S.B. 20 Enrolled

FACILITATION OF E-GOVERNMENT
2003 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: David H. Steele
This act modifies the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act and construction statutes to
facilitate government agencies providing services electronically and to make technical
changes.
This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
AMENDS:
46-4-502, as enacted by Chapter 138, Laws of Utah 2001
63D-1-301.5, as last amended by Chapters 12 and 346, Laws of Utah 2000
68-3-12, as last amended by Chapter 241, Laws of Utah 2001
RENUMBERS AND AMENDS:
46-4-503, (Renumbered from 63D-1-105, as enacted by Chapter 307, Laws of Utah
1999)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 46-4-502 is amended to read:
46-4-502. Providing services or information electronically -- Interpretation of
terms in Utah Code.
[For purposes of this part:]
(1) To provide services or information electronically, a state governmental entity may
implement the terms listed in Subsection (2) in accordance with this section:
(a) when the term is used in the Utah Code; and
(b) if the implementation is not:
(i) inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Legislature; or
(ii) repugnant to the context of the statute.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to the terms listed in this Subsection (2).
[(1)] (a) "Copy" may include an electronic version of a document.
[(2)] (b) "Mail" may include sending a document electronically[, provided that] if the

recipient can accept and process the electronic writing.
[(3)] (c) "Mailing address" may include an electronic mailing address capable of
receiving and processing an electronic writing.
[(4)] (d) "Sign" or "signature" may include any form of electronic signature authorized by
the governmental agency.
[(5)] (e) "Written" or "writing" [means] may include information that is:
[(a)] (i) inscribed on a tangible medium; or
[(b)] (ii) (A) stored in an electronic or other medium; and
(B) is retrievable in a perceivable form.
Section 2. Section 46-4-503 , which is renumbered from Section 63D-1-105 is
renumbered and amended to read:
[63D-1-105]. 46-4-503. Government products and services provided
electronically.
(1) [The appropriate] Notwithstanding Section 46-4-501 , a state [entities] governmental
agency that administers one or more of the following transactions shall allow [the following
services to be transacted through the Internet by July 1, 2002] those transactions to be conducted
electronically:
(a) an application for [and] or renewal of a professional [and] or occupational [licenses]
license issued under Title 58, Occupations and Professions;
(b) the renewal of a drivers [licenses] license;
(c) an application for a hunting [and] or fishing [licenses] license;
(d) [filings for income tax, sales tax,] the filing of:
(i) a return under Title 59, Chapter 10 or 12;
(ii) a court [documents, and] document, as defined by the Judicial Council; or
(iii) a document under Title 70A, Uniform Commercial Code;
(e) [registrations] a registration for [products, brands, motor vehicles, corporations, and
businesses; and]:
(i) a product; or

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(ii) a brand;
(f) a renewal of a registration of a motor vehicle;
(g) a registration under:
(i) Title 16, Corporations;
(ii) Title 42, Names; or
(iii) Title 48, Partnerships; or
[(f)] (h) submission of an application for [unemployment, welfare, and health] benefits:
(i) under Title 35A, Chapter 3, Employment Support Act;
(ii) under Title 35A, Chapter 4, Employment Security Act; or
(iii) related to accident and health insurance.
(2) The state system of public education, in coordination with the Utah Education
Network, shall make reasonable progress toward making the following services available
[through the Internet by July 1, 2002;] electronically:
(a) secure access by parents and students to student grades and progress reports;
(b) [email] e-mail communications with:
(i) teachers[,];
(ii) parent-teacher associations[,]; and
(iii) school administrators;
(c) access to school calendars and schedules; and
(d) teaching resources that may include:
(i) teaching plans[,];
(ii) curriculum guides[,]; and
(iii) media resources.
(3) [State entities] A state governmental agency shall:
(a) in carrying out the requirements of this section, take reasonable steps to ensure the
security and privacy of records that are private or controlled as defined by Title 63, Chapter 2,
Government Records Access and Management Act;
(b) in addition to those [required services] transactions listed in Subsections (1) [through

