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H.B. 243
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PROTECTION OF ACCIDENT REPORT
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2000 GENERAL SESSION
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STATE OF UTAH
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Sponsor: Glenn L. Way
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AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; PROVIDING FOR THE PROTECTION AND
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CONFIDENTIALITY OF ACCIDENT REPORTS; PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN
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DISCLOSURE; AND MAKING TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
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This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
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AMENDS:
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41-6-35, as last amended by Chapter 30, Laws of Utah 1999
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41-6-40, as last amended by Chapter 138, Laws of Utah 1987
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41-12a-202, as enacted by Chapter 242, Laws of Utah 1985
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63-2-304, as last amended by Chapter 234, Laws of Utah 1997
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73-18-13, as last amended by Chapter 99, Laws of Utah 1987
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73-18-14, as last amended by Chapter 197, Laws of Utah 1986
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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Section 1.
Section
41-6-35
is amended to read:
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41-6-35. Accident reports -- Duty of operator and investigative officer to forward or
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render.
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(1) The department may require any operator of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting
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in injury to or death of any person or total property damage to the apparent extent of $1,000 or
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more to [forward] file within ten days after the request:
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(a) a written report of the accident to the department; and
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(b) a supplemental report when the original report is insufficient in the opinion of the
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department.
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(2) The department may require witnesses of accidents to render reports to the department.
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(3) A written accident report is not required under this section from any person who is
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physically incapable of making a report, during his period of incapacity.
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(4) (a) Every peace officer who in the regular course of duty investigates a motor vehicle
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accident described under Subsection (1) shall file the original or an electronic copy of the report
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of the accident with the department within ten days after completing the investigation.
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(b) The report shall be made either at the time of and at the scene of the accident or later
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by interviewing participants or witnesses.
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(5) The written reports required to be filed with the department [by peace officers] under
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this section and the information in them are [not privileged or] protected and confidential and may
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be disclosed only as provided in Section
41-6-40
.
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Section 2.
Section
41-6-40
is amended to read:
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41-6-40. Accident reports -- When confidential -- Insurance policy information -- Use
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as evidence -- Penalty for false information.
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(1) As used in this section, "agent" means a person's:
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(a) attorney;
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(b) insurer; or
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(c) any other individual or entity with written permission from the person to receive the
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person's written accident report.
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[(1) All] (2) Except as provided in Subsection (3), all written reports required in this
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article to be [forwarded to] filed with the department [by operators or owners of vehicles involved
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in accidents or by garages]:
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(a) are without prejudice to the reporting individual [and];
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(b) are protected and for the confidential use of the department or other state, local, or
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federal agencies having use for the records for official governmental statistical, investigative, and
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accident prevention purposes; and
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(c) may be disclosed only in a statistical form that protects the privacy of any person
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involved in the accident. [However, the department may disclose the identity of a person involved
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in an accident when the identity is not otherwise known or when the person denies his presence
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at the accident. The]
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(3) (a) The department shall disclose a written accident report and its accompanying data
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to:
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(i) a person involved in the accident, excluding a witness to the accident;
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(ii) a person suffering loss or injury in the accident;
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(iii) an agent, parent, or legal guardian of a person described in Subsections (3)(a)(i) and
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(ii);
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(iv) a member of the press or broadcast news media;
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(v) a state, local, or federal agency that uses the records for official governmental,
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investigative, or accident prevention purposes; S [
and
] s
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(vi) law enforcement personnel when acting in their official governmental capacity S [
.
]
;
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AND
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(vii) A LICENSED PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR.
s
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(b) In accordance with Subsection (3)(a), the department shall disclose whether any person
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or vehicle involved in an accident reported under this section was covered by a vehicle insurance
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policy, and the name of the insurer.
