02-19 17:17 2nd Sub. (Gray) H.B. 169
Douglas R. Welton proposes the following substitute bill:
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State Board of Education Amendments
2025 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Douglas R. Welton
Senate Sponsor:
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LONG TITLE
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General Description:
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This bill establishes ethics standards for members of the State Board of Education.
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Highlighted Provisions:
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This bill:
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▸ establishes ethics standards for members of the State Board of Education; and
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▸ makes technical changes.
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Money Appropriated in this Bill:
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None
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Other Special Clauses:
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None
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Utah Code Sections Affected:
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AMENDS:
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63G-2-302, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 234
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ENACTS:
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53E-3-1201, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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Section 1. Section 53E-3-1201 is enacted to read:
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53E-3-1201 . Ethics requirements governing State Board of Education members.
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(1) The state board shall establish within the state board's bylaws and policies, a code of
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conduct and ethical standards for board members, incorporating standards and
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procedures relevant to the state board's constitutional and statutory roles including:
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(a) provisions for ethics training for state board members;
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(b) a process for filing and reviewing ethics complaints against state board members;
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(c) protections related to complaint privacy before and during the preliminary review
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period;
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(d) options for disciplinary action for violations;
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(e) prohibitions related to filing complaints before a primary or general election; and
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(f) declarations related to a conflict of interest;
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(2) The records received or generated for review of an ethics violation under this section
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shall be private records in accordance with Section 63G-2-302.
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(3) The state board shall maintain a summary record of actions, which shall be classified as
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a public record.
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(4) The state board shall:
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(a) report to the Education Interim Committee at or before the committee's October 2025
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interim meeting regarding:
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(i) the code of conduct and ethical standards established under Subsection (1);
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(ii) the number and types of ethics complaints received;
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(iii) the disposition of ethics complaints; and
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(iv) any recommendations for statutory modifications to the ethics requirements; and
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(b) provide any additional information requested by the committee for purposes of
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reviewing:
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(i) the effectiveness of the ethics requirements established under this section; and
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(ii) whether additional legislation is necessary.
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(5) The Education Interim Committee shall:
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(a) review the report submitted under Subsection (4);
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(b) evaluate the effectiveness of the ethics requirements established by the state board;
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and
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(c) consider whether to recommend legislation to:
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(i) modify the ethics requirements under this section; or
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(ii) establish additional statutory requirements governing state board member conduct.
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Section 2. Section 63G-2-302 is amended to read:
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63G-2-302 . Private records.
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(1) The following records are private:
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(a) records concerning an individual's eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits,
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social services, welfare benefits, or the determination of benefit levels;
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(b) records containing data on individuals describing medical history, diagnosis,
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condition, treatment, evaluation, or similar medical data;
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(c) records of publicly funded libraries that when examined alone or with other records
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identify a patron;
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(d) records received by or generated by or for:
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(i) the Independent Legislative Ethics Commission, except for:
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(A) the commission's summary data report that is required under legislative rule;
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and
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(B) any other document that is classified as public under legislative rule; or
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(ii) a Senate or House Ethics Committee in relation to the review of ethics
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complaints, unless the record is classified as public under legislative rule;
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(e) records received by, or generated by or for, the Independent Executive Branch Ethics
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Commission, except as otherwise expressly provided in Title 63A, Chapter 14,
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Review of Executive Branch Ethics Complaints;
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(f) records received or generated for a Senate confirmation committee concerning
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character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual:
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(i) if, prior to the meeting, the chair of the committee determines release of the
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records:
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(A) reasonably could be expected to interfere with the investigation undertaken by
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the committee; or
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(B) would create a danger of depriving a person of a right to a fair proceeding or
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impartial hearing; and
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(ii) after the meeting, if the meeting was closed to the public;
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(g) employment records concerning a current or former employee of, or applicant for
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employment with, a governmental entity that would disclose that individual's home
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address, home telephone number, social security number, insurance coverage, marital
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status, or payroll deductions;
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(h) records or parts of records under Section 63G-2-303 that a current or former
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employee identifies as private according to the requirements of that section;
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(i) that part of a record indicating a person's social security number or federal employer
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identification number if provided under Section 31A-23a-104, 31A-25-202,
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31A-26-202, 58-1-301, 58-55-302, 61-1-4, or 61-2f-203;
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(j) that part of a voter registration record identifying a voter's:
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(i) driver license or identification card number;
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(ii) social security number, or last four digits of the social security number;
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(iii) email address;
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(iv) date of birth; or
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(v) phone number;
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(k) a voter registration record that is classified as a private record by the lieutenant
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governor or a county clerk under Subsection 20A-2-101.1(5)(a), 20A-2-104(4)(h), or
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20A-2-204(4)(b);
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(l) a voter registration record that is withheld under Subsection 20A-2-104(7);
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(m) a withholding request form described in Subsections 20A-2-104(7) and (8) and any
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verification submitted in support of the form;
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(n) a record that:
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(i) contains information about an individual;
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(ii) is voluntarily provided by the individual; and
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(iii) goes into an electronic database that:
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(A) is designated by and administered under the authority of the Chief Information
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Officer; and
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(B) acts as a repository of information about the individual that can be
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electronically retrieved and used to facilitate the individual's online interaction
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with a state agency;
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(o) information provided to the Commissioner of Insurance under:
