Utah Code Title 63A. Utah Government Operations Code § 63A-3-110. Personal use expenditures for state officers and employees
Current as of May 05, 2022 | Updated by FindLaw Staff
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(1) As used in this section:
(a) “Employee” means a person who is not an elected or appointed officer and who is employed on a full- or part-time basis by a governmental entity.
(b) “Governmental entity” means:
(i) an executive branch agency of the state, the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, state auditor, attorney general, and state treasurer, the State Board of Education, and the Utah Board of Higher Education;
(ii) the Office of the Legislative Auditor General, the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, the Legislature, and legislative committees;
(iii) courts, the Judicial Council, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and similar administrative units in the judicial branch; or
(iv) independent state entities created under Title 63H, Independent State Entities.
(c) “Officer” means a person who is elected or appointed to an office or position within a governmental entity.
(d)(i) “Personal use expenditure” means an expenditure made without the authority of law that:
(A) is not directly related to the performance of an activity as a state officer or employee;
(B) primarily furthers a personal interest of a state officer or employee or a state officer's or employee's family, friend, or associate; and
(C) would constitute taxable income under federal law.
(ii) “Personal use expenditure” does not include:
(A) a de minimis or incidental expenditure; or
(B) a state vehicle or a monthly stipend for a vehicle that an officer or employee uses to travel to and from the officer or employee's official duties, including a minimal allowance for a detour as provided by the state.
(e) “Public funds” means the same as that term is defined in Section 51-7-3.
(2) A state officer or employee may not:
(a) use public funds for a personal use expenditure; or
(b) incur indebtedness or liability on behalf of, or payable by, a governmental entity for a personal use expenditure.
(3) If the Division of Finance or the responsible governmental entity determines that a state officer or employee has intentionally made a personal use expenditure in violation of Subsection (2), the governmental entity shall:
(a) require the state officer or employee to deposit the amount of the personal use expenditure into the fund or account from which:
(i) the personal use expenditure was disbursed; or
(ii) payment for the indebtedness or liability for a personal use expenditure was disbursed;
(b) require the state officer or employee to remit an administrative penalty in an amount equal to 50% of the personal use expenditure to the Division of Finance; and
(c) deposit the money received under Subsection (3)(b) into the General Fund.
(4)(a) Any state officer or employee who has been found by a governmental entity to have made a personal use expenditure in violation of Subsection (2) may appeal the finding of the governmental entity.
(b) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the Division of Finance shall make rules regarding an appeal process for an appeal made under Subsection (4)(a), including the designation of an appeal authority.
(5)(a) Subject to Subsection (5)(b), the Division of Finance may withhold all or a portion of the wages of a state officer or employee who has violated Subsection (2) until the requirements of Subsection (3) have been met.
(b) If the state officer or employee has requested an appeal under Subsection (4), the Division of Finance may only withhold the wages of the officer or employee after the appeal authority described in Subsection (4)(b) has confirmed that the officer or employee violated Subsection (2).
(6) Nothing in this chapter immunizes a state officer or employee from or precludes any criminal prosecution or civil or employment action for an unlawful personal use expenditure.
(7) A state officer or employee who is convicted of misusing public money or public property under Section 76-8-402 may not disburse public funds or access public accounts.
No county, city, town, village or school district shall give or loan any money or property to or in aid of any individual, or private corporation or association, or private undertaking, or become directly or indirectly the owner of stock in, or bonds of, any private corporation or association; nor shall any county, city, town, village or school district give or loan its credit to or in aid of any individual, or public or private corporation or association, or private undertaking, except that two or more such units may join together pursuant to law in providing any municipal facility, service, activity or undertaking which each of such units has the power to provide separately. Each such unit may be authorized by the legislature to contract joint or several indebtedness, pledge its or their faith and credit for the payment of such indebtedness for such joint undertaking and levy real estate or other authorized taxes or impose charges therefor subject to the provisions of this constitution otherwise restricting the power of such units to contract indebtedness or to levy taxes on real estate. The legislature shall have power to provide by law for the manner and the proportion in which indebtedness arising out of such joint undertakings shall be incurred by such units and shall have power to provide a method by which such indebtedness shall be determined, allocated and apportioned among such units and such indebtedness treated for purposes of exclusion from applicable constitutional limitations, provided that in no event shall more than the total amount of indebtedness incurred for such joint undertaking be included in ascertaining the power of all such participating units to incur indebtedness. Such law may provide that such determination, allocation and apportionment shall be conclusive if made or approved by the comptroller. This provision shall not prevent a county from contracting indebtedness for the purpose of advancing to a town or school district, pursuant to law, the amount of unpaid taxes returned to it.
Subject to the limitations on indebtedness and taxation applying to any county, city, town or village nothing in this constitution contained shall prevent a county, city or town from making such provision for the aid, care and support of the needy as may be authorized by law, nor prevent any such county, city or town from providing for the care, support, maintenance and secular education of inmates of orphan asylums, homes for dependent children or correctional institutions and of children placed in family homes by authorized agencies, whether under public or private control, or from providing health and welfare services for all children, nor shall anything in this constitution contained prevent a county, city, town or village from increasing the pension benefits payable to retired members of a police department or fire department or to widows, dependent children or dependent parents of members or retired members of a police department or fire department; or prevent the city of New York from increasing the pension benefits payable to widows, dependent children or dependent parents of members or retired members of the relief and pension fund of the department of street cleaning of the city of New York. Payments by counties, cities or towns to charitable, eleemosynary, correctional and reformatory institutions and agencies, wholly or partly under private control, for care, support and maintenance, may be authorized, but shall not be required, by the legislature. No such payments shall be made for any person cared for by any such institution or agency, nor for a child placed in a family home, who is not received and retained therein pursuant to rules established by the state board of social welfare or other state department having the power of inspection thereof.
Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Utah Code Title 63A. Utah Government Operations Code § 63A-3-110. Personal use expenditures for state officers and employees - last updated May 05, 2022 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ut/title-63a-utah-government-operations-code/ut-code-sect-63a-3-110/
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