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(3)] and (2), determine any additional services [which] that may be made available to the public
through electronic means[, including the Internet, by July 1, 2002]; and
(c) as part of [their] the state governmental agency's budget [reports] report to the
Information Technology Commission prescribed by Section 63D-1-204 , report on the progress of
compliance with Subsections (1) through (3).
(4) [A] Notwithstanding the other provisions of this part, a state [entity] governmental
agency is not required by this part to [provide] conduct a transaction [through the Internet that
is] electronically if:
(a) conducting the transaction electronically is not required by federal law; and
(b) conducting the transaction electronically is:
(i) impractical[,];
(ii) unreasonable[,]; or
(iii) not permitted by laws pertaining to privacy or security.
Section 3. Section 63D-1-301.5 is amended to read:
63D-1-301.5. Chief information officer -- Duties.
(1) The chief information officer shall:
(a) develop specific information technology objectives, policies, procedures, and
standards to guide the development of information systems within state government to achieve
maximum economy and quality while preserving optimum user flexibility, including:
(i) policies, standards, and procedures for appropriate interchange of information,
optimum service, and minimum costs;
(ii) policies for costing all information technology services performed by any state
information technology cost recovery center so that every cost recovery center charges its users a
rate for services that is both equitable and sufficient to recover all the costs of its operation,
including the cost of capital equipment and facilities;
(iii) policies governing coordination, cooperation, joint efforts, working relationships,
and cost accounting relative to the development and maintenance of information technology and
information systems; and

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(iv) policies to ensure the protection of individual privacy and guarantee the exclusive
control to a user of its own data;
(b) coordinate the preparation of agency information technology plans within state
government, encompassing both short-term and long-term needs that support the agency's and the
state's strategic plans, including Utah Tomorrow;
(c) require each state agency to submit semiannually an agency information technology
plan containing the information required by Subsection (2) before the legislative session in which
the budget request will be heard and no later than the June 15 after the legislative session in
which the budget request was authorized to the chief information officer;
(d) upon receipt of a state agency's information technology plan:
(i) provide a complete copy of that plan to the director of the Division of Information
Technology Services;
(ii) review and approve or disapprove agency information technology plans to ensure that
these plans are the most economically viable and are the best solution to the agency's needs and
the state's needs; and
(iii) approve or disapprove of and coordinate the acquisition of information technology
equipment, telecommunications equipment, and related services for all agencies of state
government;
(e) facilitate the implementation of agency plans;
(f) establish priorities in terms of both importance and time sequencing for the
development and implementation of information systems;
(g) monitor information systems development to promote maximum use of existing state
information resources;
(h) advise the governor on information technology policy and make recommendations to
the governor regarding requests for appropriations for information technology equipment and
personnel;
(i) maintain liaison with the legislative and judicial branches, the Board of Regents, the
State Board of Education, local government, federal government, business and industry, and

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consumers to promote cooperation and make recommendations regarding information resources;
(j) conduct performance audits of state information technology management, planning,
and the use of information technology resources and distribute copies of the audit reports as
provided in Subsection (3);
(k) prepare an annual report to the governor and to the Legislature's Public Utilities and
Technology Interim Committee and the Information Technology Commission that:
(i) summarizes the state's current and projected use of information technology; and
(ii) includes a description of major changes in state policy and a brief description of each
state agency's plan;
(l) inform each state entity of the requirements of Section [ 63D-1-105 ] 46-4-503 ;
(m) as permitted by law, coordinate the efforts of state government to provide services
and transactions through the Internet;
(n) coordinate the development of electronic authentication methods and technology
needed to conduct electronic transactions between government and citizens or businesses, except
that the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code shall have responsibility for regulatory
activities in Title 46, Chapter 3, Utah Digital Signature Act;
(o) designate an existing state repository or create a new repository that is secure and
central for the maintenance of any appropriate information relating to the issuance of digital
certificates as provided in Section 46-3-601 ; and
(p) develop a digital certificate policy pursuant to Subsection (6).
(2) (a) Each state agency information technology plan shall include information about
planned information technology objectives and expenditures for the next year in the level of
detail and format specified by the chief information officer.
(b) The plans in Subsection (2)(a) shall include the progress of each state agency toward
making the agency's services available [on the Internet] electronically as provided in Section
[ 63D-1-105 ] 46-4-503 .
(3) (a) Upon completion of an audit report produced under authority of Subsection (1)(j),
the chief information officer shall:

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(i) provide copies of all audit reports to:
(A) the agency audited;
(B) the governor;
(C) the Office of Legislative Fiscal Analyst;
(D) the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee; and
(E) the Information Technology Commission; and
(ii) present the performance audit findings to the Information Technology Policy and
Strategy Committee at their next meeting.
(b) Each state agency shall provide the chief information officer with complete access to
all information technology records, documents, and reports, including electronic, analog, or
digital, when requested for the purpose of a performance audit.
(4) The rate for services established by an information technology cost recovery center,
and reviewed by the chief information officer, may be lowered if the Legislature appropriates
monies to the cost recovery center for the specific purpose of lowering rates.
(5) (a) The chief information officer shall receive reports from the director of the
Division of Information Technology Services regarding the division's:
(i) budget;
(ii) strategic plans, including services the division is or plans to offer agencies;
(iii) major expenditure plans; and
(iv) any other items determined jointly by the executive director and the chief
information officer.
(b) The chief information officer shall have authority to approve or disapprove any of the
items listed in Subsection (5)(a).
(6) The chief information officer shall:
(a) develop a digital certificate policy which includes:
(i) indicating the level of identity verification necessary for digital certificates issued by
any governmental entity to be valid for transacting business online with state agencies and
political subdivisions;

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(ii) requiring any certification authority from which the digital certificates are acquired to
be licensed in the state pursuant to Title 46, Chapter 3, Utah Digital Signature Act;
(iii) providing for the security of the information in the repository, including who is
permitted access to the information; and
(iv) indicating the appropriate use and retention of the information in the repository;
(b) assist governmental entities desiring to transact business with citizens electronically
to develop programs using digital certificates; and
(c) designate the state repository pursuant to Section 46-3-601 .
Section 4. Section 68-3-12 is amended to read:
68-3-12. Rules of construction.
(1) (a) In the construction of these statutes, the [following] general rules listed in this
Subsection (1) shall be observed, unless [such] the construction would be:
(i) inconsistent with the manifest intent of the Legislature; or
(ii) repugnant to the context of the statute[:].
[(a)] (b) The singular number includes the plural, and the plural the singular.
[(b)] (c) Words used in one gender comprehend the other gender.
[(c)] (d) Words used in the present tense include the future tense.
(e) In accordance with Title 46, Chapter 4, Part 5, Electronic Records in Government
Agencies, words related to the medium used in the provision of government services may include
electronic or other mediums.
(2) In the construction of these statutes, the [following] definitions listed in this
Subsection (2) shall be observed, unless the definition would be inconsistent with the manifest
intent of the Legislature, or repugnant to the context of the statute[:].
(a) "Adjudicative proceeding" means:
(i) all actions by a board, commission, department, officer, or other administrative unit of
the state that determine the legal rights, duties, privileges, immunities, or other legal interests of
one or more identifiable persons, including all actions to grant, deny, revoke, suspend, modify,
annul, withdraw, or amend an authority, right, or license; and

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(ii) judicial review of all such actions.
(b) "Advisory board," "advisory commission," and "advisory council" means a board,
commission, or council that:
(i) provides advice and makes recommendations to another person or entity who makes
policy for the benefit of the general public;
(ii) is created by and whose duties are provided by statute or by executive order; and
(iii) performs its duties only under the supervision of another person as provided by
statute.
(c) "Councilman" includes a town trustee or a city commissioner, and "city
commissioner" includes a councilman.
(d) "County executive" means:
(i) the county commission in the county commission or expanded county commission
form of government established under Title 17, Chapter 52, Forms of County Government;
(ii) the county executive in the "county executive-council" optional form of government
authorized by Section 17-52-504 ; and
(iii) the county manager in the "council-manager" optional form of government
authorized by Section 17-52-505 .
(e) "County legislative body" means:
(i) the county commission in the county commission or expanded county commission
form of government established under Title 17, Chapter 52, Forms of County Government;
(ii) the county council in the "county executive-council" optional form of government
authorized by Section 17-52-504 ; and
(iii) the county council in the "council-manager" optional form of government authorized
by Section 17-52-505 .
(f) "Executor" includes administrator, and the term "administrator" includes executor,
when the subject matter justifies such use.
(g) "Guardian" includes a person who has qualified as a guardian of a minor or
incapacitated person pursuant to testamentary or court appointment and a person who is

