A. Each of the following documents is a public record open to public inspection during regular office hours in the office in which the document was filed or from which the document was issued:

(1) a statement of no activity;

(2) a report of expenditures and contributions;

(3) an advisory opinion issued by the state ethics commission; except for the name of the person who requested the opinion;

(4) a document specified as a public record in the Campaign Reporting Act; and

(5) an arbitration decision issued by an arbitration panel and filed with the secretary of state or state ethics commission.

B. Each public record described in Subsection A of this section shall be retained by the state for five years and may be destroyed five years after the date of filing unless a legal action or prosecution is pending that requires the preservation of the public record.

C. The secretary of state shall provide for electronic access to reports of expenditures and contributions and statements of no activity submitted electronically by reporting individuals. Electronic access shall include access via the internet and shall be in an easily searchable format.

History: 1978 Comp., § 1-19-32, enacted by Laws 1979, ch. 360, § 8; 1993, ch. 46, § 8; 1995, ch. 153, § 8; 2003, ch. 66, § 4; 2019, ch. 86, § 17.

The 2019 amendment, effective January 1, 2020, added advisory opinions issued by the state ethics commission to the list of public records open to inspection, and provided an exception; in Subsection A, Paragraph A(1), after "statement of", deleted "exception" and added "no activity", in Paragraph A(3), after "issued by the", deleted "secretary of", and after "state", added "ethics commission; except for the name of the person who requested the opinion", and in Paragraph A(5), after "secretary of state", added "or state ethics commission"; and in Subsection C, after "contributions and statements of", deleted "exception", and added "no activity".