ELECTIONS, POLITICS, & GOVERNMENT
State refuses to release conflict-of-interest records for Cox’s cabinet
Sep 15, 2024, 6:00 AM
An aerial photograph of the Utah state capitol. (Ravell Call, Deseret News)
(Ravell Call, Deseret News)
The following story was reported by the Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with KSL.com.
SALT LAKE CITY — The people who run Utah’s state agencies are required to disclose possible conflicts of interest. But the governor’s office apparently doesn’t think the public has the right to know what those are.
In a highly unusual move, the state’s Department of Human Resource Management denied a request made in July by the Utah Investigative Journalism Project to obtain copies of conflict-of-interest forms for Cox’s cabinet members. who run the agencies that oversee taxes, environmental quality, economic development and more. These agency heads have to file these forms showing their private business interests so Utahns can be confident they are not cashing in on their taxpayer-funded jobs to benefit themselves financially.
The denial was unusual given that experts agree these forms are not only commonly provided upon request but are also designed for the benefit of the public, giving them information to hold public leaders accountable.
Jeff Hunt, a First Amendment attorney at Parr Brown Gee & Loveless and member of the Utah Media Coalition, had never heard of such a decision, calling it “ridiculous.”
“What’s the point of having conflict-of-interest forms if the public can’t see them?” he asked.
After the Department of Human Resource Management first denied the request, Michael Broschinsky, a director at the Utah Department of Government Operations, reversed the decision and agreed to their release, even acknowledging in a July 31 e-mail that the records “were very much in the public interest.”
But, two days later, Broschinsky reversed the decision, again, and denied the release of the documents without further explanation.
Related: Utah’s 2024 debate for governor features 3 candidates
Read the full story at KSL.com