68a
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(c) INFORMATION PROVIDED TO A MEMBER OF THE PRESS OR BROADCAST NEWS
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MEDIA UNDER SUBSECTION (3)(a)(iv) MAY ONLY INCLUDE:
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(i) THE NAME, AGE, SEX AND CITY OF RESIDENCE OF EACH PERSON INVOLVED IN THE
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ACCIDENT;
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(ii) THE MAKE AND MODEL YEAR OF EACH VEHICLE INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT;
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(iii) WHETHER OR NOT EACH PERSON INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT WAS COVERED BY A
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VEHICLE INSURANCE POLICY;
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(iv) THE LOCATION OF THE ACCIDENT; AND
68i
(v) A DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCIDENT THAT EXCLUDES PERSONAL IDENTIFYING
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INFORMATION NOT LISTED IN SUBSECTION (3)(c)(i).
h
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[(2) Written] (4) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(b), written reports [forwarded]
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filed under this section may not be used as evidence in any [trial,] civil or criminal[,] trial arising
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out of an accident[, except that the department shall furnish upon].
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(b) Upon demand of any party to the trial or upon demand of any court, the department
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shall furnish a certificate showing that a specified accident report has or has not been made to the
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department in compliance with law[, and if]. If the report has been made, the certificate furnished
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by the department shall show the date, time, and location of the accident, the names and addresses
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of the drivers, the owners of the vehicles involved, and the investigating officers. The reports may
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be used as evidence when necessary to prosecute charges filed in connection with a violation of
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Subsection [(3)] (5).
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[(3)] (5) A person who gives information in oral or written reports as required in this
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chapter knowing or having reason to believe that the information is false is guilty of a class A
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misdemeanor.
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Section 3.
Section
41-12a-202
is amended to read:
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41-12a-202. Access to accident reports.
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(1) Accident reports and supplemental information as required under this chapter are
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protected and are for the confidential use of the department and other state, local, or federal
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government agencies and may be disclosed only as provided in Section
41-6-40
. [However, the
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department shall disclose accident reports and accompanying data to persons suffering loss or
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injury in any motor vehicle accident, whether or not they have deposited proof of owner's or
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operator's security under this chapter.]
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(2) (a) Any person entitled to the disclosure of an accident report, as provided in Section
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41-6-40
, may obtain a photocopy by paying the department [$5] a fee established under Section
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63-38-3.2
.
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(b) These fees shall be deposited in the General Fund. [Bona fide representatives of
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persons entitled to disclosure may also obtain copies of accident reports and any accompanying
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data.]
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Section 4.
Section
63-2-304
is amended to read:
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63-2-304. Protected records.
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The following records are protected if properly classified by a governmental entity:
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(1) trade secrets as defined in Section
13-24-2
if the person submitting the trade secret has
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provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section
63-2-308
;
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(2) commercial information or nonindividual financial information obtained from a person
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if:
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(a) disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in unfair
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competitive injury to the person submitting the information or would impair the ability of the
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governmental entity to obtain necessary information in the future;
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(b) the person submitting the information has a greater interest in prohibiting access than
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the public in obtaining access; and
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(c) the person submitting the information has provided the governmental entity with the
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information specified in Section
63-2-308
;
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(3) commercial or financial information acquired or prepared by a governmental entity to
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the extent that disclosure would lead to financial speculations in currencies, securities, or
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commodities that will interfere with a planned transaction by the governmental entity or cause
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substantial financial injury to the governmental entity or state economy;
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(4) records the disclosure of which could cause commercial injury to, or confer a
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competitive advantage upon a potential or actual competitor of, a commercial project entity as
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defined in Subsection
11-13-3
(3);
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(5) test questions and answers to be used in future license, certification, registration,
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employment, or academic examinations;
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(6) records the disclosure of which would impair governmental procurement proceedings
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or give an unfair advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contract or agreement with a
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governmental entity, except that this subsection does not restrict the right of a person to see bids
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submitted to or by a governmental entity after bidding has closed;
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(7) records that would identify real property or the appraisal or estimated value of real or
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personal property, including intellectual property, under consideration for public acquisition before
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any rights to the property are acquired unless:
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(a) public interest in obtaining access to the information outweighs the governmental
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entity's need to acquire the property on the best terms possible;
