Latest news with #MikeMcKell
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Major changes coming to Utah's government records access law
Gov. Spencer Cox said Thursday he plans to sign several bills that will bring big changes to Utah's government records access law. At the top of the list is legislation that will do away with the State Records Committee, the longstanding seven-member volunteer panel that resolves disputes over whether a record is public or private under the Government Records Access and Management Act or GRAMA. SB277 will replace the committee with an administrative law judge appointed by the governor to a four-year term. Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, who sponsored the bill, said during the legislative session that the current records committee process is flawed. He said the panel's decisions are inconsistent because its members are not trained in the law. He also said state and legislative audits found few cases in recent years were resolved within the 73 days the law requires and last year the average time was 156 days. Cox said at his monthly PBS Utah news conference that the change is best for Utahns and state government. 'Look, we have about a four- to six-month backlog often when it comes to these issues going before the board. What we're doing is we're putting in an administrative law judge, somebody who understands the law and who can rule very quickly on these issues that's going to help all of you not have to wait for these decisions to get those decisions out more quickly,' the governor said. 'So we're always trying to make sure we have the right balance in government, and I think these bills do.' The records committee has been part of GRAMA since the legislature passed it in 1991. Courts have upheld the committee's rulings 98% of the time, according to the Utah Media Coalition, a consortium of new outlets the seeks to keep government records open. The coalition initially opposed the bill but took a neutral position after lawmakers removed a provision that would have essentially gutted the open records law. SB277 was among several bills aimed at GRAMA. Another, HB69, will make the process for appealing the denial of a government record more costly. It prevents someone who successfully gets access to records on appeal from recovering court costs, unless the government showed bad faith. That means they could incur an expense opposing the government even if it's decided they should have been given the records in the first place. 'The possibility that government would have to pay attorney fees for wrongfully denying a citizen access to public records was a powerful incentive for agencies to comply with the law. HB69 took that away. Now government can deny requests and citizens will have no recourse because going to court is too expensive,' said Jeff Hunt, an attorney who represents the media coalition.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Access denied: How Utah lawmakers made it harder to get government records
The State Records Committee — the seven-member panel that resolves disputes over whether Utah government records are public or private — has a full agenda for its meeting next week. The 13 cases on its docket are about evenly split between reporters and members of the public seeking access to documents that various public agencies, including police departments, universities and cities, don't want to release. The March 20 meeting will be one the longstanding committee's last before a newly passed law replaces the seven members with an administrative law judge appointed by the governor. While the Utah Media Coalition, a consortium of news outlets that works to keep government records open, initially opposed the measure, it took a neutral position after sponsor Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, made a key change that kept the heart of the state's Government Records Access and Management Act, or GRAMA, intact. Still, the Utah Legislature passed bills during its 45-day general session, which concluded last Friday, that will make it more difficult and expensive for Utahns to access government records. Lawmakers created more exceptions to the state's open meeting laws and eliminated public scrutiny of the process for selecting public university presidents. 'It was a tough session,' said Jeff Hunt, an attorney who represents the Utah Media Coalition. Here's a look at some of the bills on government transparency: SB277 replaces the volunteer seven-member State Records Committee with an administrative director who is an attorney to oversee appeals after public records requests are denied by government agencies. The governor will appoint the director to a four-year term and also have the power to remove the director for cause before the term ends. During the session, McKell said the current records committee process is flawed and broken. He said the panel's decisions are inconsistent because its members are not trained in the law. Courts upheld the committee's rulings 98% of the time, according to the media coalition. McKell also said the process is slow and the new law would make it faster. State and legislative audits found few cases in recent years were resolved within the 73 days the law requires and last year the average time was 156 days. The legislation initially sought to eliminate what's known as the public interest balancing test — in the law since it took effect in 1992 — which is described as the 'beating heart' of GRAMA. Without it, government entities could withhold records even if the public interest in disclosure was compelling and the interests favoring secrecy were nonexistent or minimal. McKell ultimately removed that piece. Hunt said the coalition is pleased that the bill was amended to safeguard access to public records and ensure that citizens who appeal records denials will have a neutral and independent records appeal officer to hear their cases. HB69 prevents someone who successfully gets access to records on appeal from recovering court costs, unless the government showed bad faith. That means they could incur an expense opposing the government even if it's decided they should have been given the records in the first place. 