Spectrum: Preserve GRAMA

Preserve GRAMA

Utah has one of the best open-records laws in the United States with the Government Records Access and Management Act. Under GRAMA, public records requests undergo a balancing test that weighs the taxpayer's right to know against the government's right to conduct its business efficiently and effectively.

If a person takes issue with being denied access to what he or she deems to be a public record, then the citizen can appeal to the State Records Committee or even the courts system.

House Bill 122 would throw out this important check-and-balance system in favor of government entities that are or could be involved in litigation.

HB 122 aims to amend GRAMA to allow municipalities to classify records of not just pending litigation, but also related to any issue that a city, county, school district or other taxing entity believes it may face litigation on in the future. In other words, even a fear of potential litigation could be used to deny the public access to records.

This bill - sponsored by Rep. Douglas Aagard, R-Kaysville, and Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo - could be used to hide important information from the public. For example, under provisions in this bill, the public could be denied records related to whether a local government was turning a blind eye to discrimination in the workplace. Residents could be denied access to details about how closely city department managers are following recommendations from a mayor-appointed board.

Such incidents have happened recently in Utah, but details about them were opened to the public because of documents obtained using GRAMA. If this bill passes, then government officials, the State Records Committee and the courts would be prevented from weighing the public's interest in deciding whether to release the records.

HB 122 is bad on many levels. GRAMA already has provisions to allow for withholding of documents if litigation is pending, so why is another law necessary? Is it because of harm that has been done in the past? If so, why does House committee testimony show that even proponents for the bill failed to share even a single documented case in which the GRAMA balancing test was improperly applied?

We live in an era when the people want more accountability from their government. HB 122 flies in the face of that goal. If passed, we likely will have more secrecy.

Those facts don't match up to Utah principles. Let's not make this revision part of Utah law.