The arguing will be over
UPDATE: A Standard-Examiner editorial on Wednesday voiced strong opposition to HB122. The newspaper also published this editorial cartoon.
The debate over public records legislation sounds a lot like an argument about whether government is always right.
HB122 — filed at the request of the Attorney General's Office — would remove avenues of appeal for records associated with law-enforcement proceedings, government audits and personnel matters.
In other words, if the bill passes, and you want a police report or a copy of a government audit, and the government denies your request, you may be out of luck.
There's no more administrative appeals — which is currently a cornerstone of Utah's records laws, called GRAMA. Or, from another perspective, there's no more "second guessing."
From the Standard-Examiner:
Nolan may have been talking about the Utah Supreme Court. In a 2008 ruling on a GRAMA lawsuit, the supremes effectively said just because a government agency classifies a record as exempt from disclosure, doesn't mean the government is correct.
I cited this ruling today when I appeared before Ogden's records board. Ogden has classified some personnel records as exempt from disclosure. I argued the city is wrong and the documents should be disclosed.
If HB122 passes, I may not get to make this argument again. The government will be right — whether it is or not.
— NC
The debate over public records legislation sounds a lot like an argument about whether government is always right.
HB122 — filed at the request of the Attorney General's Office — would remove avenues of appeal for records associated with law-enforcement proceedings, government audits and personnel matters.
In other words, if the bill passes, and you want a police report or a copy of a government audit, and the government denies your request, you may be out of luck.
There's no more administrative appeals — which is currently a cornerstone of Utah's records laws, called GRAMA. Or, from another perspective, there's no more "second guessing."
From the Standard-Examiner:
Patrick Nolan, of the state Attorney General's Office, said during a legislative committee meeting Monday morning that the court system and state boards are "second-guessing" law enforcement's classification of restricted documents.
Nolan may have been talking about the Utah Supreme Court. In a 2008 ruling on a GRAMA lawsuit, the supremes effectively said just because a government agency classifies a record as exempt from disclosure, doesn't mean the government is correct.
I cited this ruling today when I appeared before Ogden's records board. Ogden has classified some personnel records as exempt from disclosure. I argued the city is wrong and the documents should be disclosed.
If HB122 passes, I may not get to make this argument again. The government will be right — whether it is or not.
— NC
Labels: Crime, GRAMA, Legislature
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