'The possibility that government would have to pay attorney fees for wrongfully denying a citizen access to public records was a powerful incentive for agencies to comply with the law. HB69 took that away. Now government can deny requests and citizens will have no recourse because going to court is too expensive,' Hunt said. Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, the bill's Senate sponsor, said that requirement makes the process 'a two-way street so that it goes both ways' when it comes to recovering legal costs. Requiring bad faith to be shown is a 'reasonable provision,' he said during the legislative session. SB282 exempts the Utah Board of Higher Education's presidential search committee from public meetings requirements, restricts presidential applications from public view and requires that the board 'protect candidate confidentiality.' The committee would now recommend three finalists to the board, which would meet in a public meeting only when making a final hire. Utah law had allowed for the public release of the names of three to five finalists. Senate Majority Whip Chris Wilson, R-Logan, argued during the session that making the process confidential will attract more high-quality candidates. He said the current process forces the 'unnecessary disclosure' and 'discussion of their personal details.' Hunt said making the names public allows for further vetting of candidates and could turn up relevant information the search committee missed. 'There's value in allowing the public to have a role in this process,' he said during the session. 'I understand there's stakeholders on the search committee, but the most important stakeholder is the public.' SB169 makes it a crime to destroy documents that are subject to a pending public records request and requires more training of GRAMA records officers. Sponsor Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, earlier told the Deseret News he wants to clarify the process and make sure it's cleaner, more precise and more understandable. 'I'm trying to make sure that things are open and accessible,' he said, adding his proposed legislation makes the process 'more transparent and more responsible.' Hunt called it the only bright spot on government transparency to come out of the legislative session.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah House passes scaled back bill to require voter ID, still allow voting by mail
Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, talks with reporters during a press conference with Senate leadership at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the first day of the legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) A bill that originally would have drastically restricted voting by mail in Utah got a makeover after House and Senate legislative leaders struck a compromise — then it quickly cleared another major legislative hurdle. The House on Tuesday voted 57-15 to pass a revamped HB300. It now goes to the Senate for further consideration. Now, under a new version of the bill adopted right before the House's vote, HB300 would require Utah voters to write the last four digits of their government-issued identification card (like a driver license or another state ID) on their ballot's return envelope. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Currently, Utah automatically sends all active registered voters ballots through the mail. The previous version of HB300 would have limited that dramatically by requiring voters to apply for permission to vote by mail. Unless they received that permission, most voters would have been required to drop their ballots off in-person at a polling place or at a drop box manned by at least two poll workers — where they would need to show their ID. Now, HB300 does not include those requirements for ballots to be dropped off in person. Instead, the bill requires clerks to use state ID numbers to confirm identities of voters who vote using a by-mail ballot — in addition to signature verification, which clerks currently use to verify by-mail voter identities. The bill now also takes a slower approach to moving away from automatically allowing all registered voters to receive by-mail ballots. The new version of HB300 would require voters to opt in to receiving a ballot by mail — but not until Jan. 1, 2028. But after they opt in, they would be able to continue receiving by-mail ballots for eight years, as long as they continue to be an active voter. As Utah lawmakers weigh election changes, poll shows what could help — or hurt — voter confidence The new version of HB300 now also allows voters to opt in to voting by mail while applying for or renewing their driver's license or state ID card. The new bill would also allow Utahns who are older than 18, have not been issued a Utah driver license, and are 'indigent' to receive a state ID card free of charge if they're eligible to register to vote. There are still some provisions of the previous version of HB300 in the bill, including tightening up which by-mail ballots clerks would be able to count in the election. Currently, Utah law requires by-mail ballots to be counted as long as they're postmarked the day before Election Day and received before the canvass. But if HB300 passes, it would require ballots to be received by an election officer on or before 8 p.m. on Election Day. The lengthy compromise legislation became public Tuesday afternoon, hours before the House vote. But for days, the bill's Senate sponsor, Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, was hinting it was coming in daily Sentate media availabilities with reporters. 