A bill restricting the public’s ability to recoup legal costs if they have to fight a public records denial in court has passed the Legislature, while another that would dissolve the state’s volunteer records committee is making its way through.
The House Wednesday morning voted 54-18 to give final passage to HB69, saying that in cases where a resident or journalist seeking records under the state’s public records law, known as the Government Records Access and Management Act, or GRAMA, wins in court, they are only able to recover their attorney fees if they are able to prove the government acted in “bad faith” in denying the records, an exceptionally high bar.
Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Millcreek, warned ahead of the vote that the restriction on recovering legal fees would price out Utahns seeking government records.
“What we’re doing is going to discourage people from bringing these records requests,” Stoddard said. “These types of things cost a lot of money, and so to require someone to prove bad faith … it’s going to have a chilling effect on people who are looking to bring transparency in the government.”
Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, added the fee provision to the bill, originally focused on voter information privacy, ahead of the Senate’s vote, meaning the public was never given an opportunity to weigh in.
Following the House vote, in which four Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the change, House Democrats issued a statement denouncing HB69 as setting “a nearly impossible standard” for Utahns to meet in order to recover their legal fees, even when they’re in the right.
“Over the years, transparency lawsuits have uncovered critical information about government spending, law enforcement actions, and public officials’ conduct. This bill would discourage those efforts, making it easier for important information to remain hidden without opportunity to surface,” the statement read.
The bill now heads to Gov. Spencer Cox to either sign, veto, or allow it to become law without his signature.
Read the full report at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
