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House approves bill to shield UTFC grant applicants’ proprietary information from public disclosure
Summary
Substitute House Bill 74 passed the House unanimously to exempt certain proprietary business information submitted to the Utah Technology Finance Corporation from public‑records disclosure while preserving public‑records access to UTFC records themselves, sponsors said.
The Utah House unanimously approved Substitute House Bill 74 to protect proprietary information submitted by applicants to the Utah Technology Finance Corporation (UTFC). Representative Kim R. Birmingham, the sponsor, said the measure narrowly exempts applicants’ trade secrets and business plans from public disclosure while ensuring that UTFC’s own records remain open.
Birmingham told the House that UTFC provides grants to early‑stage technology companies and used Theratec as an example, saying the company received a grant "of about $36,000" in 1989 to develop a transdermal nicotine‑antagonist patch. He described projected market value figures offered by applicants and said the substitute language was negotiated with information‑practices officials "so the people who are concerned about public records being opened are happy with the language, and it also resolves the problem of making sure that proprietary information is not revealed."
Colleagues who questioned the sponsor sought confirmation that royalties can return to the state from successful ventures; Birmingham answered that small royalty returns have begun after the program’s early grants. Representative Ochsler and Representative Hunsaker voiced support on the floor. The House recorded the vote as 68 affirmative, 0 negative, and the bill was forwarded to the Senate for its further consideration.
The bill’s sponsor and supporters described the measure as a narrow, targeted protection for applicants’ proprietary materials intended to encourage entrepreneurship and protect trade secrets while maintaining public oversight of UTFC itself.
