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Richard Piatt Reporting Utah lawmakers today advanced two bills that would change the way government manages public records. The bills are among nine other changes to 'GRAMA', or open records laws, that are openly opposed by a media coalition that includes KSL.
Lawmakers worry about citizen privacy, government costs of managing and retrieving records, and about inconvenience. Media representatives worry about tighter access to public records, records that help reporters write the stories you watch and read every day.
For months, Lawmakers struggled to find a balance, but in most cases, media lawyers say they are failing. Even so, bills that limit access to phone numbers and documents advanced this week, in the face of minority opposition.
Sen. Karen Hale, Senate Minority Whip: "I just don't want us to tighten things down so much that we're denying access to things that are public information."
But lawmakers defend a bill limiting access to e-mails, for example, an unmanageable and undesirable task, they say.
Rep. Doug Aagard, (R) Kaysville: "Our citizens should feel like they can communicate with us without their information becoming public. We don't tip over the ship of democracy for a few exceptions that may come out."
Media lawyers who represent a coalition that include KSL say the bills are a solution in search of a problem.
Michael O'Brien, Media Coalition Attorney: "So much of these changes are being generated based on urban legends rather than actual problems that exist. People are saying, 'Oh what about that record, we wouldn't want that to get out.'"
There's been a lot of work on the bills, hours and hours on two lines of one bill alone. The language is still seen as overly broad by some; precise by others.
The question seems to be coming down to: Are changes to the GRAMA laws needed? There is a strong difference of opinion about that and the governor has yet to weigh in on it.
