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Senate adopts compromise GRAMA changes after negotiations with media and Attorney General
Summary
The Senate approved amendments to the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) that establish a tiered evidentiary standard — including a clear-and-convincing standard for disclosures that would jeopardize life or safety — following negotiation between media attorneys and the Attorney General's office.
After extended floor debate the Utah Senate amended and advanced House Bill 122 to modify portions of the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA).
Senators described the floor amendment as the product of negotiated talks involving media attorneys and the Attorney General. The amendment sets a tiered evidentiary standard for certain disclosure categories: clear and convincing evidence where disclosure could jeopardize an individual’s life or safety, preponderance of the evidence for specific identified categories (such as records tied to ongoing investigations, audits, attorney–client strategy and similar areas), and the existing balancing test in other instances.
Sponsor remarks emphasized the purpose is not to diminish the public’s right to know but to prevent misuse of GRAMA requests to circumvent discovery or to compromise ongoing investigations. Media representatives and the Attorney General were explicitly named as participants in the compromise.
Senators asked clarifying questions about where the heightened standards would apply, the mechanics of the balancing test, and which specific GRAMA subparagraphs are affected. The amendment was supported as a negotiated, mutually acceptable solution and the bill (as amended) passed the Senate and was placed on the third-reading calendar.
