Utah Government Records Access and Management Act
The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Utah.
The Utah Open and Public Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
To learn more about how to make a public records request in this state, please see: Utah FOIA procedures
Recent news
- See also: Utah transparency headlines
Transparency blocking
- AG's office denies request for search warrant information 2009-06-19 17:02:40
More transparency blocking news from across the country.
Litigation
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More FOIA litigation news from across the country.
Legislation
- GRAMA legislation 2009-06-19 17:16:48
- Senate OKs measure to restrict release of some public records 2009-06-19 17:15:08
- Senate takes up measure to tighten GRAMA requirements 2009-06-19 17:12:53
More FOIA legislation news from across the country.
Sunshine Guardians
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Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.
Relevant legal cases
- See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
Here is a list of lawsuits in Utah. For more information go the page or go to Utah sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon below the Year heading)
| Lawsuit | Year |
|---|---|
| Deseret News Publishing Co. v. Utah Department of Public Safety | 1992 |
| Fox Television Stations Inc. v. Clary | 1996 |
| Graham v. Davis County Solid Waste Management & Energy Recovery Special Service District | 1999 |
| Jolley v. Utah State Senate | 1996 |
| KSL-TV v. Juab County Sheriff's Office | 1998 |
| KUTV Inc. v. Utah State Board of Education | 1984 |
| Scripps League Newspapers v. City of Orem | 1996 |
Proposed changes
- See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
2011
Here is a list of transparency legislation for Utah in 2011. This list contains a random collection of 15 bills from the state. For the full list please see Utah transparency legislation.
| Rating | Bill | Current Status | Progress | Information |
 | House Bill 0477 | Current Status: (Repealed by Governor) | 
|
HB 477 is a bill proposed by Representative John Dougall to the House which would heavily alter the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act to allow many loop-holes and exceptions for government records. Since signing the bill the Governor has reacted to public out-cry and agreed to repeal the bill but intents to replace it with another.[1] |
2010
Here are a list of 30 random bills from Utah from 2010. For a full list, please see Utah transparency legislation.
|
2009
- Main article: Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009
HB 122
House Bill 122 [1] [2], proposed by Rep. Douglas Aagard at the request of the Attorney General's Office, seeks to prohibit the weighing of public interest in documents against the government's desire to conceal information. It would also allow records to be withheld if they are associated with pending or "anticipated" litigation. Steve Bloch, an attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, says that "This bill is a step backward and would restrict our current law significantly". [3] HB122 has advanced from committee to the House floor 7-3 along party lines, with Republicans voting for it, and Democrats against. [4] HB122 also passed the House, 43-27. It now moves to the Senate for debate.[5]
The Salt Lake Tribune has editorialized against the bill, calling it "an attempt to subvert that system and the public's interest in holding government accountable." [6]
SB 18
Senate Bill 18 [7]would require all cities, counties, school districts, and special districts (transit districts, water districts, etc.) in Utah to regularly post their expenditures online in a searchable format.
SB18 was voted out of the Utah Senate by a 29-0 margin on February 2, 2009.
Utah's transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Utah #36 in the nation (tied with New York) with an overall percentage of 47.30%. [8]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Utah 78 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "C", and a ranking of 4 out of the 50 states.[9]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Utah's law as the 3rd best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "B-".[10]
Features of the law
Compare States: Sunshine variations: Click on the heading to compare your state's law to other state's transparency laws.
Declared legal intention
The Utah GRAMA states:(1) In enacting this act, the Legislature recognizes two constitutional rights:
(a) the public's right of access to information concerning the conduct of the public's business; and
(b) the right of privacy in relation to personal data gathered by governmental entities.
(2) The Legislature also recognizes a public policy interest in allowing a government to restrict access to certain records, as specified in this chapter, for the public good.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature to:
(a) promote the public's right of easy and reasonable access to unrestricted public records;
(b) specify those conditions under which the public interest in allowing restrictions on access to records may outweigh the public's interest in access;
(c) prevent abuse of confidentiality by governmental entities by permitting confidential treatment of records only as provided in this chapter;
(d) provide guidelines for both disclosure and restrictions on access to government records, which are based on the equitable weighing of the pertinent interests and which are consistent with nationwide standards of information practices;
(e) favor public access when, in the application of this act, countervailing interests are of equal weight; and
(f) establish fair and reasonable records management practices. [11]
What records are covered?
