Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. today will unveil that phrase as the long debated and much anticipated slogan he hopes will define the image of his administration and the state.

The simple, two-word tag line is part of a $14 million branding, marketing and advertising campaign to attract visitors to Utah.

"This statement embodies the heart and soul of our state - it is also the essence of life in America's greatest state," said Huntsman in a statement as his office released the slogan in response to an open records request. "As we began a national and international tourism campaign, this phrase will help encapsulate Utah in the minds of people around the world."

Leigh von der Esch, managing director of the Utah Tourism Office, said the slogan is inspirational, depicting both a state of mind as well as the state's beautiful geography.

" 'Life Elevated' can be taken in a variety of ways," she said. "[We're] about attitude not altitude."

The phrase won out over an earlier slogan filed with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office in December that was scrapped the next month. When the Utah Tourism Board realized in January that the slogan was too close to Colorado's "Enter a Higher State," it abandoned the phrase while refusing to disclose what it was.

That slogan - "Seek Higher Ground" - became a public record, however, when it was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trade Office.

Last week, the Tourism Board adopted "Life Elevated" as the new state slogan in a public meeting without disclosing its contents. When the final vote was taken, board members spoke in code words to keep the slogan secret.

Media attorney David Reymann said using code words and secret phrases defeats the purpose of Utah Open Meetings Act.

"It sounds silly, it's so obvious," said Reymann. "The act doesn't allow discussions in an open meeting to be conducted in a way that the public doesn't know what's being talked about."

Assistant Attorney General Jerrold Jensen cited provisions of Utah law that allows the state to protect intellectual property rights and said the information would be revealed at a press conference scheduled for April 5.

The Salt Lake Tribune then filed a request for the information under the Government Records Access and Management Act. Huntsman's office, in turn, disclosed the slogan.

"Governor Huntsman is focused on making sure government activities are open and carried out in compliance with the law," said Mike Mower, spokesman for the governor. "This is why that when we were asked, we released it early."

Now, the Tourism Board also must approve a new logo. Rather than meeting to give final approval for the logo, board members are voting on it individually, by means of a telephone tree.

Mower said speaking in code words during a public meeting or approving a logo without convening a meeting were actions that the governor neither directed nor condoned.

"There was no malice on the part of the board," he said. "They were acting in the best interests of the state. Their concern was in protecting the trademarks."

"Life Elevated" will not supersede the familiar "Greatest Snow on Earth" used since 1988 to promote the state's ski industry. The new slogan does replace a 2001 phrase adopted by then-Gov. Mike Leavitt, "Utah! Where Ideas Converge."