There's bad news for advocates of open government this morning, with this report in the Standard-Examiner, that Rep. Doug Aagard's House Bill 122, which will seriously tighten GRAMA request restrictions, has passed in the Utah House, and is now set to move on to the Senate. The article is short, so we'll incorporate it in full:
SALT LAKE CITY — The House has passed a measure that would make it harder to obtain certain documents through the Government Records and Management Access process.The Deseret News carries a brief heads-up on the topic this morning too.
Under current law, strategic government documents can be protected from public disclosure only if prepared for pending litigation.
House Bill 122, sponsored by Rep. Douglas Aagard, R-Kaysville, would also allow strategic documents to be protected if prepared in anticipation of litigation.
Also, court appeals to obtain information would have to demonstrate “clear and convincing evidence” that the public interest outweighs the interest favoring restriction of documents.
Aagard said that’s higher than the current standard.
The House passed the bill on a 43-27 vote Wednesday. It now goes to the Senate for further debate. [Emphasis added]
So in addition to the objections to the bill's vague language, which we raised here on Weber County Forum last week, Rep. Aagard has now compounded the problem by incorporating new (amended) provisions, which would increase the burden of proof on appeal for GRAMA applicants initially denied production of documents and records on the basis of "anticipated of litigation." Whereas the current standard is "preponderance of evidence," this new bill would substitute the more burdensome standard of "clear and convincing evidence."
For those readers who'd like to bone up a little bit more on the subject, we provide a couple of helpful audio and video (RealPlayer) links below:
• House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee - Video - 2/9/09For those readers who are willing to listen in, it will become immediately clear that none of the bill's proponents have even the slightest clue about what they're doing with this bill. In his ham-handed attempt to carve out special (and possibly reasonable) exceptions for law enforcement related records and documents, Representative Aagard has drafted sloppy and over-broad legislation which will, as a practical matter, make the obtaining of public documents and records even more expensive and difficult at best, and impossible at worst.
• House Floor Debate - Audio - 2/18/09
And for those readers willing to simply take our word that this bill needs to have a stake driven through its heart, Don't forget to contact your state senators RIGHT NOW.
Believe us. They love to hear from their concerned constituents.
Thoughtful reader comments are invited, as always.
