Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- The Utah Senate passed a bill replacing the state records committee with an administrative judge.
- A last-minute amendment placated some critics, including the Utah Media Coalition.
- Democrats and some Republicans remain opposed, citing concerns over community involvement.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate has passed a bill eliminating the committee that handles public records disputes, but a last-minute change ended up pacifying some critics of the proposal.
SB277, sponsored by Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, would replace Utah's seven-member panel with a single administrative judge to oversee appeals after public records requests are denied by government entities. That judge would be appointed by the governor and could only be fired for cause — thanks to a recent change after opponents of the bill criticized an earlier version that allowed the governor to replace the new records director for any reason.
"I think it was a good change," McKell told reporters Thursday following the 21-8 Senate vote. "Some of the concerns were, are we giving the governor too much power? Does this create a weird conflict of interest?"
With that amendment, the Utah Media Coalition — which represents KSL and other media outlets in the state and advocates for public transparency — changed its oppositional stance to a neutral one.
"We are 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 appeals," said Jeff Hunt, a First Amendment attorney who represents the Utah Media Coalition, in a statement. "The substance of this bill changed dramatically during the legislative process, and we are appreciative that Sen. McKell and Senate leaders listened to the public's concerns."
But Democrats, and a pair of Republicans, remained opposed to the bill, which now moves to the House of Representatives.
"What we're hearing from our constituents is they liked that there was community people involved in that process," said Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City.
Still, Escamilla acknowledged delays under the current State Records Committee, and so Democrats' votes against the bill were "without a lot of passion."
"We recognized that some changes needed to be made," Escamilla said. "We still would have liked to have more of a community involvement in that process."
McKell has said the bill is meant to speed up the process of resolving appeals over public records, which he says have been bogged down by the current committee made up of seven volunteers.
"I think the goal here is great," said Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Millcreek, who voted for the bill in committee earlier this month but cast a "nay" vote Thursday. "Expediting the process to get more of these cases resolved in any timely manner in a way that's independent from government agencies is really critical. But, again, I think this conversation … with some of the process that has gone on, it's tough to support this at this point."
Most other Republicans agreed that the proposal will streamline the appeals process and result in shorter wait times.
"We're really trying to be more responsive," said Sen. Keven Stratton, R-Orem.
This is not the only bill this session dealing with the state's Government Records Access and Management Act, commonly known as GRAMA. Last week, the Legislature passed HB69, which only allows attorneys' fees to be collected in a public records dispute if one of the parties acts in "bad faith." First Amendment advocates and the Utah Media Coalition opposed that bill, arguing it will make it more expensive for members of the public to obtain government documents.
HB69 is now with Gov. Spencer Cox, awaiting his signature or veto.
