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H.B. 319 Enrolled

                 

WORKERS' COMPENSATION - PROOF OF

                 
COVERAGE INFORMATION DISCLOSURE

                 
2000 GENERAL SESSION

                 
STATE OF UTAH

                 
Sponsor: Gerry A. Adair

                  AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR; PROVIDING THAT PROOF OF COVERAGE
                  INFORMATION IS PROTECTED; PROVIDING LIMITED DISCLOSURE; PROVIDING
                  RULEMAKING; AND MAKING TECHNICAL CHANGES.
                  This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
                  AMENDS:
                      34A-2-205, as renumbered and amended by Chapter 375, Laws of Utah 1997
                      63-2-304, as last amended by Chapter 234, Laws of Utah 1997
                  Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
                      Section 1. Section 34A-2-205 is amended to read:
                       34A-2-205. Notification of workers' compensation insurance coverage to division --
                  Cancellation requirements -- Penalty for violation.
                      (1) (a) Every insurance carrier writing workers' compensation insurance coverage in this
                  state or for this state, regardless of the state in which the policy is written, shall file notification of
                  that coverage with the division or its designee within 30 days after the inception date of the policy
                  in the form prescribed by the division. [These policies will be]
                      (b) A policy described in Subsection (1)(a) is in effect from inception until canceled by
                  filing with the division or its designee a notification of cancellation in the form prescribed by the
                  division within ten days after the cancellation of a policy.
                      [(b)] (c) Failure to notify the division or its designee under Subsection (1)[(a)](b) will result
                  in the continued liability of the carrier until the date that notice of cancellation is received by the
                  division or its designee.
                      [(c)] (d) Filings shall be made within 30 days of:
                      (i) the reinstatement of a policy;
                      (ii) the changing or addition of a name or address of the insured; or


                      (iii) the merger of an insured with another entity.
                      [(d)] (e) All filings under this section shall include:
                      (i) the name of the insured;
                      (ii) the principal business address;
                      (iii) any and all assumed name designations;
                      (iv) the address of all locations within this state where business is conducted; and
                      (v) all federal employer identification numbers or federal tax identification numbers.
                      (2) Noncompliance with this section is grounds for revocation of an insurance carrier's
                  certificate of authority in addition to the grounds specified in Title 31A, Insurance Code.
                      (3) The division may assess an insurer up to $150, payable to the Uninsured Employers'                   Fund,
                  if the insurer fails to comply with this section.
                      (4) (a) The notification of workers' compensation insurance coverage required to be filed
                  under Subsection (1) is a protected record under Section 63-2-304 .
                      (b) The commission or any of its divisions may not disclose the information described in
                  Subsection (4)(a) except as provided in:
                      (i) Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, for a protected
                  record; or
                      (ii) Subsection (4)(c), notwithstanding whether Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records
                  Access and Management Act, permits disclosure.
                      (c) The commission may disclose the information described in Subsection (4)(a) if:
                      (i) the information is disclosed on an individual case basis related to a single employer;
                      (ii) the information facilitates the:
                      (A) coverage of subcontractors by identifying the insurance carrier providing workers'
                  compensation coverage for an employer;
                      (B) filing of a claim by an employee; or
                      (C) payment of services rendered on an employee's claim by a medical practitioner; and
                      (iii) promotes the purposes of this chapter or Chapter 3, Utah Occupational Disease Act.
                      (d) In accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the

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                  commission shall make rules concerning when information may be disclosed under Subsection (4)(c).
                      Section 2. Section 63-2-304 is amended to read:
                       63-2-304. Protected records.
                      The following records are protected if properly classified by a governmental entity:
                      (1) trade secrets as defined in Section 13-24-2 if the person submitting the trade secret has
                  provided the governmental entity with the information specified in Section 63-2-308 ;
                      (2) commercial information or nonindividual financial information obtained from a person if:
                      (a) disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to result in unfair competitive
                  injury to the person submitting the information or would impair the ability of the governmental entity
                  to obtain necessary information in the future;
                      (b) the person submitting the information has a greater interest in prohibiting access than the
                  public in obtaining access; and
                      (c) the person submitting the information has provided the governmental entity with the
                  information specified in Section 63-2-308 ;
                      (3) commercial or financial information acquired or prepared by a governmental entity to the
                  extent that disclosure would lead to financial speculations in currencies, securities, or commodities
                  that will interfere with a planned transaction by the governmental entity or cause substantial financial
                  injury to the governmental entity or state economy;
                      (4) records the disclosure of which could cause commercial injury to, or confer a competitive
                  advantage upon a potential or actual competitor of, a commercial project entity as defined in
                  Subsection 11-13-3 (3);
                      (5) test questions and answers to be used in future license, certification, registration,
                  employment, or academic examinations;
                      (6) records the disclosure of which would impair governmental procurement proceedings or
                  give an unfair advantage to any person proposing to enter into a contract or agreement with a
                  governmental entity, except that this subsection does not restrict the right of a person to see bids
                  submitted to or by a governmental entity after bidding has closed;
                      (7) records that would identify real property or the appraisal or estimated value of real or

