The Utah Transit Authority took a first step Monday toward always making public what have been mostly confidential, newly required conflict-of-interest forms for its board members.
That comes after The Salt Lake Tribune fought to obtain the first such forms through an open-records request. UTA denied the request initially, then negotiated release of most of the forms when the newspaper appealed to the State Records Committee.
State law has long required board members to fill out a basic public statement each year listing any potential conflicts of interest that they may have.
Two years ago as UTA was trying to improve its reputation after some scandals, it went a step further to require more detailed information about board members’ finances, business dealings, assets, outside positions and gifts, including travel.