'We want voting as easy as possible without cheating, but we also wanted to make sure that we enhanced security,' McKell said of the new version of the bill. McKell said that the bill voter ID requirements create a new layer of security — something Republican legislators have advocated for this year after a contentious 2024 election that focused more scrutiny on voting in Utah than ever — but he argued it still preserves voting by mail with ease. 'I think we've really got it to a good place,' McKell said. Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, applauded McKell and the House's top Republican leader, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, for reaching a compromise on the bill. Utah bill to limit voting by mail, require voter ID backed by House speaker 'I think he's landed it,' Adams said of McKell, calling the new version of HB300 'brilliant.' While the previous version of HB300 was favored by Schultz, the House speaker recently acknowledged that House lawmakers would likely need to give up on its restrictive provisions in order for the bill to survive the Senate, which was more inclined to more widely allow voting by mail. While praising the bill, Adams predicted it will be 'copied by other states.' He also acknowledged, however, that lawmakers will have three years before phasing out automatic mail-in voting, so in future legislative sessions lawmakers can address any 'hiccups.' Burton, while presenting the bill in the House chamber, said lawmakers listened to Utahns concerned about doing away with voting by mail. 'Our voters have spoken. … We know that vote by mail is popular,' Burton said. 'But this bill simply allows us to improve the security of our elections so that there is more voter confidence in the process.' He also argued giving clerks another tool to verify voter identities, with a voter ID number, will help clerks release election results quicker. 'HB300 strengthens Utah's elections while preserving the convenience of vote-by-mail, making our elections more transparent, accessible, and secure,' Burton said in a prepared statement. 'Utahns' voices, votes, and trust in democracy are not negotiable.' The bill passed the House mostly along party lines. Democrats — who have previously expressed concerns about restricting voting by mail and bringing sweeping changes to a system that audits have shown functions largely well — voted against it, along with one Republican, Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville. Schultz, in a prepared statement issued after the vote, applauded HB300. 'Right now, Utah is one of few states that doesn't require any form of voter ID when casting a ballot. H.B. 300 changes that,' Schultz said. 'Utahns deserve to feel certain that their elections are secure, their votes are counted accurately, and their voices truly matter. We can keep the elements of our elections that Utahns love while bolstering election security, transparency, and integrity.' Currently, Utah already requires a form of ID and proof of residence to register to vote, but does not always require an ID when casting a vote. Today, the vast majority of Utahns use by-mail ballots to vote, which election workers verify by matching signatures county clerks have on file for each voter. The state does, however, already require ID to vote in person. In the Senate, the bill may still hit some pushback from Democrats, who question why Republicans are changing a system that's functioned well. 'There's no evidence of widespread voter fraud,' Senate Minority Whip Karen Kwan, D-Taylorsville, told reporters Tuesday, arguing Utah's voting system was 'already working.' While the new version of HB300 appears to be an improvement, Kwan said her caucus will be looking at the bill closely as it progresses through the Senate. The bill now heads to a Senate committee for another yet-to-be scheduled public hearing. The clock is ticking, however. The 2025 Utah Legislature's general session must end by midnight March 7. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Will Utahns keep voting by mail? Election reforms are on their way
After an initial flurry of public discussion, Utah lawmakers from the Senate and House spent the last four weeks debating the future of Utah's elections behind closed doors. This week, Utahns will likely get an answer on how Republican lawmakers in have decided to respond to audit allegations and campaign complaints from the contentious 2024 election cycle. The negotiated compromise could look something like an 'omnibus election bill' that seeks solutions to signature verification problems, mail delays and slow results, while maintaining easy access, according to Sen. Mike McKell, who has managed much of the bicameral back-and-forth. 'Let me be clear, one of the priorities for the Senate is to preserve vote by mail,' McKell, R-Spanish Fork, told the Deseret News. 'We want it to be convenient. But we will address those concerns in the bill. We will enhance security.' On the second day of the 2025 legislative session in January, House Republicans released their opening bid in an effort to transform the state's vote-by-mail system: HB300. In its current form, the bill would require that after a ballot is mailed to a voter, it be returned to poll workers in person with voter ID, unless a voter has applied for a mail-in ballot at the county clerk's office. The bill, backed by House GOP leadership, quickly advanced through committee to join around two dozen other election-related bills being considered by lawmakers this session. Other proposals include: replacing the state's voter roll management system, implementing strict deadlines for county clerk reporting on election night, and creating an entirely new office to oversee state elections. But this initial rush of conversation about election reform was followed by 20 days of public silence as Senate lawmakers pumped the brakes on their lower-chamber counterparts and entered into talks about how to better balance convenience with security. While McKell initially planned to put forward his own bill representing the upper chamber's election priorities, the Senate ultimately opted to work with the sponsor of HB300, Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem, to produce a bill both chambers could stomach. McKell said the Senate is also open to amending and passing other eye-catching election bills from the House side, like House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee's bill that would cancel the state's contract with ERIC, a multistate voter roll cleanup tool, and Rep. Doug Fiefia's bill that would push back deadlines to achieve same-day election results in Utah. House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, has framed HB300 as a direct response to the extremely close 2nd Congressional District 2024 GOP primary, where several hundred ballots were rejected with a late postmark, and an October legislative audit that identified a roughly 4% error rate in signature verification on primary qualification packets. 