Senate approves substitute narrowing government-records bill to ballot-specific data

The Utah Senate passed Third Substitute House Bill 69 after floor lawmakers adopted a substitute that narrowed the bill’s scope to ballot-related information.

Senator Brammer, who moved the floor substitute, said the change was intended to limit the bill to the original concern — preventing the misuse of ballot information that reveals who a voter voted for. "One of the concerns that we had was that this basically said any governmental information. And that may be a little broader than we want it to be. This narrows it to ballot information," Brammer said on the floor while explaining the substitute.

Senator Musselman, the floor sponsor, described the substitute as "friendly," noting the version before the Senate now more accurately reflects the bill’s intended scope. After the substitute was adopted, the Senate read the third substitute for third time and passed it by roll call: 27 yeas, 0 nays, 2 absent.

What the bill does: As presented on the floor, the third substitute narrows an anti-misuse provision so that the prohibition applies to ballot information — for example, how an individual voted — rather than to broader categories of governmental information. Sponsors said the change avoids unintentionally restricting routine governmental work while addressing concerns about improper access to or use of ballot data.

Why this matters: The bill responds to concerns about the use of voter or ballot-related data by public officials. Sponsors argued the narrower language targets the problem directly and reduces the risk of overbroad restrictions on public employees’ legitimate use of government records.

Next steps: The bill passed the Senate and will be transmitted according to regular legislative procedures.