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                  personal property, including intellectual property, under consideration for public acquisition before
                  any rights to the property are acquired unless:
                      (a) public interest in obtaining access to the information outweighs the governmental entity's
                  need to acquire the property on the best terms possible;
                      (b) the information has already been disclosed to persons not employed by or under a duty
                  of confidentiality to the entity;
                      (c) in the case of records that would identify property, potential sellers of the described
                  property have already learned of the governmental entity's plans to acquire the property; or
                      (d) in the case of records that would identify the appraisal or estimated value of property, the
                  potential sellers have already learned of the governmental entity's estimated value of the property;
                      (8) records prepared in contemplation of sale, exchange, lease, rental, or other compensated
                  transaction of real or personal property including intellectual property, which, if disclosed prior to
                  completion of the transaction, would reveal the appraisal or estimated value of the subject property,
                  unless:
                      (a) the public interest in access outweighs the interests in restricting access, including the
                  governmental entity's interest in maximizing the financial benefit of the transaction; or
                      (b) when prepared by or on behalf of a governmental entity, appraisals or estimates of the
                  value of the subject property have already been disclosed to persons not employed by or under a duty
                  of confidentiality to the entity;
                      (9) records created or maintained for civil, criminal, or administrative enforcement purposes
                  or audit purposes, or for discipline, licensing, certification, or registration purposes, if release of the
                  records:
                      (a) reasonably could be expected to interfere with investigations undertaken for enforcement,
                  discipline, licensing, certification, or registration purposes;
                      (b) reasonably could be expected to interfere with audits, disciplinary, or enforcement
                  proceedings;
                      (c) would create a danger of depriving a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial hearing;
                      (d) reasonably could be expected to disclose the identity of a source who is not generally

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                  known outside of government and, in the case of a record compiled in the course of an investigation,
                  disclose information furnished by a source not generally known outside of government if disclosure
                  would compromise the source; or
                      (e) reasonably could be expected to disclose investigative or audit techniques, procedures,
                  policies, or orders not generally known outside of government if disclosure would interfere with
                  enforcement or audit efforts;
                      (10) records the disclosure of which would jeopardize the life or safety of an individual;
                      (11) records the disclosure of which would jeopardize the security of governmental property,
                  governmental programs, or governmental record-keeping systems from damage, theft, or other
                  appropriation or use contrary to law or public policy;
                      (12) records that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the security or safety of a correctional
                  facility, or records relating to incarceration, treatment, probation, or parole, that would interfere with
                  the control and supervision of an offender's incarceration, treatment, probation, or parole;
                      (13) records that, if disclosed, would reveal recommendations made to the Board of Pardons
                  and Parole by an employee of or contractor for the Department of Corrections, the Board of Pardons
                  and Parole, or the Department of Human Services that are based on the employee's or contractor's
                  supervision, diagnosis, or treatment of any person within the board's jurisdiction;
                      (14) records and audit workpapers that identify audit, collection, and operational procedures
                  and methods used by the State Tax Commission, if disclosure would interfere with audits or
                  collections;
                      (15) records of a governmental audit agency relating to an ongoing or planned audit until the
                  final audit is released;
                      (16) records prepared by or on behalf of a governmental entity solely in anticipation of
                  litigation that are not available under the rules of discovery;
                      (17) records disclosing an attorney's work product, including the mental impressions or legal
                  theories of an attorney or other representative of a governmental entity concerning litigation;
                      (18) records of communications between a governmental entity and an attorney representing,
                  retained, or employed by the governmental entity if the communications would be privileged as

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                  provided in Section 78-24-8 ;
                      (19) personal files of a legislator, including personal correspondence to or from a member
                  of the Legislature, but not correspondence that gives notice of legislative action or policy;
                      (20) (a) records in the custody or control of the Office of Legislative Research and General
                  Counsel, that, if disclosed, would reveal a particular legislator's contemplated legislation or
                  contemplated course of action before the legislator has elected to support the legislation or course
                  of action, or made the legislation or course of action public; and
                      (b) for purposes of this subsection, a "Request For Legislation" submitted to the Office of
                  Legislative Research and General Counsel is a public document unless a legislator submits the
                  "Request For Legislation" with a request that it be maintained as a protected record until such time
                  as the legislator elects to make the legislation or course of action public;
                      (21) research requests from legislators to the Office of Legislative Research and General
                  Counsel or the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and research findings prepared in response to
                  these requests;
                      (22) drafts, unless otherwise classified as public;
                      (23) records concerning a governmental entity's strategy about collective bargaining or
                  pending litigation;
                      (24) records of investigations of loss occurrences and analyses of loss occurrences that may
                  be covered by the Risk Management Fund, the Employers' Reinsurance Fund, the Uninsured
                  Employers' Fund, or similar divisions in other governmental entities;
                      (25) records, other than personnel evaluations, that contain a personal recommendation
                  concerning an individual if disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal
                  privacy, or disclosure is not in the public interest;
                      (26) records that reveal the location of historic, prehistoric, paleontological, or biological
                  resources that if known would jeopardize the security of those resources or of valuable historic,
                  scientific, educational, or cultural information;
                      (27) records of independent state agencies if the disclosure of the records would conflict with
                  the fiduciary obligations of the agency;

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                      (28) records of a public institution of higher education regarding tenure evaluations,
                  appointments, applications for admissions, retention decisions, and promotions, which could be
                  properly discussed in a meeting closed in accordance with Title 52, Chapter 4, Open and Public
                  Meetings, provided that records of the final decisions about tenure, appointments, retention,
                  promotions, or those students admitted, may not be classified as protected under this section;
                      (29) records of the governor's office, including budget recommendations, legislative
                  proposals, and policy statements, that if disclosed would reveal the governor's contemplated policies
                  or contemplated courses of action before the governor has implemented or rejected those policies or
                  courses of action or made them public;
                      (30) records of the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst relating to budget analysis,
                  revenue estimates, and fiscal notes of proposed legislation before issuance of the final
                  recommendations in these areas;
                      (31) records provided by the United States or by a government entity outside the state that
                  are given to the governmental entity with a requirement that they be managed as protected records
                  if the providing entity certifies that the record would not be subject to public disclosure if retained
                  by it;
                      (32) transcripts, minutes, or reports of the closed portion of a meeting of a public body
                  except as provided in Section 52-4-7 ;
                      (33) records that would reveal the contents of settlement negotiations but not including final
                  settlements or empirical data to the extent that they are not otherwise exempt from disclosure;
                      (34) memoranda prepared by staff and used in the decision-making process by an
                  administrative law judge, a member of the Board of Pardons and Parole, or a member of any other
                  body charged by law with performing a quasi-judicial function;
                      (35) records that would reveal negotiations regarding assistance or incentives offered by or
                  requested from a governmental entity for the purpose of encouraging a person to expand or locate
                  a business in Utah, but only if disclosure would result in actual economic harm to the person or place
                  the governmental entity at a competitive disadvantage, but this section may not be used to restrict
                  access to a record evidencing a final contract;

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                      (36) materials to which access must be limited for purposes of securing or maintaining the
                  governmental entity's proprietary protection of intellectual property rights including patents,
                  copyrights, and trade secrets;
                      (37) the name of a donor or a prospective donor to a governmental entity, including a public
                  institution of higher education, and other information concerning the donation that could reasonably
                  be expected to reveal the identity of the donor, provided that:
                      (a) the donor requests anonymity in writing;
                      (b) any terms, conditions, restrictions, or privileges relating to the donation may not be
                  classified protected by the governmental entity under this subsection; and
                      (c) except for public institutions of higher education, the governmental unit to which the
                  donation is made is primarily engaged in educational, charitable, or artistic endeavors, and has no
                  regulatory or legislative authority over the donor, a member of his immediate family, or any entity
                  owned or controlled by the donor or his immediate family; [and]
                      (38) a notification of workers' compensation insurance coverage described in Section
                  34A-2-205 ; and
                      [(38)] (39) the following records of a public institution of education, which have been
                  developed, discovered, or received by or on behalf of faculty, staff, employees, or students of the
                  institution: unpublished lecture notes, unpublished research notes and data, unpublished manuscripts,
                  creative works in process, scholarly correspondence, and confidential information contained in
                  research proposals. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect the ownership of a record.

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