'I think we learned from the audits,' McKell said. 'I think we learned where our weaknesses are and (where to) find ways to improve our elections.' The biggest issue Senate Republicans have with HB300 is 'logistics, first and foremost,' according to McKell. HB300's current language would require voters to return their 'remote ballots' at a standard polling place on Election Day or during a 14-day early voting period. Voters could also return their ballots at a drop box on Election Day or during a five-business-day window preceding Election Day. County election officials would be required to station two poll workers at every drop box between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. during this period to ask for voter name and valid voter identification for all returned remote ballots. Each county clerk would be required to have at least one fully-staffed drop box in every municipality, with an additional drop box for every 10,000 active registered voters. The additional equipment, staff and travel costs would cost Utah's 29 counties around $425,500 in one-time funds and $6.0 million in ongoing funds, a fiscal note provided by legislative analysts found. 'We heard back from counties that it would have added significant costs but not improved the security,' McKell said. The provisions being pushed by the Senate would allow all voters to return their ballots through the mail. But lawmakers may address concerns over the subjectivity of signature verification by requiring voters to include their government ID number, or a picture of their drivers license, with their ballot, as is done in some other states. The final version of HB300 could also include requirements for county clerks to coordinate with the U.S. Postal Service 'well in advance of the election' to ensure that ballots are postmarked and delivered in a timely fashion, McKell said. Voting via secure drop box is quicker, more dependable and the preferred method for around 65% of Utahns — including 77% in McKell's south Utah County district. However, voting by mail remains an important option for many, particularly in rural Utah, McKell said. In a recent op-ed submitted to the Deseret News, Sutherland Institute's chief growth officer Derek Monson argued against HB300 in its current form because it seeks drastic change to a popular process based on minimal errors found by legislative audits. 'There is no compelling evidence suggesting that mail-in voting in Utah is circumventing security measures and risking election integrity in the state,' Monson said. A Sutherland Institute-Y2 Analytics survey conducted among nearly 1,000 registered Utah voters shortly before and after the 2024 general election found that 87% of Utahns were confident that their ballot would be, or had been, counted accurately. Of the proposals then being considered by lawmakers, the change that produced the greatest net gain in election confidence was requiring photo ID when submitting a mail-in ballot. The change that produced the greatest net decrease in confidence in election results was requiring voters to cast ballots only on Election Day Other election reforms gaining traction at this late point in the session include a House bill that would publish the names of individuals that sign primary nomination packets and a Senate bill that would increase security measures regarding the signature-verification process for primary nomination packets. A bill that would hand the lieutenant governor's election responsibilities to a newly appointed position has yet to be taken up for a committee hearing.
Axios
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Hill Highlights: Utah lawmakers advance bill to dismantle records committee
We're more than halfway through Utah's legislative session. The latest: State lawmakers are considering a bill that would dismantle a long-time committee that determines which government records are available to the public. SB 277, sponsored by Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell (R-Spanish Fork), would replace the State Records Committee with a governor-appointed attorney "with knowledge and experience relating to government records law." The measure passed a Senate committee this week in a 4-2 vote. Between the lines: Similarly, legislators this week advanced a bill to the governor, HB 69, that would make it harder for the public or journalists to recover attorneys fees for records that are deemed public — even if they win access to them in court. The court may award the fees if it determines the government entity operated in "bad faith" to prevent the records from being released. The big picture: It's the latest blow to government transparency, according to critics and first amendment advocates. Last year, Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill to make the calendars of public officials private and not subject to Utah's public records law. What we're watching: A bill, SB 76, sponsored by state Sen. Jen Plumb (D-Salt Lake City) that would bar minors from marrying someone who is at least four years older is on its way to the governor's desk, Utah News Dispatch reports. 💬 Hill Highlights is a weekly feature to recap what's going during Utah's legislative session.
