The attorney general’s office had decided not to release the document, citing ethical concerns about a conflict of interest. The Legislature let the matter drop, but The Salt Lake Tribune sought the opinion under state open-records laws and appealed to the committee after the attorney general’s office denied the request twice.
“You could tell the records committee really understood the substantial public interest,” said Mark Tolman, the Tribune’s attorney, after the vote. “There was no debate about what mattered most, and that was that the public needs to see this document.”
Lawmakers requested the legal opinion in May after their lawyers accused Gov.