HB 443 Utah House · 2025 General Session

Candidate Disclosure Amendments

HB 443 requires candidates for county, municipal, or special district offices in Utah to file a conflict of interest disclosure statement when submitting their declaration of candidacy. It also mandates annual disclosure of criminal convictions (misdemeanors or felonies) for candidates and current officeholders, with the requirement that this does not make them job applicants for public employers. Election officials must post these disclosure statements online, and candidates seeking reelection to the same office are exempt if they already filed the disclosure that year. The bill affects local candidates and officeholders by increasing transparency around potential conflicts and criminal history.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 7, 2025 Last action Mar 8, 2025

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What changed between versions

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill expands conflict of interest disclosure requirements for local candidates and officeholders, adds new definitions for criminal convictions, and clarifies that candidates are not job applicants for criminal history purposes. The bill also amends municipal residency requirements and adds new disclosure sections for various offices.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from only state and local officeholders to include local candidates (county, municipal, school board, special district) who must file disclosures when declaring candidacy, and added new sections for municipal office eligibility and residency requirements.

REQUIREMENT

Local candidates must file conflict of interest disclosure statements when declaring candidacy, except for those seeking reelection who already filed that year.

Election officials must post candidate disclosure statements on political subdivision websites until after the general election.

State and local officeholders must annually disclose misdemeanor or felony convictions, with exceptions for traffic offenses not involving drugs/alcohol.

New sections enacted for municipal office eligibility, residency requirements, and notice publication procedures.

DEFINITION

Added definitions for 'conviction' (excluding juvenile delinquency) and clarified that candidates are not job applicants for criminal history purposes.

SCOPE

Amended Utah Code sections to include additional offices (10-3-301, 17-16-1.5, 17B-1-306.1) beyond the original scope.

ENFORCEMENT

Civil penalties of $100 imposed by lieutenant governor for violations of disclosure requirements.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 12, 2025

Committee

House/ to standing committee

lower

Feb 7, 2025

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors