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- Utah's public record appeals face delays as the State Records Committee ends.
- SB277 replaces the committee with a single judge, causing a backlog of appeals.
- Funding for the new position starts July 1, with a judge expected by then.
SALT LAKE CITY – Utahns fighting for information under the state's public records law are waiting longer to make their cases for transparency as the state slowly transitions to a new system for hearing their appeals.
The State Records Committee, a seven-member panel that considered appeals after public record requests were denied by government agencies, met for the last time in April.
Under SB277 – which was sponsored by Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, passed by the Utah Legislature and signed by Gov. Spencer Cox despite opposition from the public – the committee is repealed on May 7 and set to be replaced by a single judge appointed by the governor.
According to Marvin Dodge, executive director of the Utah Department of Government Operations, the job should be posted online by the official date the new law takes effect, but funding for the position is not available until the beginning of the state's next fiscal year, July 1.
"We anticipate conducting an open recruitment and will review applicants, interview candidates, and make a recommendation to the governor for his final decision," Dodge wrote in an email to KSL. "I anticipate the new person will be in place in July. The work of addressing appeals will move forward at a quickened pace once the individual begins in earnest."
The transition will mean a multimonth delay in resolving appeals, for the second time in recent memory. The committee's work stalled last year when there were not enough members to establish a quorum after lawmakers serving on the Senate Business and Labor Confirmation Committee rejected Cox's reappointment of three members whose terms had expired.
The move came after multiple high-profile decisions by the committee that some lawmakers disagreed with, including the committee's ruling that former Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes' official work calendar is a record the public has a right to see.
Lawmakers scrambled to change the law and make public officials' calendars secret after a judge reaffirmed the committee's decision, also ruling in favor of transparency.
According to a list provided to KSL by the Division of Archives and Records Service, there is a current backlog of 82 outstanding or pending appeals. Nine of those appeals were filed during the month of April. The rest were filed during 2024 and earlier this year, with the exception of one remaining appeal from December 2023.
During two public hearings at the Legislature, testimony from Utahns was largely unsupportive of the measure to abolish the State Records Committee. And a review by KSL Investigators of 1,200 pages of emails sent to lawmakers found virtually no support for the bill or another that passed making it nearly impossible for a citizen to recoup their legal fees if they are forced to sue the government in court for public records.
McKell, who sponsored SB277, has insisted the new process will be better for Utahns in the long run.
"I'm more confident than ever that this will be a success," McKell previously told KSL. "A year from now, people will better appreciate the change. The previous system was inefficient and flawed. We heard from citizens and stakeholders that the process was broken, and multiple audits highlighted areas for improvement."
During legislative hearings and discussions about the bill, McKell focused on efficiency as a key factor to drive his bill forward. KSL requested an interview with McKell, hoping to ask why his legislation did not allow for the State Records Committee to continue hearing appeals until the new process is in place. He did not participate in an interview for this report or provide comment.
"I believe an oversight in SB277 was the lack of a transition period," said attorney Todd Sheeran, who began serving on the State Records Committee in December. "Without one, the appeals queue is likely to grow, placing an immediate and significant workload on the new director (once hired). However, I'm hopeful that having a full-time director dedicated to hearing appeals will ultimately reduce the time of an appeal sitting in the queue."
The process for Utahns filing appeals could change in the future, according to Rebekkah Shaw, who has served as executive secretary of the State Records Committee. For now, she said citizens can continue to submit appeals via email to [email protected].
