Meet Lonny Pehrson, Director of the Government Records Office

The Utah State Archives is excited to welcome Lonny Pehrson as the new Director of the Government Records Office! In this role, Lonny will oversee the daily operations of the Government Records Office, adjudicate GRAMA (Government Records Access and Management Act) appeals hearings, supervise the Government Records Ombudsman and staff, and serve as a key resource on records access and

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

In the 2019 session, the Utah Legislature updated the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) and the Public Records Management Act (PRMA). Senator Wayne Harper, sponsored two bills (Senate bills 25 and 108) which contained the most significant changes. With Senate bill 25, the Legislature created a new records management committee. This new committee will approve records retention schedules

         The Utah State Archives and Records Service hosted 22 guests from the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy on September 24, 2018. Our guests were journalists, mayors, a senator, and agency directors from several Central and South American nations who travelled to the United States to examine transparency and accountability in government. They are researching best practices

Patricia Smith-Mansfield, who served as the Governor’s designee on the State Records Committee for 14 years while she was director of Utah State Archives and Records Service, is back on the Committee. Now she is a citizen representative. Tricia, welcome back! Tricia’s years of experience, and knowledge of records law are valuable assets for the Committee. The State Records Committee

Utah’s Division of Archives and Records Service offers free records access and management training classes, webinars, and conferences to all governmental employees. Most classes are held in Salt Lake City, but we will have two regional trainings this year–one in Vernal and one in Richfield. We may also be able to provide training in your region upon request if you