Most oppose records restriction
Seventy-four percent of Utahns surveyed for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV by Dan Jones & Associates said they oppose proposed changes to the state's Government Records Access and Management Act.
"I think citizens by and large want an open, transparent government that allows them — and the media, an important safeguard in our democracy — access to documents.
So that number doesn't surprise me at all," Huntsman said of the poll result.
But one of the lawmakers behind the proposed changes, Sen. Dave Thomas, R-South Weber, said the question was asked in a way that anyone — including him — would have opposed the effort.
"You get what you want to get," Thomas said of the media poll.
The senator said a poll of his constituents found, by a margin of three to one, that they want their "right to privacy" protected when they deal with government.
Jeff Hunt, an attorney for the media coalition, said results "validate what we have long believed — the public opposes the current legislative efforts to reduce public access to government records."
"As the governor has said, the burden of proof is on those who want to reduce access to public records," Hunt said.
Several controversial bills amending the 15-year-old act, known as GRAMA, are still pending as the 2006 Legislature enters its final days. The session is set to end at midnight Wednesday.
Lawmakers say changes are needed to protect some information, such as correspondence between public officials and their constituents. But opponents, including a coalition of Utah media outlets, argue the act is working just fine as it is.
Huntsman, too, questioned the need for change and said he likely would veto two of the bills. Those are HB12, sponsored by Rep. Douglas Aagard, R-Kaysville, and SB277, sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi.
HB12, which has been approved by the House and is awaiting a vote in the Senate, would restrict access to communications by public officials. SB277, which has yet to have a Senate hearing, would halt the release of government inspections of, for example, restaurants.
"I haven't seen evidence the system is broken. I haven't seen any egregious cases brought before me that what we are currently under GRAMA doing is wrong or ineffective," the governor said. "Therefore, what is the rationale for bringing about change?"
Earlier this session, the governor did, however, sign into law one bill dealing with GRAMA that the media opposed after changes were made just before the final vote in the Senate. Huntsman said he signed SB258 because it passed unanimously.
Now at least some of the concerns raised by the media about limits on the release of public officials' telephone numbers have been addressed by amending another bill, the governor said.
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com
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