Client Alert
On March 29, Governor Herbert signed into law 2014 Senate Bill 179, which amends various provisions of the Utah Procurement Code, Title 63G, Chapter 6a, Utah Code Annotated. The amendments became effective upon the Governor’s execution. Among other things, the amendments revise the ethics provisions in Part 24 of the Procurement Code, which are intended to ensure that public officials act with impartiality, independent judgment and integrity when a public entity
- Procures supplies or services;
- Awards grants or contracts; or
- Administers a grant or contract (collectively, the “Procurement and Administration Process”).
The Ethics Chapter addresses this objective by prohibiting the giving and receiving of certain gifts, gratuities and kickbacks that could give rise to actual or perceived conflicts of interest between a public official’s personal interests and his public duties.