News

Legal updates enrolled in the 2015 Legislative session went into effect on May 12, 2015. The Legislature significantly modified the appeals process in the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), especially as it relates to political subdivisions’ adoption of local appeals boards. It identified additional private and protected records, and expanded posting requirements for the Public Notice Website. A

This week 352 new laws went into effect. Included in these  laws, enacted in the annual Legislative session, are two that impact the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA). One law is Senate Bill 88, which provides that a video or audiorecording of an interview or transcript of a video or audio recording that is conducted at a Children’s Justice

               Many government records are shared by more than one governmental entity. For example, law enforcement records are shared with the Department of Child and Family Services and with county attorneys, and financial records are shared with the State Auditor’s Office. Records are sometimes shared with the federal government. Sharing records within government is governed by the Government Access and Management Act.

                   The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) is celebrating Electronic Records Day today, October 10, 2013. CoSA is distributing a brief release which highlights some electronic records management challenges. It is designed to raise awareness and remind everyone of the importance of managing and preserving electronic records. Take a moment to review 10 reasons for e-records 2013. Electronic records are

          Each year as the State Legislature does its work it inevitably make changes to the Government Records Access and Management Act. Changes in 2013 amounted to additional records being identified as public, private, and protected, and the creation of a State Legislature email website. The State Auditor’s representative was removed from the State Records Committee and replaced by a second member

           The opening statement in the GRAMA section on fees states that:   63G-2-302.   Fees. (1) A governmental entity may charge a reasonable fee to cover the governmental entity’s actual cost of providing a record.                         The law recognizes that records requests can be time consuming and take employees away from their regular responsibilities. It therefore provides for government to

            As outlined in the Public Records Management Act, one of the responsibilities of the State Archives is to prepare forms for use by all governmental entities for persons making GRAMA requests (Utah Code § 63A-12-101(2)(l)).  The most commonly used form is a simple GRAMA request form which captures the necessary elements for anyone who wants to request records: name,

This month the State Archives issued the first records ombudsman report. It highlights some points of interest related to GRAMA. Email, retrieval of electronic data, and fees for GRAMA requests are key issues for both requesters and responders. Responders are also interested in how to classify law enforcement records. In response to new legislation, State Archivist, Patricia Smith-Mansfield, appointed Rosemary

        The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) provides time limits for both responding to requests and appealing denials. These time limits, found in Utah Code sections 63G-2-204 and 401-404, are important because they protect rights and define responsibilities. A requestor is entitled to a response within a reasonable timeframe. If the requestor is not satisfied with the response he or she must appeal

           The dictionary defines ‘laws’ as “a body of rules and principles governing the affairs of a community and enforced by a political authority.”  In keeping with that definition, records laws are the body of rules and principles governing records, including all aspects of their creation, identification, use, and maintenance or destruction. Deciding who has access to government records has