Archives News

Another legislative session has come to a close. As we all catch our breath, here are a few updates that impact GRAMA, Archives, and Records Management, that you may find interesting. The last day for the Governor to sign or veto bills is the 23rd of March. Any bill that does not have a specified effective date will go into

Last year was an exceptionally busy year for the State Records Committee! In 2022, the committee received approximately 260 appeals and issued 61 Decisions and Orders. 68 appeals were withdrawn before the hearing because they were resolved in mediation, thanks to the hard work by our State Ombudsman Rosemary Cundiff! 2022 Charts Most of the requesters who appeal to the

In the 2022 session, the Utah Legislature made several updates to the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA). Here are the highlights.  Representative Dan Johnson sponsored House Bill 96 which contains two significant changes. First, it defines a media representative as “a person who requests a record to obtain information for a story or report for publication or broadcast

As 2021 comes to a close, we wanted to share what the State Records Committee (SRC) has been up to this year. The Committee met electronically through May. In June, we started meeting in person again at the Taylorsville State Office Building, but virtual attendance was still an option for anyone attending. Going forward, meetings will always have an option

If you ask for a record from a government agency and they deny access or deny your reasonable request for a fee waiver, what options do you have? If you have requested a record from an agency and your request was denied, there is an appeals process, which is laid out in Part 4 of the Government Records Access and

While looking for an old jury book, I came across U.S. Commissioner Harmel Pratt’s criminal docket book (series 4879). I couldn’t help but browse. Three pages, shown at the bottom, caught my eye. Here’s the story they tell. It was an hour after sunset November 6th, 1892 when Harry Edwards, J. Snyder, and John Rockwell went duck hunting in Salt

It’s time to spotlight another team that is making records management part of their office culture. It’s a daunting goal, but they’re excited to meet the challenge! The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) takes its obligation to protect student information very seriously. The Student Data Privacy program’s focus is (among other things) to ensure that student data are protected,

Have you looked at a General Retention Schedule and thought of a better title? Is there a citation you wish would be added or removed from the description? Or maybe the retention or appraisal is confusing and you’d like to ask a question. We want to hear from you! There are a few ways to give us feedback regarding the

Co-authored by Archives and Records Service RIM Specialist Rebekkah Shaw and Chief Records Officer Kendra Yates.   We received feedback that record officers are confused about why we are consolidating the General Retention Schedules (GRS) and what a big bucket approach is. Why are the General Retention Schedules being consolidated? Back in July, we discussed what classification means in records and information management:

When it comes time to update or create retention schedules, it can be overwhelming as you think about all the records your agency creates and maintains. Here are three tips (in no particular order) from our experience with records officers around the state! 1- Learn who actually deals with the records, and form a team in your office to discuss