Local Education Agency Financial Reporting

7
67-3-12
3
Local Education Agency Financial Reporting
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: R. Neil Walter
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions related to the Utah Public Finance Website and financial
reporting for education.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines terms;
excludes certain financial information from reporting requirements;
requires the state a
uditor to create certain common naming conventions;
requires a local education agency to:
use common naming conventions when reporting payroll data; and
include an employee's benefits when reporting payroll data; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
67-3-12
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 9
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
67-3-12
is amended to read:
67-3-12
. Utah Public Finance Website -- Establishment and administration --
Records disclosure -- Exceptions.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Common naming convention" means a standardized set of job titles and position
classifications the Office of the State Auditor creates to ensure consistent reporting of
payroll and benefit compensation data for a local education agency.
(a)
(b)
(i)
Subject to Subsections
(1)(a)(ii)
(1)(b)(ii)
and
(iii)
, "independent entity"
means the same as that term is defined in Section
63E-1-102
.
(ii)
"Independent entity" includes an entity that is part of an independent entity
described in Subsection
(1)(a)(i)
(1)(b)(i)
, if the entity is considered a component
unit of the independent entity under the governmental accounting standards issued
by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
(iii)
"Independent entity" does not include the Utah State Retirement Office created
in Section
49-11-201
.
(b)
(c)
"Local education agency" means a school district or charter school.
(c)
(d)
"Participating local entity" means:
(i)
a county;
(ii)
a municipality;
(iii)
the State Fair Park Authority, created in Section
11-68-201
;
(iv)
a special district under
Title 17B, Limited Purpose Local Government Entities -
Special Districts
;
(v)
a special service district under
Title 17D, Chapter 1, Special Service District Act
;
(vi)
a housing authority under
Title 35A, Chapter 8, Part 4, Housing Authorities
;
(vii)
a public transit district under
Title 17B, Chapter 2a, Part 8, Public Transit
District Act
;
(viii)
except for a taxed interlocal entity as defined in Section
11-13-602
:
(A)
an interlocal entity as defined in Section
11-13-103
;
(B)
a joint or cooperative undertaking as defined in Section
11-13-103
; or
(C)
any project, program, or undertaking entered into by interlocal agreement in
accordance with
Title 11, Chapter 13, Interlocal Cooperation Act
;
(ix)
except for a taxed interlocal entity as defined in Section
11-13-602
, an entity that
is part of an entity described in Subsections
(1)(c)(i)
(1)(d)(i)
through
(viii)
, if the
entity is considered a component unit of the entity described in Subsections
(1)(c)(i)
(1)(d)(i)
through
(viii)
under the governmental accounting standards
issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board;
(x)
a conservation district under
Title 17D, Chapter 3, Conservation District Act
; or
(xi)
a governmental nonprofit corporation under Title
11, Chapter 13a
, Governmental
Nonprofit Corporations Act.
(d)
(e)
(i)
"Participating state entity" means the state of Utah, including its executive,
legislative, and judicial branches, its departments, divisions, agencies, boards,
commissions, councils, committees, and institutions.
(ii)
"Participating state entity" includes an entity that is part of an entity described in
Subsection
(1)(d)(i)
, if the entity is considered a component unit of the entity
described in Subsection
(1)(d)(i)
(1)(b)(i)
under the governmental accounting
standards issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
(e)
(f)
"Public finance website" or "website" means the website established by the state
auditor in accordance with this section.
(f)
(g)
(i)
"Public financial information" means each record that is required under this
section or by rule made by the Office of the State Auditor under
Subsection
(9)
Subsection
(10)
to be made available on the public finance website, a participating
local entity's website, or an independent entity's website.
(ii)
"Public financial information" does not include payments a third-party contractor
or vendor makes to employees of the third-party contractor or vendor in
connection with providing a contractual service to a local education agency.
(g)
(h)
"Qualifying entity" means:
(i)
an independent entity;
(ii)
a participating local entity;
(iii)
a participating state entity;
(iv)
a local education agency;
(v)
an institution of higher education as defined in Section
53H-1-101
;
(vi)
the Utah Educational Savings Plan created in Section
53H-10-202
;
(vii)
the Utah Housing Corporation created in Section
63H-8-201
;
(viii)
the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration created in Section
53C-1-201
;
(ix)
the Utah Capital Investment Corporation created in Section
63N-6-301
; or
(x)
a URS-participating employer.
(h)
(i)
(i)
"URS-participating employer" means an entity that:
(A)
is a participating employer, as that term is defined in Section
49-11-102
; and
(B)
is not required to report public financial information under this section as a
qualifying entity described in Subsections
(1)(g)(i)
through
(ix)
.
(ii)
"URS-participating employer" does not include:
(A)
the Utah State Retirement Office created in Section
49-11-201
;
(B)
an insurer that is subject to the disclosure requirements of Section
31A-4-113
;
(C)
a private nonprofit organization that is not a public employees' association; or
(D)
a withdrawing entity.
