Senate debates GRAMA changes in heated floor exchanges; amendment fails, bill circled

Senator Thomas, sponsor of House Bill 12, defended the bill as a targeted update to the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) that balances privacy with public access, saying the measure "does not provide a veil of secrecy as the media has stated." The bill would clarify what is and is not a public record, protect some legislative staff communications, require notice when government requests private information, align local retention schedules with the state archivist’s model schedule and create a category of protection for certain communications citizens send to elected officials.

Opponents on the floor expressed concern that the language could be applied broadly to shield communications from lobbyists, developers and others who seek government action. Senator Arendt argued the provision "seems to me reading it would cover all correspondence and memorandum from lobbyists, developers, waste contractors ... and that's not right." Senator Bell and others said the public expects correspondence sent to a government office to be accessible.

Senator Hale moved to strike the lines creating the citizen-to-elected-official protection. Supporters of the amendment (including Senators Arendt and McCoy) said the change preserved openness; opponents (including Senators Thomas, Hallibaugh and Stevenson) said the provision protects private, sensitive communications such as whistleblowing and personal family matters and that an administrative GRAMA officer would still weigh public interest.

The motion to amend proceeded to a roll-call and resulted in a tie; the presiding officer announced the motion failed. Following the tied vote and further floor action, Senator Thomas moved to circle House Bill 12 for further work; the body agreed and the bill was circled for later consideration.

What comes next: The bill is circled, meaning further amendment and committee work are likely before the Senate will take final action.