Documents created by public bodies in Utah are open for inspection to any member of the public. [12]
Exemptions
Documents that are considered exempt from open records laws include private information about individuals and government employees (pursuant to 63G-2-302 and 63G-2-303), health records of individuals (pursuant to 63G-2-304), and records that are protected because if released they may result in security problems (pursuant to 63G-2-106) or financial speculation, unfair competition and financial instability (pursuant to 63G-2-305).[13]
Deliberative process
What agencies are covered?
The Utah GRAMA defines public body broadly to incorporate all branches of government at the state level and all subsidiary levels. [14]
Legislature
The legislature falls under the definition of public body found at Utah Code 63G-2-103(11)(a)(ii) and is subject to the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act.
Privatized governmental agencies
The Utah GRAMA also includes in its definition private entities which perform a public function and are either created or funded by a public entity.[15]
All public associations are subject to Utah's open records policy. Public Associations are any groups whose members are elected or appointed officials or who receive funds "from monies received by a public entity from appropriations, taxes, fees, interest, or other returns on investment" [16]
Public universities
The law explicitly includes state universities, including in its definition, "any state-funded institution of higher education or public education."[19] This was confirmed in The Herald Journal v. Utah State University which held that the University was a public body and contracts with athletic coaches must be released.[20] The law does however contain abroad exemption for unpublished academic research at Utah Code 63G-2-305.
Who may request records?
Everyone has the right to inspect public records free of charge or receive a copy of public records during business hours. [21]
Must a purpose be stated?
Utah requires no statement of purpose when requesting public records.
How can records be used?
There are no restrictions on the use of public records in Utah.
Time allowed for response
- 10 days
The Utah GRAMA code requires that public records responses be made within at least 10 business days if the records are for individuals purposes or within 5 business if the record is meant to benefit the general public (pursuant to 63G-2-204).
Fees for records
Copy costs:
GRAMA allows for the charging of fees based on the discretion of the department from which the record is requested and can include the cost of duplication. [22]
Search fees:
Fees can incorporate staff time for research and collection as well as the cost of publication of the records. The laws mandates that the departments may not charge more than the hourly salary of the lowest paid staff person able to perform the request and cannot charge individuals for the first 15 minutes of work. [23]
Records commissions and ombudsmen:
The Utah State Records Committee was established by the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act in order to better assist the state in enforcing the open records act by approving records retention and disposal schedules and holding hearings to decide appeals for records requests.
Role of the Attorney General
Under § 63G-2-502(8) of the Utah Code Annotated, the role of the State Attorney General is merely to "provide counsel to the records committee and shall review proposed retention schedules." [24]
Access to Forms
Request forms are available from the records officer of each division. The local government of Utah is favorable in establishing inbound call center in the vicinity of their IT Zone.
Open Meetings
The declared legal intention of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Act states, "(1)The Legislature finds and declares that the state, its agencies and political subdivisions, exist to aid in the conduct of the people's business.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state, its agencies, and its political subdivisions:
(a) take their actions openly; and
(b) conduct their deliberations openly." [25]
See also
- Utah FOIA procedures
- Utah transparency headlines
- Utah transparency advocates
- Utah transparency legislation
- Private agency, public dollars-Utah
- Utah Open and Public Meetings Act
External links
- Utah Code
- Government Records Access and Management Act
- Open Government Guide to Utah
- Past articles on Utah
References
- ↑ Text of HB 122
- ↑ Status of HB 122
- ↑ Bill would cut off access to some records, Salt Lake Tribune, February 3, 2009
- ↑ Panel OKs bill weakening public access to government records, Salt Lake Tribune, February 10, 2009
- ↑ Less-public records? House endorses GRAMA revision, Salt Lake Tribune, February 18, 2009
- ↑ Public records, Salt Lake Tribune, February 12, 2009
- ↑ Text of SB18
- ↑ 2008 BGA-Alper Integrity Index
- ↑ States Failing FOI Responsiveness, National Freedom of Information Coalition, October 2007
- ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-102
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-103
- ↑ Utah Government Records Access and Management Act
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-103
- ↑ Private agency, public dollars-Utah
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-901.
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-103
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-305
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-103
- ↑ RCFP Open Gov. Guide to UT
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-201
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-203
- ↑ Utah Code 63G-2-203
- ↑ Utah Code Ann. § 63G-2-502(8)
- ↑ Utah Code, 52-4-102
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