Media oppose bills restricting info access
HB12, sponsored by Rep. Douglas Aagard, R-Kaysville, is one of several bills this session dealing with the Government Records Access Management Act that have raised concerns from newspapers and broadcasters.
"I can't recall a session when we've had to deal with so many bills seeking to reduce access to public records," said Jeff Hunt, an attorney representing the coalition, of which the Deseret Morning News is a member.
Hunt said the 15-year-old act, known as GRAMA, was never intended as special interest legislation for the media. Instead, he said, it "protects the public's right to know what its government is doing."
HB12, for example, "makes secret any communications" by a public official, Hunt said. "We think that is going to just blow huge holes in GRAMA."
The bill passed the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee unchanged, although an amendment was briefly discussed before being withdrawn.
The amendment, proposed by Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake, would have allowed the protection of only those communications whose disclosure would "constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of an individuals personal privacy."
He said the bill would protect whistle-blowers, as well as constituents who approach public officials with concerns they'd prefer be kept private.
Mike O'Brien, another attorney representing the coalition, told the committee that there is "no tradition of this kind of sweeping secrecy" in America and that it would be more likely found in places like Iraq.
The bill, which has already been approved in the House, now goes to the full Senate.
The committee also passed another of Aagard's GRAMA bills, HB28, which would protect the personal information of citizens, such as home addresses, telephone numbers and information about children, from being automatically released by a government entity. It also allows a government entity to release information in its simplest form and allows agencies to refuse to repackage information upon request.
In addition to opposing HB12, Hunt said the coalition is watching SB77, a bill still in committee that would restrict access to government inspections, including of restaurants. That bill's sponsor, Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, said the Utah Restaurant Association asked him not to run the bill and that he was still deciding what to do with it.
Contributing: Associated Press
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