Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Senators advanced a bill to replace Utah's public records committee with a single appointee.
- The proposal, by Sen. Mike McKell, aims to address case backlogs and improve efficiency.
- Public opposition highlights concerns over transparency and concentrated power in one administrative judge.
SALT LAKE CITY—A Senate committee advanced a bill that would replace Utah's seven-person panel overseeing public records with a single attorney appointed by the governor. However, several senators expressed reservations about the policy and signaled they could change their minds when it comes up on the floor.
State Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, said his proposal addresses a backlog of cases at the State Records Committee, which handles appeals when public records requests are denied under Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act, commonly known as GRAMA. He also said the current committee lacks a member who is required to have a legal background, which is why he's suggesting replacing the panel with a single administrative law judge to resolve disputes over public records.
"The goal of this legislation is to make sure we have an ability to be efficient and responsive to these record requests," he told the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee Tuesday. "We have missed the mark today, and we need to improve, and we need to do better."
The State Records Committee is tasked with handling appeals when an agency denies a public records request. Although journalists often use public records as a reporting tool, the vast majority of requests are made by everyday Utahns.
The records committee consists of the director of the Division of Archives and Records Services, a Utah League of Cities and Towns representative, two citizens, a media representative, a private sector records manager and an electronic records and databases expert.
McKell's bill would replace that panel with a single administrative judge, who would be appointed by the governor and who could be fired by the governor at any time.
SB277 was met with widespread opposition from over a dozen members of the public who spoke on the proposal to eliminate the State Records Committee — even after McKell removed a provision that would have cut the so-called "balancing test" that is used to determine whether the benefits of releasing a record outweigh the interest of the government to keep the records secret.
McKell told reporters the government has "missed the mark" on some records that should be kept private, but the Utah Media Coalition — a group that represents news organizations in Utah, including KSL.com — argued removing the balancing test could allow the government to withhold records even if it is deemed there is a compelling public interest in disclosing them.
Michael Judd, an attorney who spoke on behalf of the Utah Media Coalition, thanked McKell for working with the group on the legislation but said it still would like to see some issues ironed out.
"We need to keep working. We are not there yet," he told the committee. "The (State Records Committee gets the things right, and this idea that reposing the decision-making process into one person ... that that is an improvement on a citizen-led bill, I don't think that the media coalition agrees with that."
"It bears emphasizing that the (State Records Committee) gets these questions right," he added. "It gets them right over and over and over again. Their reversal rate when their decisions are appealed is lower than any district court would be."
Several opponents of the bill argued that it concentrates power, giving the new administrative judge sole discretion over what government records can be made public. At least one of the commenters noted that McKell is the brother-in-law of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
Others said the bill would reduce government transparency.
"I believe that the best way to get that transparency is to have a moderate group of people that are looking at the requests, and they're deciding it versus one judge who may or may not be ideologically driven," said Cari Bartholomew, the state director for Moms for America, a group that describes its mission to "empower moms, promote liberty and raise patriots to heal America."
Tracy Taylor, with the Wasatch Taxpayers Association, said the bill would hurt Utahns who live in rural areas.
"We don't have investigative reporters; we don't have media conglomerates to help us get to the bottom of where our money is being spent," she said. "I'm asking you, please do not change the current configuration ... I have very important concerns about giving one person that much power."
Of the around 20 public comments, the only positive one came from Jared Tingey, who spoke on behalf of the Utah League of Cities and Towns. As government entities, cities and towns are responsible for handling public records requests that come in, and Tingey agreed with McKell's justification that there should be someone with legal experience making the decision.
"Given that the government records laws are just that — laws — we feel like having an attorney ... is a positive step in the right direction," he said.
SB277 advanced after a 4-2 vote, with two Republicans — Sens. Ronald Winterton and Daniel Thatcher — voting against it and the only Democrat present — Sen. Nate Blouin, of Millcreek — voting in favor. Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, said he worries "somewhat about the perception going forward" and said he hopes some of the concerns can be worked out as the bill advances.
Blouin said he still had some reservations and encouraged members of the public to continue to push for changes.
"You can continue doing so, and there's a very decent chance you see some folks change their votes when this gets to the floor, so keep up the pressure," he said.
McKell said he would "continue working on this in earnest" to potentially resolve some of the outstanding concerns but reiterated that the current process "is simply not working."
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. The legislative session ends March 7.
