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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
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah lawmakers look to dissolve, replace State Records Committee. Here's why that matters
The Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured at dusk on the last night of the legislative session, Friday, March 1, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) Utah's media organizations — including Utah News Dispatch — are joining arms to stand against a newly-unveiled bill being considered by the Utah Legislature that would dismantle a long-standing committee that decides whether government records should be released to the public. Since it was created in 1992, the seven-member State Records Committee has heard appeals from journalists and other Utahns when governments deny access to records. But with SB277, Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, wants to not only replace that committee with one decision-maker, but also change the standard that determines whether Utahns should have access to the record — or not. If SB277 becomes law, it would create a new office within the Division of Archives and Records Service called the Government Records Office, and it would entirely replace the State Records Committee with the director of that new office. The bill would require the governor to appoint a director who is an attorney that's 'knowledgeable regarding state law and practices relating to records management.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Importantly, the bill would also strip what's known as the 'balancing test' from Utah law. It's a provision that has long required officials to release protected records if it's determined that the public interest in the record is greater than or equal to reasons for keeping it secret. The Utah Media Coalition — which includes Utah News Dispatch, The Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News, KSL-TV, KSL NewsRadio, KUTV 2 News, KTVX ABC4, FOX13, the Utah Press Association, the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Utah Investigative Journalism Project — issued a statement Thursday opposing the bill. Utah's existing Government Records Access & Management Act (GRAMA) protects the public's right to know how their government conducts business so Utahns can hold their elected officials and government agencies accountable, the coalition said. 'SB277 will weaken GRAMA and increase government secrecy by abolishing the State Records Committee and prohibiting government officials, appeals boards, and the courts from ordering the release of records even when there is no good reason to keep them secret,' the Utah Media Coalition said. The media coalition also urged lawmakers to preserve the 'balancing test,' calling it the 'beating heart of GRAMA.' 'Without it, government could withhold records even if the public interest in disclosure was compelling and the interests favoring secrecy were non-existent or minimal,' the Utah Media Coalition said. 'The public interest balancing test has been part of GRAMA since the very beginning, and for good reason – it is an essential check on government secrecy, malfeasance, and misconduct. Public transparency laws should serve the public interest, not discard it in favor of categorical secrecy, which is what SB277 does.' McKell, in a media availability with reporters on Friday, defended his bill, saying it's meant to address 'inefficiencies' and replace the State Records Committee with someone with more 'legal experience.' McKell pointed to a recent legislative audit that found in 2023 it took an average of 156 days for the State Records Committee to issue decisions. 'I think 156 days is way too long,' McKell said. 'I want my constituents to have an opportunity to go through that appeals process and get some finality quicker, and that's the concern for me.' In recent years, the number of appeals heard by the State Records Committee has increased. In 2024 — even though the body faced delays due to several vacancies — the committee issued 85 decisions and orders, the most orders the committee had issued in a year. In 2023, the committee issued 63 orders, 53 in 2022, 74 in 2021 and 55 in 2020. McKell said the number of cases being sent to the State Records Committee is 'climbing' — and he's also worried about whether the volunteers serving on the committee have the right amount of legal experience. The committee is currently comprised of the director of the Division of Archives and Records Services or his designee, a Utah League of Cities and Towns representative, two citizen representatives, a media representative, a private sector records manager, and an individual with expertise in electronic records and databases. 'Not one person on that list is, in my view, has training to issue subpoenas, compel testimony or evidence, impose fines and make legally binding decisions,' McKell said. 'I just think we can do better.' The Utah Media Coalition pushed back on that claim, arguing the committee has 'served Utah well by providing members of the public an informal, speedy, and inexpensive forum to exercise their right of access to public records.' 'The Committee should be retained and strengthened, not abolished,' the coalition statement said. 'The fact the Committee is made up of volunteers from diverse public and private employment backgrounds is a strength, not a weakness. The Committee has deep expertise on GRAMA issues — and gets the law right.' The media coalition added that the committee's decisions are affirmed by the courts 'a whopping 98% of the time, so clearly law-trained judges think the Committee is getting it right.' As for his reasoning for eliminating the balancing test, McKell said 'we need objectivity instead of subjectivity.' 'We want to follow the law more than anything else,' he said, arguing the current balancing test allows for too much subjectivity when it comes to releasing sensitive records like those perhaps involving sexual abuse or sexual assault. In a recent media availability, when pressed for examples of cases in which he believes the State Records Committee released records he thinks should have been protected, McKell declined to point to any specific examples. Asked how it would help address 'inefficiencies' to hire one person to handle records appeals, McKell said he believes it's a matter of expertise. 'I think a lot of the backlog is, as I've reviewed it, is we have people who simply don't have the skill set today to run that office,' he said, calling the case backlog 'scary.' He said judges and attorneys know how to sort through a 'large volume of cases, and they find a way to get through it.' 'We need to clean up the system,' McKell said. 'It's been broken for a while.' But Jeff Hunt, an attorney specializing in the First Amendment and media litigation, called SB277's impact to Utah's government transparency laws 'extremely problematic.' He said it could do permanent damage at a time of already deepening distrust in government and institutions. 'It's going to do irreparable harm to our open records statute, and it's going to further undermine trust and confidence in government,' Hunt said, 'because the public is not going to find out what its government is doing if they pass this bill. It's going to make it much harder to have any kind of transparency and accountability.' Hunt called the balancing test 'so vital,' and said there's a 'long list of very important records' that would have not been released without it. They include: Names of lobbyists and subcontractors who received more than $5 million in taxpayer money, in the case Big Game Forever v. Peterson. Records relating to a criminal investigation in campaign finance violations by Ogden City Mayor and City Council candidates, in the case Schroeder v. Utah Attorney General's Office. Records relating to public corruption charges against a Weber County Commissioner, in the case McKitrick v. Gibson. Independent report of sexual harassment allegations concerning a Salt Lake County chief deputy clerk, in the case Deseret News Publishing Co. v. Salt Lake County. Police interviews related to officer-involved shootings in the case West Jordan v. State Records Committee. Contributing: Alixel Cabrera SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
