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Report recommends changes

The Utah House Special Investigative Committee report recommended a series of changes, including:

Campaign finance law

• require "major donors" to file campaign contribution reports

• make it a civil or criminal violation when candidates, parties or campaign committees "coordinate" expenditures or activities with corporations or political action/issues committees

• require consultants to report expenditures on behalf of a candidate

Ethics law

• expand the scope of required financial disclosures and the number of officials required to submit them

• institute a "cooling off period" for new public officials related to people or businesses with whom they were associated prior to taking office

• clarify restrictions on outside employment or other activities for which a public official can be paid

Government Records and Management Act

• impose new retention requirements for emails

• increase penalties for improper destruction of records

Pattern of Unlawful Activity Act

• include evidence tampering as an primary offense

Legislative authority

• improve ability to enforce legislative subpoenas

• criminalize the obstruction of a legislative function

• allow the Legislature to refer cases of criminal contempt to prosecutors

Failure to Disclose Conflicts of Interest Statute

• expand to include business and economic relations of officials and candidates

• require candidates to disclose all employers

• require disclosure of money received "directly or indirectly"

• require disclosure of anyone a candidate "advises" along with names of managers and partners in companies

Violations of campaign finance reporting requirements

• allow removal from office of someone who violates reporting requirements

Campaign finance disclosures

• Strengthen candidate expenditure and in-kind contributions reporting requirements

Outside work by public officers, employees

• specify which outside employment is not appropriate

Regulation of campaign officials, advisers

• license campaign consultants, advisers

• expand laws that govern candidates to campaign managers and consultants

• make it a crime to lie to a legislative committee