(i)
(j)
(i)
"Withdrawing entity" means:
(A)
an entity that elects to withdraw from participation in a system or plan under
Title 49, Chapter 11, Part 6, Procedures and Records
;
(B)
until the date determined under Subsection
49-11-626(2)(a)
, a public
employees' association that provides the notice of intent described in
Subsection
49-11-626(2)(b)
; and
(C)
beginning on the date determined under Subsection
49-11-626(2)(a)
, a public
employees' association that makes an election described in Subsection
49-11-626(3)
.
(ii)
"Withdrawing entity" includes a withdrawing entity, as that term is defined in
Sections
49-11-623
and
49-11-624
.
(2)
The state auditor shall

:
(a)
establish and maintain a public finance website in accordance with this section
.
;
(b)
create and maintain a list of common naming conventions that apply to each local
education agency; and
(c)
ensure that each local education agency reporting payroll and compensation data
selects job titles from the common naming conventions when submitting or updating
payroll and compensation data.
(3)
The website shall:
(a)
permit Utah taxpayers to:
(i)
view, understand, and track the use of taxpayer dollars by making public financial
information available on the Internet for participating state entities, independent
entities, participating local entities, and URS-participating employers, using the
website; and
(ii)
link to websites administered by participating local entities, independent entities,
or URS-participating employers that do not use the website for the purpose of
providing public financial information as required by this section and by rule
made under
Subsection
(9)
Subsection
(10)
;
(b)
allow a person that has Internet access to use the website without paying a fee;
(c)
allow the public to search public financial information on the website;
(d)
provide access to financial reports, financial audits, budgets, or other financial
documents that are used to allocate, appropriate, spend, and account for government
funds, as may be established by rule made in accordance with
Subsection
(9)
Subsection
(10)
;
(e)
have a unique and simplified website address;
(f)
be guided by the
use the
principles described in Subsection
63A-16-202(2)
as
guidance
;
(g)
include other links, features, or functionality that will assist the public in obtaining
and reviewing public financial information, as may be established by rule made under
Subsection
(9)
Subsection
(10)
;
(h)
use common naming conventions for a local education agency's payroll and
compensation data posted to the website;
and
(h)
(i)
include a link to school report cards published on the State Board of Education's
website under Section
53E-5-211
.
(4)
The state auditor shall:
(a)
establish and maintain the website, including the provision of equipment, resources,
and personnel as necessary;
(b)
maintain an archive of all information posted to the website;
(c)
coordinate and process the receipt and posting of public financial information from
participating state entities; and
(d)
coordinate and regulate the posting of public financial information by participating
local entities and independent entities.
(5)
A qualifying entity shall permit the public to view the qualifying entity's public
financial information by posting the public financial information to the public finance
website in accordance with rules made under
Subsection
(9)
Subsection
(10)
.
(6)
The content of the public financial information posted to the public finance website is
the responsibility of the qualifying entity posting the public financial information.
(7)
A URS-participating employer shall provide employee compensation information for
each fiscal year ending on or after June 30, 2022:
(a)
to the state auditor for posting on the Utah Public Finance Website; or
(b)
(i)
through the URS-participating employer's own website; and
(ii)
via a link to the website described in Subsection
(7)(b)(i)
, submitted to the state
auditor for posting on the Utah Public Finance Website.
(8)
(a)
A qualifying entity may not post financial information that is classified as private,
controlled, or protected under
Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and
Management Act
, to the public finance website.
(b)
An individual who negligently discloses financial information that is classified as
private, protected, or controlled by
Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records
Access and Management Act
, is not criminally or civilly liable for an improper
disclosure of the financial information if the financial information is disclosed solely
as a result of the preparation or publication of the website.
(9)
A local education agency shall include an employee's benefits when reporting payroll
and compensation data to the state auditor under this section.
(9)
(10)
In accordance with
Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act
,
the Office of the State Auditor:
(a)
shall make rules to:
(i)
establish which records a qualifying entity is required to post to the public finance
website;
(ii)
establish and enforce common naming conventions for a local education agency
reporting payroll and compensation data;
and
(ii)
(iii)
establish procedures for obtaining, submitting, reporting, storing, and
posting public financial information on the public finance website; and
(b)
may make rules:
(i)
governing when a qualifying entity is required to disclose an expenditure made by
a person under contract with the qualifying entity, including the form and content
of the disclosure; and
(ii)
allowing for the inclusion of financial data provided by a participating local entity
to be included on the Utah Public Finance Website in a uniform manner.
(10)
(11)
The rules made under
Subsection
(9)
Subsection
(10)
shall only require a
URS-participating employer to provide employee compensation information for each
fiscal year ending on or after June 30, 2022:
(a)
to the state auditor for posting on the public finance website; or
(b)
(i)
through the URS-participating employer's own website; and
(ii)
via a link to the website described in
Subsection
(10)(b)(i)
Subsection
(11)(b)(i)
,
submitted to the state auditor for posting on the public finance website.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
July 1, 2026
.
1-22-26 12:15 PM