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(b) the information has already been disclosed to persons not employed by or under a duty
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of confidentiality to the entity;
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(c) in the case of records that would identify property, potential sellers of the described
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property have already learned of the governmental entity's plans to acquire the property; or
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(d) in the case of records that would identify the appraisal or estimated value of property,
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the potential sellers have already learned of the governmental entity's estimated value of the
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property;
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(8) records prepared in contemplation of sale, exchange, lease, rental, or other
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compensated transaction of real or personal property including intellectual property, which, if
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disclosed prior to completion of the transaction, would reveal the appraisal or estimated value of
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the subject property, unless:
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(a) the public interest in access outweighs the interests in restricting access, including the
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governmental entity's interest in maximizing the financial benefit of the transaction; or
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(b) when prepared by or on behalf of a governmental entity, appraisals or estimates of the
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value of the subject property have already been disclosed to persons not employed by or under a
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duty of confidentiality to the entity;
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(9) records created or maintained for civil, criminal, or administrative enforcement
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purposes or audit purposes, or for discipline, licensing, certification, or registration purposes, if
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release of the records:
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(a) reasonably could be expected to interfere with investigations undertaken for
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enforcement, discipline, licensing, certification, or registration purposes;
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(b) reasonably could be expected to interfere with audits, disciplinary, or enforcement
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proceedings;
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(c) would create a danger of depriving a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial hearing;
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(d) reasonably could be expected to disclose the identity of a source who is not generally
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known outside of government and, in the case of a record compiled in the course of an
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investigation, disclose information furnished by a source not generally known outside of
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government if disclosure would compromise the source; or
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(e) reasonably could be expected to disclose investigative or audit techniques, procedures,
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policies, or orders not generally known outside of government if disclosure would interfere with
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enforcement or audit efforts;
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(10) records the disclosure of which would jeopardize the life or safety of an individual;
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(11) records the disclosure of which would jeopardize the security of governmental
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property, governmental programs, or governmental recordkeeping systems from damage, theft, or
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other appropriation or use contrary to law or public policy;
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(12) records that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the security or safety of a correctional
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facility, or records relating to incarceration, treatment, probation, or parole, that would interfere
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with the control and supervision of an offender's incarceration, treatment, probation, or parole;
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(13) records that, if disclosed, would reveal recommendations made to the Board of
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Pardons and Parole by an employee of or contractor for the Department of Corrections, the Board
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of Pardons and Parole, or the Department of Human Services that are based on the employee's or
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contractor's supervision, diagnosis, or treatment of any person within the board's jurisdiction;
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(14) records and audit workpapers that identify audit, collection, and operational
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procedures and methods used by the State Tax Commission, if disclosure would interfere with
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audits or collections;
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(15) records of a governmental audit agency relating to an ongoing or planned audit until
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the final audit is released;
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(16) records prepared by or on behalf of a governmental entity solely in anticipation of
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litigation that are not available under the rules of discovery;
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(17) records disclosing an attorney's work product, including the mental impressions or
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legal theories of an attorney or other representative of a governmental entity concerning litigation;
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(18) records of communications between a governmental entity and an attorney
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representing, retained, or employed by the governmental entity if the communications would be
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privileged as provided in Section
78-24-8
;
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(19) personal files of a legislator, including personal correspondence to or from a member
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of the Legislature, but not correspondence that gives notice of legislative action or policy;
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(20) (a) records in the custody or control of the Office of Legislative Research and General
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Counsel, that, if disclosed, would reveal a particular legislator's contemplated legislation or
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contemplated course of action before the legislator has elected to support the legislation or course
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of action, or made the legislation or course of action public; and
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(b) for purposes of this subsection, a "Request For Legislation" submitted to the Office of
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Legislative Research and General Counsel is a public document unless a legislator submits the
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"Request For Legislation" with a request that it be maintained as a protected record until such time
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as the legislator elects to make the legislation or course of action public;
