The names of companies that have been offered tax incentives to bring their operations to Utah will be made public, despite a Thursday ruling that would have allowed them to remain secret if economic or competitive concerns justified it.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is planning to institute a new policy in the next couple of days that will call for "transparency" in all offices under his authority, according to spokesman Mike Mower. Specifically, details about companies that are offered tax incentives by the Governor's Office of Economic Development, such as their name and planned location within Utah, will be made public as soon as the incentive is offered unless "exceptional circumstances" dictate otherwise.
The new policy will follow closely that of neighboring states, especially Colorado, Mower said.
"We're going to seek to reflect the open nature of Colorado," he said. "In this manner, our policy will allow a lot more sunshine into the process."
Currently, the names and other identifying information about those companies, such as the location of their corporate headquarters and where they plan to locate in Utah, are often kept confidential until a contract is signed with the state. The confidentiality is intended to prevent economic harm to the company or put the state at a competitive disadvantage.
Mower said that the companies that currently have confidentiality agreements with the state will not be revealed until the contract is signed or the company allows its name to be made public. There are currently six companies being kept confidential.
That existing practice was actually upheld Thursday by the State Records Committee, whose members agreed that releasing the names while contract negotiations are still ongoing could cause economic or competitive problems. The ruling was made in denying an information request by The Salt Lake Tribune, which wanted the names of all 18 companies offered tax incentives in 2005 and 2006.
Committee member Betsy Ross said that in many ways "it's like a game of chicken" with companies that say they will back out of the deal if their name is made public.
"These kinds of threats, whether true or not, could have some devastating effects," she said.
Committee member Dixie Brunner, the sole vote to force the release of the names, said that while she did not want to hurt Utah's economy, if public money was being spent then the public should have full access to information about who is receiving the money.
"We would like everyone to be forthcoming, but time and again, unless we order full disclosure, we see agencies finding ways to work around the rules," she said. "Companies are coming in and receiving public money. I think it's proper to have the public scrutinizing those companies."
E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com