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(i) Subsection 31A-23a-115(3)(a);
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(ii) Subsection 31A-23a-302(4); or
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(iii) Subsection 31A-26-210(4);
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(p) information obtained through a criminal background check under Title 11, Chapter
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40, Criminal Background Checks by Political Subdivisions Operating Water Systems;
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(q) information provided by an offender that is:
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(i) required by the registration requirements of Title 77, Chapter 41, Sex, Kidnap, and
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Child Abuse Offender Registry; and
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(ii) not required to be made available to the public under Subsection 77-41-110(4);
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(r) a statement and any supporting documentation filed with the attorney general in
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accordance with Section 34-45-107, if the federal law or action supporting the filing
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involves homeland security;
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(s) electronic toll collection customer account information received or collected under
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Section 72-6-118 and customer information described in Section 17B-2a-815
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received or collected by a public transit district, including contact and payment
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information and customer travel data;
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(t) an email address provided by a military or overseas voter under Section 20A-16-501;
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(u) a completed military-overseas ballot that is electronically transmitted under Title
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20A, Chapter 16, Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act;
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(v) records received by or generated by or for the Political Subdivisions Ethics Review
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Commission established in Section 63A-15-201, except for:
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(i) the commission's summary data report that is required in Section 63A-15-202; and
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(ii) any other document that is classified as public in accordance with Title 63A,
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Chapter 15, Political Subdivisions Ethics Review Commission;
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(w) a record described in Section 53G-9-604 that verifies that a parent was notified of an
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incident or threat;
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(x) a criminal background check or credit history report conducted in accordance with
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Section 63A-3-201;
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(y) a record described in Subsection 53-5a-104(7);
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(z) on a record maintained by a county for the purpose of administering property taxes,
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an individual's:
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(i) email address;
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(ii) phone number; or
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(iii) personal financial information related to a person's payment method;
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(aa) a record submitted by a taxpayer to establish the taxpayer's eligibility for an
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exemption, deferral, abatement, or relief under:
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(i) Title 59, Chapter 2, Part 11, Exemptions;
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(ii) Title 59, Chapter 2, Part 12, Property Tax Relief;
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(iii) Title 59, Chapter 2, Part 18, Tax Deferral and Tax Abatement; or
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(iv) Title 59, Chapter 2, Part 19, Armed Forces Exemptions;
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(bb) a record provided by the State Tax Commission in response to a request under
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Subsection 59-1-403(4)(y)(iii);
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(cc) a record of the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel regarding an individual
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child welfare case, as described in Subsection 36-33-103(3); and
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(dd) a record relating to drug or alcohol testing of a state employee under Section
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63A-17-1004;
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(ee) a record relating to a request by a state elected official or state employee who has
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been threatened to the Division of Technology Services to remove personal
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identifying information from the open web under Section 63A-16-109; [and]
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(ff) a record including confidential information as that term is defined in Section
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67-27-105[.] ; and
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(gg) a record of an ethics violation as described in Section 53E-3-1201.
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(2) The following records are private if properly classified by a governmental entity:
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(a) records concerning a current or former employee of, or applicant for employment
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with a governmental entity, including performance evaluations and personal status
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information such as race, religion, or disabilities, but not including records that are
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public under Subsection 63G-2-301(2)(b) or 63G-2-301(3)(o) or private under
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Subsection (1)(b);
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(b) records describing an individual's finances, except that the following are public:
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(i) records described in Subsection 63G-2-301(2);
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(ii) information provided to the governmental entity for the purpose of complying
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with a financial assurance requirement; or
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(iii) records that must be disclosed in accordance with another statute;
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(c) records of independent state agencies if the disclosure of those records would
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conflict with the fiduciary obligations of the agency;
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(d) other records containing data on individuals the disclosure of which constitutes a
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clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
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(e) records provided by the United States or by a government entity outside the state that
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are given with the requirement that the records be managed as private records, if the
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providing entity states in writing that the record would not be subject to public
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disclosure if retained by it;
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(f) any portion of a record in the custody of the Division of Aging and Adult Services,
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created in Section 26B-6-102, that may disclose, or lead to the discovery of, the
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identity of a person who made a report of alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a
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vulnerable adult; and
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(g) audio and video recordings created by a body-worn camera, as defined in Section
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77-7a-103, that record sound or images inside a home or residence except for
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recordings that:
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(i) depict the commission of an alleged crime;
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(ii) record any encounter between a law enforcement officer and a person that results
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in death or bodily injury, or includes an instance when an officer fires a weapon;
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(iii) record any encounter that is the subject of a complaint or a legal proceeding
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against a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency;
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(iv) contain an officer involved critical incident as defined in Subsection 76-2-408
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(1)(f); or
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(v) have been requested for reclassification as a public record by a subject or
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authorized agent of a subject featured in the recording.
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(3)(a) As used in this Subsection (3), "medical records" means medical reports, records,
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statements, history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, and evaluation.
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(b) Medical records in the possession of the University of Utah Hospital, its clinics,
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doctors, or affiliated entities are not private records or controlled records under
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Section 63G-2-304 when the records are sought:
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(i) in connection with any legal or administrative proceeding in which the patient's
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physical, mental, or emotional condition is an element of any claim or defense; or
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(ii) after a patient's death, in any legal or administrative proceeding in which any
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party relies upon the condition as an element of the claim or defense.
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(c) Medical records are subject to production in a legal or administrative proceeding
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according to state or federal statutes or rules of procedure and evidence as if the
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medical records were in the possession of a nongovernmental medical care provider.
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Section 3. Effective Date.
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This bill takes effect on May 7, 2025.
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