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(21) research requests from legislators to the Office of Legislative Research and General
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Counsel or the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and research findings prepared in response
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to these requests;
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(22) drafts, unless otherwise classified as public;
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(23) records concerning a governmental entity's strategy about collective bargaining or
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pending litigation;
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(24) records of investigations of loss occurrences and analyses of loss occurrences that
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may be covered by the Risk Management Fund, the Employers' Reinsurance Fund, the Uninsured
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Employers' Fund, or similar divisions in other governmental entities;
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(25) records, other than personnel evaluations, that contain a personal recommendation
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concerning an individual if disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal
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privacy, or disclosure is not in the public interest;
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(26) records that reveal the location of historic, prehistoric, paleontological, or biological
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resources that if known would jeopardize the security of those resources or of valuable historic,
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scientific, educational, or cultural information;
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(27) records of independent state agencies if the disclosure of the records would conflict
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with the fiduciary obligations of the agency;
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(28) records of a public institution of higher education regarding tenure evaluations,
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appointments, applications for admissions, retention decisions, and promotions, which could be
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properly discussed in a meeting closed in accordance with Title 52, Chapter 4, Open and Public
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Meetings, provided that records of the final decisions about tenure, appointments, retention,
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promotions, or those students admitted, may not be classified as protected under this section;
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(29) records of the governor's office, including budget recommendations, legislative
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proposals, and policy statements, that if disclosed would reveal the governor's contemplated
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policies or contemplated courses of action before the governor has implemented or rejected those
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policies or courses of action or made them public;
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(30) records of the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst relating to budget analysis,
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revenue estimates, and fiscal notes of proposed legislation before issuance of the final
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recommendations in these areas;
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(31) records provided by the United States or by a government entity outside the state that
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are given to the governmental entity with a requirement that they be managed as protected records
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if the providing entity certifies that the record would not be subject to public disclosure if retained
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by it;
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(32) transcripts, minutes, or reports of the closed portion of a meeting of a public body
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except as provided in Section
52-4-7
;
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(33) records that would reveal the contents of settlement negotiations but not including
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final settlements or empirical data to the extent that they are not otherwise exempt from disclosure;
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(34) memoranda prepared by staff and used in the decisionmaking process by an
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administrative law judge, a member of the Board of Pardons and Parole, or a member of any other
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body charged by law with performing a quasi-judicial function;
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(35) records that would reveal negotiations regarding assistance or incentives offered by
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or requested from a governmental entity for the purpose of encouraging a person to expand or
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locate a business in Utah, but only if disclosure would result in actual economic harm to the person
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or place the governmental entity at a competitive disadvantage, but this section may not be used
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to restrict access to a record evidencing a final contract;
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(36) materials to which access must be limited for purposes of securing or maintaining the
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governmental entity's proprietary protection of intellectual property rights including patents,
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copyrights, and trade secrets;
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(37) the name of a donor or a prospective donor to a governmental entity, including a
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public institution of higher education, and other information concerning the donation that could
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reasonably be expected to reveal the identity of the donor, provided that:
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(a) the donor requests anonymity in writing;
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(b) any terms, conditions, restrictions, or privileges relating to the donation may not be
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classified protected by the governmental entity under this Subsection (37); and
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(c) except for public institutions of higher education, the governmental unit to which the
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donation is made is primarily engaged in educational, charitable, or artistic endeavors, and has no
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regulatory or legislative authority over the donor, a member of his immediate family, or any entity
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owned or controlled by the donor or his immediate family; [and]
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(38) accident reports, except as provided in Sections
41-6-40
,
41-12a-202
, and
73-18-13
;
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and
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[(38)] (39) the following records of a public institution of education, which have been
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developed, discovered, or received by or on behalf of faculty, staff, employees, or students of the
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institution: unpublished lecture notes, unpublished research notes and data, unpublished
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manuscripts, creative works in process, scholarly correspondence, and confidential information
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contained in research proposals. Nothing in this Subsection (39) shall be construed to affect the
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ownership of a record.
