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Posted: 1:27 PM- Lobbyist disclosure reports show a state health department employee accepted $840 in Utah Jazz tickets from a lobbyist, violating an executive order that bans taking gifts.
Paul Patrick, director of Emergency Medical Services, took the tickets in January and February. They were given to him by Joseph Krella, a lobbyist for the Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association.
Gov. Jon Huntsman issued an executive order last year banning gifts for executive branch employees, saying public employees should be held to a higher standard when it comes to ethics.
A health department spokesman says Patrick has reimbursed the association for the tickets and won't be punished.
