Supporters say: Legislators are tired of being burdened by GRAMA (Government Records Access Management Act) requests.
Truth: The Legislature's general counsel John Fellows said he had received just EIGHT GRAMA requests during this year's session. That’s just EIGHT requests concerning the hundreds of laws affecting 2.7 million people that the Legislature is enacting.
Supporters say: Unless text messaging, emails and electronic media are exempted from GRAMA, a constituent email to you that mentions her child’s medical condition could be made public, for example.
Truth: GRAMA already has numerous provisions that allow for a sharp distinction between what constitutes public and private information. A key principle of GRAMA is its "balancing mechanism" which serves to preserve the public's right to oversee government actions, and individual privacy.
Supporters say: High number of voluminous records requests is common.
Truth: The Legislature's general counsel John Fellows said he had received just EIGHT GRAMA requests TOTAL during this year's session.
Supporters say: Legislative leaders said staff have spent more than 400 hours responding to GRAMA requests in the past 12 months.
Truth: That works out to be 1 hour and 40 minutes per day of ONE legislative employee’s time of the thousands employed on the Hill over a year. And that’s based on a 40-hour work week. These hours do not evidence the time it would take to process “many” (John Fellows’ word) voluminous requests.
Is the right of the people of Utah to know their business, not worth that little time?
Supporters say: Requests are usually from media trying to dig up dirt on legislators
Truth: After HB477 passed the House committee, Rep. Dougall told media attorney Jeff Hunt the GRAMA requests were from animal activists and others on issues as diverse as feral cats, the budget and immigration. One filed by The Salt Lake Tribune was for a seven-page social calendar from each house, which could be photocopied in minutes but took days to obtain. It provided data for a story about special-interest groups that sponsor meals and entertainment for lawmakers.
Rule out requests by those interested in feral cats, the budget and immigration, along with the Tribune request and how many of the EIGHT could even be left?
Supporters says: Text messaging is largely private conversation:
Truth: No one knows yet if that is true or how electronic media is going to evolve. But GRAMA wisely provides that public access depends on the content, not the physical form, of the record.
Here’s what HB477 REALLY does:
1. Electronic Records. The bill exempts a variety of electronic communications from the definition of a "record" under GRAMA, including (i) voice mails and recordings and transcripts of voicemails; (ii) instant messages, video chat recordings, and text messages. [Lines 518-28].
2. Fees. The bill greatly expands the ability of government entities to charge fees and costs for responding to GRAMA requests, and reduces the ability of the news media and public interest requesters to obtain fee waivers. The bill would expand that by allowing a government entity to charge for "processing" requests in an "amount sufficient" to cover the government entity's actual cost, including "costs of overhead and administration."
3. Broadening of Several GRAMA Exceptions and Creating New Ones. The bill broadens several existing GRAMA exceptions and adds others, making more records off limits to the public.
[Lines, 984-85, 997-1004, 1288-1292, 1296-1308]. These new exceptions raise a variety of public policy concerns. Clearly, a substantial amount of government information that is now public would be put off limits to the pubic under the new exceptions. There should be a compelling reason for making more information about our government off limits to the public. No such case has been demonstrated with respect to any of these new exceptions.
4. Repeal of GRAMA's Legislative Intent Section. The bill will would repeal GRAMA's critical legislative intent section, which for nearly 20 years has provided valuable guidance to government officials, the State Records Committee, and the courts in interpreting and applying GRAMA's many complex provisions consistent with the Legislature's expressed intent and declaration of public policy. [Lines 1808-09].
5. Response Times. The bill expands the ability of government entities to obtain an indefinite amount of time to respond to certain requests.
6. Balancing Test. In applying the balancing test for access to government records, the bill places the burden on the requester, instead of the government, to demonstrate that the public interest in disclosure outweighs the interests in nondisclosure. The bill also raises the standard that a party must satisfy to get a court to order release of records based on the public interest balancing test.
7. Legislature Not Subject to Key Provisions of GRAMA. The bill would opt the Legislature out of several key provisions of GRAMA.
8. Lack of Process. One primary concern here is with process – unveiling this bill so late in the session and without any opportunity for dialogue or engagement by the many public and private stakeholders, is not good process for making sound public policy.
VOTE ON HB477 WITH BOTH OF YOUR EYES WIDE OPEN!
Utah Foundation for Open Government
