House rejects conference report on revisions to Utah Open and Public Meetings Act

A conference committee report on the second substitute to House Bill 16, revisions to the Open and Public Meetings Act, failed on the Utah House floor after an extended debate over what small local entities must keep as the official public record.

Representative Donaldson, sponsor of the conference report, said the measure would exempt independent special districts and other local districts with annual expenditures under $50,000 (excluding capital expenditures and debt service) from the requirement to produce written permanent minutes and instead allow them to keep either written minutes or audio recordings and to seek limited waivers from the records division for retention periods. "They can do either — written or recorded — and the written format is the permanent record," Donaldson said in explanation of the proposal.

Opponents raised concerns about public access and the ability of members of a public body to raise an item during a meeting if the item was not posted on the agenda. Representative Noel pressed the sponsor on whether a member of a governing body could bring up an off-agenda topic the same day it was raised to the member by a constituent, saying the provision "goes too far" if it precludes such remarks even when no formal action would be taken. Donaldson replied that agenda changes can be posted within 24 hours and that the committee had sought input from the Utah Association of Special Districts in crafting the exemption.

Representative Wallace, who served on the conference committee, said the committee focused on rural and very small entities where meetings sometimes involve only two people and a backup recording can validate the written record; he urged members to support adoption, calling the process thorough and broadly representative. Representative Noel and others worried the exemption would apply to a very small number of entities and still leave questions about how long audio backups must be kept and who would be responsible if tapes became unusable.

The House voted on the conference report after a roll call division. The motion to adopt the conference committee report failed, with 30 yes votes and 38 no votes. The House thereby declined to adopt the conference committee's second substitute to HB 16 and the conference report will not be adopted.

Next steps were not taken on the floor after the vote. The debate and the failed adoption leave unresolved which version of the Open and Public Meetings Act language will move forward and whether the issue will return in amended form or to further conference committee work.