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appointed by a court to manage the estate of a minor or incapacitated person.
(h) "Highway" and "road" include public bridges and may be held equivalent to the
words "county way," "county road," "common road," and "state road."
(i) "Him," "his," and other masculine pronouns include "her," "hers," and similar
feminine pronouns unless the context clearly indicates a contrary intent or the subject matter
relates clearly and necessarily to the male sex only.
(j) "Insane person" include idiots, lunatics, distracted persons, and persons of unsound
mind.
(k) "Land," "real estate," and "real property" include land, tenements, hereditaments,
water rights, possessory rights, and claims.
(l) "Man" or "men" when used alone or in conjunction with other syllables as in
"workman," includes "woman" or "women" unless the context clearly indicates a contrary intent
or the subject matter relates clearly and necessarily to the male sex only.
(m) "Month" means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed, and the word "year,"
or the abbreviation "A.D." is equivalent to the expression "year of our Lord."
(n) "Oath" includes "affirmation," and the word "swear" includes "affirm." Every oral
statement under oath or affirmation is embraced in the term "testify," and every written one, in
the term "depose."
(o) "Person" includes individuals, bodies politic and corporate, partnerships,
associations, and companies.
(p) "Personal property" includes every description of money, goods, chattels, effects,
evidences of rights in action, and all written instruments by which any pecuniary obligation,
right, or title to property is created, acknowledged, transferred, increased, defeated, discharged,
or diminished, and every right or interest therein.
(q) "Personal representative," "executor," and "administrator" includes an executor,
administrator, successor personal representative, special administrator, and persons who perform
substantially the same function under the law governing their status.
(r) "Policy board," "policy commission," or "policy council" means a board, commission,

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or council that:
(i) possesses a portion of the sovereign power of the state to enable it to make policy for
the benefit of the general public;
(ii) is created by and whose duties are provided by the constitution or by statute;
(iii) performs its duties according to its own rules without supervision other than under
the general control of another person as provided by statute; and
(iv) is permanent and continuous and not temporary and occasional.
(s) "Population" shall be as shown by the last preceding state or national census, unless
otherwise specially provided.
(t) "Property" includes both real and personal property.
(u) "Review board," "review commission," or "review council" means a board,
commission, or council that:
(i) possesses a portion of the sovereign power of the state only to the extent to enable it
to approve policy made for the benefit of the general public by another body or person;
(ii) is created by and whose duties are provided by statute;
(iii) performs its duties according to its own rules without supervision other than under
the general control of another person as provided by statute; and
(iv) is permanent and continuous and not temporary and occasional.
(v) "Sheriff," "county attorney," "district attorney," "clerk," or other words used to denote
an executive or ministerial officer, may include any deputy, or other person performing the duties
of such officer, either generally or in special cases; and the words "county clerk" may be held to
include "clerk of the district court."
(w) "Signature" includes any name, mark, or sign written with the intent to authenticate
any instrument or writing.
(x) "State," when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District
of Columbia and the territories; and the words "United States" may include the District and the
territories.
(y) "Town" may mean incorporated town and may include city, and the word "city" may

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mean incorporated town.
(z) "Vessel," when used with reference to shipping, includes steamboats, canal boats, and
every structure adapted to be navigated from place to place.
(aa) "Will" includes codicils.
(bb) "Writ" means an order or precept in writing, issued in the name of the state or of a
court or judicial officer; and "process" means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial
proceedings.
(cc) "Writing" includes:
(i) printing[,];
(ii) handwriting[, and typewriting.]; and
(iii) information stored in an electronic or other medium if the information is retrievable
in a perceivable format.

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