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Section 5.
Section
73-18-13
is amended to read:
259
73-18-13. Duties of operator involved in accident -- Notification and reporting
260
procedures -- Use of accident reports -- Giving false information as misdemeanor.
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(1) As used in this section, "agent" has the same meaning as provided in Section
41-6-40
.
262
[(1)] (2) It is the duty of the operator of a vessel involved in an accident, if he can do so
263
without seriously endangering his own vessel, crew, or passengers, to render aid to those affected
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by the accident as may be practicable. The operator shall also give his name, address, and
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identification of his vessel in writing to any person injured or to the owner of any property
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damaged in the accident.
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[(2)] (3) The board shall adopt rules governing the notification and reporting procedure
268
for vessels involved in accidents. [Such] The rules shall be consistent with federal requirements.
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[(3) All] (4) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(b), all accident reports:
270
(i) are protected and shall be for the confidential use of the division or other state, local,
271
or federal agencies having use for the records for official governmental statistical, investigative,
272
and accident prevention purposes[, except that the division may disclose the identity of a person
273
involved in an accident when the person's identity is not otherwise known or when the person
274
denies his presence at the accident. No]; and
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(ii) may be disclosed only in a statistical form that protects the privacy of any person
276
involved in the accident.
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(b) The division shall disclose a written accident report and its accompanying data to:
278
(i) a person involved in the accident, excluding a witness to the accident;
279
(ii) a person suffering loss or injury in the accident;
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(iii) an agent, parent, or legal guardian of a person described in Subsections (4)(b)(i) and
281
(ii);
282
(iv) a member of the press or broadcast news media;
283
(v) a state, local, or federal agency that uses the records for official governmental,
284
investigative, or accident prevention purposes; S [
and
] s
285
(vi) law enforcement personnel when acting in their official governmental capacity S [
.
]
; AND
285a
(vii) A LICENSED PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR.
s
285a
h
(c) INFORMATION PROVIDED TO A MEMBER OF THE PRESS OR BROADCAST NEWS
285b
MEDIA UNDER SUBSECTION (4)(b)(iv) MAY ONLY INCLUDE:
285c
(i) THE NAME, AGE, SEX AND CITY OF RESIDENCE OF EACH PERSON INVOLVED IN THE
285d
ACCIDENT;
285e
(ii) THE MAKE AND MODEL YEAR OF EACH VEHICLE INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT;
285f
(iii) WHETHER OR NOT EACH PERSON INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT WAS COVERED BY A
285g
VEHICLE INSURANCE POLICY;
285h
(iv) THE LOCATION OF THE ACCIDENT; AND
285i
(v) A DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCIDENT THAT EXCLUDES PERSONAL IDENTIFYING
285j
INFORMATION NOT LISTED IN SUBSECTION (4)(c)(i).
h
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(5) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (5)(b), an accident report [shall] may not be used
287
as evidence in any [trial,] civil or criminal trial, arising out of an accident[, except that the division
288
shall furnish upon].
289
(b) Upon demand of any person who has, or claims to have, made the report, or[,] upon
290
demand of any court, the division shall furnish a certificate showing that a specified accident report
291
has or has not been made to the division solely to prove a compliance or a failure to comply with
292
the requirement that a report be made to the division. [Reports] Accident reports may be used as
293
evidence when necessary to prosecute charges filed in connection with a violation of Subsection
294
[(4)] (6).m
295
[(4)] (6) Any person who gives false information, knowingly or having reason to believe
296
it is false, in an oral or written report as required in this chapter, is guilty of a class A
297
misdemeanor.
298
Section 6.
Section
73-18-14
is amended to read:
299
73-18-14. Transmittal of information to official or agency of United States.
300
In accordance with any request duly made by an authorized official or agency of the United
301
States, any information compiled or otherwise available to the division under [Subsection] Section
302
73-18-13
[(2)] shall be transmitted to the official or agency of the United States.
Legislative Review Note
as of 1-6-00 12:53 PM
A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.