advocate, said last session was her first year at the Capitol, and the guards showed her the ropes.

"They're very nice, and they've been helpful," she said.

jsanchez@sltrib.com