[{"_1":2,"_95":-5,"_96":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,85],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6467962,"mediaKeyId","5783508-826a8820cca2c7fd6f0e6a1ee3b976ce","parentId",5783508,"title","DGO denies Summit County appeal over opioid-settlement accounting records","audioSeconds",691,"startMs",1360715,"endMs",2052400,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5783508-826a8820cca2c7fd6f0e6a1ee3b976ce&start=1360&end=2052","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6467962/Utah/DGO-denies-Summit-County-appeal-over-opioid-settlement-accounting-records","mediaUrl","author","Government Records","date","2025-09-18T09:00:00Z","article","The Department of Government Records denied an appeal by Sydney Chapman, a reporter with the Utah Investigative Journalism Project, who sought itemized accounting records from Summit County relating to opioid-settlement receipts and expenditures.

Chapman told the panel she had requested records from every county and that Summit County alone provided only totals rather than itemized account ledgers. \"I do believe they have additional records,\" Chapman said during her presentation, asserting other counties had produced account ledgers that Summit County had not. Chapman said she sought documentation to verify the totals listed on the county transparency site.

Deputy County Attorney Linda Vidi and county representatives said Summit County conducted an extensive search, provided records posted on the county transparency website, and later supplied additional documents after initial requests. Vidi said she personally contacted the county behavioral-health head, the chief financial officer and the county attorney's office, and that the county provided jail worksheets showing per-dose Suboxone costs; inmate names were redacted. Summit County argued the petitioner did not meet her burden to show the county maintained additional responsive records or was concealing them; the county also noted GRAMA does not require creation of new records.

The director said the record did not show sufficient evidence that the county maintained other responsive records or that the search was deficient and declined to overturn the county's response. \"I don't find that you've made that showing here,\" the director said when announcing the ruling. The director added that while the initial response might have been incomplete, follow-up searches and supplemental records since the request were adequate to constitute a reasonable search.

The appeal, case number 2024-227, was denied on the record. The director said a written order would be issued within seven business days and that the petitioner has 30 days to appeal to district court.

Provenance: petitioner presentation begins with a GRAMA request overview and county response; ruling recorded in the director's closing comments.","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","Government Records Office Appeal hearings - September 18, 2025 audio","oneSentenceSummary","The Department of Government Records denied Sydney Chapman’s appeal seeking itemized accounting records from Summit County related to opioid-settlement funds.","taxTitle","Department of Government Records DGO, Division of Archives and Record Services, Utah Department of Government Operations, Offices, Departments, and Divisions, Organizations, Utah Executive Branch, Utah","taxId",80550,"location","Utah","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":50,"_51":82,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":83,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":84,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6467967,"DGO denies Salt Lake Tribune request for higher-education legislative communications",1040,119640,1160000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5783508-826a8820cca2c7fd6f0e6a1ee3b976ce&start=119&end=1160","/articles/6467967/Utah/DGO-denies-Salt-Lake-Tribune-request-for-higher-education-legislative-communications","The Department of Government Records denied an appeal by the Salt Lake Tribune seeking records of communications between Utah Board of Higher Education officials and lawmakers about higher-education funding changes tied to HB 265.

The Tribune sought emails and other communications from Commissioner Jeffrey Landward and Utah Board of Higher Education chair Amanda Covington about legislative proposals to cut and reallocate higher-education funding. Petitioner Courtney Tanner argued the cited exemptions apply only to internal legislative requests and that drafts relied on by the government should be public. \"I do believe these records should be public,\" Tanner told the hearing panel during her five-minute presentation.

The director overseeing the hearing said statutory language and prior interpretation support a broader deliberative-process protection for records prepared in response to legislative research requests. The director found the specific document at issue was a draft and that the petitioner did not present evidence showing the draft had been relied upon by the legislature in a way that would overcome the privilege. \"The appeal of petitioner is denied in this case,\" the director said and said a written order would be issued within seven business days; the petitioner has 30 days to appeal to district court.

During argument, Tanner emphasized the textual limits of Utah Code section she cited (as read in the petitioner’s brief) and urged that communications from the Board and commissioner are not the same as internal legislative research between legislators and legislative staff. The state’s attorney, Steve Gordon, countered that the plain language and structure of the statute, together with case law cited in the respondent’s materials, support a reading that protects deliberative communications necessary for legislative research, including contacts with outside government entities that supply information to legislative staff.

The director said statutory construction and prior legislative modifications indicated the provision was intended to cover a broader deliberative process than the petitioner proposed. The director agreed the draft was properly classified as a draft record and that there was no evidence presented showing the draft had been treated as final or directly relied upon in carrying out the legislation. On that basis, and after weighing the public interest in disclosure against the interest in protecting deliberative communications, the director declined to exercise discretion to release the records.

The decision resolves appeal number 2024-213. The director said a written order will follow within seven business days and noted the Tribune may seek judicial review in district court within 30 days.

Provenance: first related discussion begins with the petitioner presentation; ruling and denial occur in the director's closing remarks.","The Department of Government Records denied the Salt Lake Tribune's appeal seeking communications between Utah Board of Higher Education leaders and lawmakers about funding reallocations tied to HB 265, concluding a deliberative-process exemption and draft status protect the records.",{"_33":86,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":87,"_41":88,"_43":89,"_45":90,"_47":91,"_49":50,"_51":92,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":93,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":94,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6467958,"Director orders Murray School District to redact and produce surveillance video to substitute teacher",1146,2212460,3358918,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5783508-826a8820cca2c7fd6f0e6a1ee3b976ce&start=2212&end=3358","/articles/6467958/Utah/Director-orders-Murray-School-District-to-redact-and-produce-surveillance-video-to-substitute-teacher","The Department of Government Records ordered Murray School District to produce a redacted copy of approximately two minutes of hallway surveillance footage requested by substitute teacher Yuri Yudin, finding the district had not justified withholding the record in full.

Yudin sought surveillance video from Parkside Elementary showing an interaction he said occurred in September 2024 when he was serving as a substitute teacher. The district withheld the footage, citing employee safety concerns and potential student privacy issues; district representative Darren Dean said the footage showed two adults talking in a hallway with students present and asserted the district was unsure of Yudin's intent with the film.

The presiding director reviewed the footage in camera and concluded the district had not provided a legal basis to withhold the entire recording. The director said student privacy concerns can be addressed by standard redaction or cropping to show only the two adults involved; the director also found no statutory requirement for the requester to state his intent to obtain the footage. \"I disagree with the school district position that the entire video should be withheld as private or protected,\" the director said.

The director ordered the district to produce the footage redacted to exclude other students or to crop/blur as necessary under GRAMA redaction rules. The director further noted the district indicated it would waive any fees associated with producing the redacted copy; district personnel confirmed on the record, \"Yes. We will waive the fee.\" The director set a 30-day period for production or noted the district may seek judicial review; a written order will follow within seven business days.

Provenance: petitioner introduced request for surveillance footage and recounted the Parkside Elementary incident; the director issued an in-camera ruling and directed redaction and production on the record.","The Department of Government Records found the Murray School District improperly withheld about two minutes of hallway surveillance footage requested by substitute teacher Yuri Yudin, ordered the district to redact student images and produce the record, and encouraged a fee waiver after the district agreed to waive costs.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

DGO denies Summit County appeal over opioid-settlement accounting records

DGO denies Salt Lake Tribune request for higher-education legislative communications

Director orders Murray School District to redact and produce surveillance video to substitute teacher