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[Utah Code Table of Contents]
[TITLE 63. Table of Contents]
[CHAPTER 2. Table of Contents]
63-2-101 Short title.
This chapter is known as the "Government Records Access
and Management Act."
1991
63-2-102 Legislative intent.
(1) In enacting this act, the Legislature recognizes two constitutional rights:
(a) the public's right of access to information concerning the conduct of the public's business; and
(b) the right of privacy in relation to personal data gathered by governmental entities.
(2) The Legislature also recognizes a public policy interest in allowing a government to restrict access to certain records, as specified in this chapter, for the public good.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature to:
(a) promote the public's right of easy and reasonable access to unrestricted public records;
(b) specify those conditions under which the public interest in allowing restrictions on access to records may outweigh the public's interest in access;
(c) prevent abuse of confidentiality by governmental entities by permitting confidential treatment of records only as provided in this chapter;
(d) provide guidelines for both disclosure and restrictions on access to government records, which are based on the equitable weighing of the pertinent interests and which are consistent with nationwide standards of information practices;
(e) favor public access when, in the application of this act, countervailing interests are of equal weight; and
(f) establish fair and reasonable records management practices.
1992
63-2-103 Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Audit" means:
(a) a systematic examination of financial, management, program, and related records for the purpose of determining the fair presentation of financial statements, adequacy of internal controls, or compliance with laws and regulations; or
(b) a systematic examination of program procedures and operations for the purpose of determining their effectiveness, economy, efficiency, and compliance with statutes and regulations.
(2) "Chronological logs" mean the regular and customary summary records of law enforcement agencies and other public safety agencies that show the time and general nature of police, fire, and paramedic calls made to the agency and any arrests or jail bookings made by the agency.
(3) "Classification," "classify," and their derivative forms mean determining whether a record series, record, or information within a record is public, private, controlled, protected, or exempt from disclosure under Subsection 63-2-201 (3)(b).
(4) (a) "Computer program" means a series of instructions or statements that permit the functioning of a computer system in a manner designed to provide storage, retrieval, and manipulation of data from the computer system, and any associated documentation and source material that explain how to operate the computer program.
(b) "Computer program" does not mean:
(i) the original data, including numbers, text, voice, graphics, and images;
(ii) analysis, compilation, and other manipulated forms of the original data produced by use of the program; or
(iii) the mathematical or statistical formulas (excluding the underlying mathematical algorithms contained in the program) that would be used if the manipulated forms of the original data were to be produced manually.
(5) (a) "Contractor" means:
(i) any person who contracts with a governmental entity to provide goods or services directly to a governmental entity; or
(ii) any private, nonprofit organization that receives funds from a governmental entity.
(b) "Contractor" does not mean a private provider.
(6) "Controlled record" means a record containing data on individuals that is controlled as provided by Section 63-2-303 .
(7) "Designation," "designate," and their derivative forms mean indicating, based on a governmental entity's familiarity with a record series or based on a governmental entity's review of a reasonable sample of a record series, the primary classification that a majority of records in a record series would be given if classified and the classification that other records typically present in the record series would be given if classified.
(8) "Explosive" means a chemical compound, device, or mixture:
(a) commonly used or intended for the purpose of producing an explosion; and
(b) that contains oxidizing or combustive units or other ingredients in proportions, quantities, or packing so that:
(i) an ignition by fire, friction, concussion, percussion, or detonator of any part of the compound or mixture may cause a sudden generation of highly heated gases; and
(ii) the resultant gaseous pressures are capable of:
(A) producing destructive effects on contiguous objects; or
(B) causing death or serious bodily injury.
(9) "Government audit agency" means any governmental entity that conducts audits.
(10) (a) "Governmental entity" means:
(i) executive department agencies of the state, the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, state auditor, attorney general, and state treasurer, the Board of Pardons and Parole, the Board of Examiners, the National Guard, the Career Service Review Board, the State Board of Education, the State Board of Regents, and the State Archives;
(ii) the Office of the Legislative Auditor General, Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, the Legislature, and legislative committees, except any political party, group, caucus, or rules or sifting committee of the Legislature;
(iii) courts, the Judicial Council, the Office of the Court Administrator, and similar administrative units in the judicial branch;
(iv) any state-funded institution of higher education or public education; or
(v) any political subdivision of the state, but, if a political subdivision has adopted an ordinance or a policy relating to information practices pursuant to Section 63-2-701 , this chapter shall apply to the political subdivision to the extent specified in Section 63-2-701 or as specified in any other section of this chapter that specifically refers to political subdivisions.
(b) "Governmental entity" also means every office, agency, board, bureau, committee, department, advisory board, or commission of the entities listed in Subsection (10)(a) that is funded or established by the government to carry out the public's business.
(11) "Gross compensation" means every form of remuneration payable for a given period to an individual for services provided including salaries, commissions, vacation pay, severance pay, bonuses, and any board, rent, housing, lodging, payments in kind, and any similar benefit received from the individual's employer.
(12) "Individual" means a human being.
(13) (a) "Initial contact report" means an initial written or recorded report, however titled, prepared by peace officers engaged in public patrol or response duties describing official actions initially taken in response to either a public complaint about or the discovery of an apparent violation of law, which report may describe:
(i) the date, time, location, and nature of the complaint, the incident, or offense;
(ii) names of victims;
(iii) the nature or general scope of the agency's initial actions taken in response to the incident;
(iv) the general nature of any injuries or estimate of damages sustained in the incident;
(v) the name, address, and other identifying information about any person arrested or charged in connection with the incident; or
(vi) the identity of the public safety personnel, except undercover personnel, or prosecuting attorney involved in responding to the initial incident.
(b) Initial contact reports do not include follow-up or investigative reports prepared after the initial contact report. However, if the information specified in Subsection (13)(a) appears in follow-up or investigative reports, it may only be treated confidentially if it is private, controlled, protected, or exempt from disclosure under Subsection 63-2-201 (3)(b).
(14) "Person" means any individual, nonprofit or profit corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other type of business organization.
(15) "Private provider" means any person who contracts with a governmental entity to provide services directly to the public.
(16) "Private record" means a record containing data on individuals that is private as provided by Section 63-2-302 .
(17) "Protected record" means a record that is classified protected as provided by Section 63-2-304 .
(18) "Public record" means a record that is not private, controlled, or protected and that is not exempt from disclosure as provided in Subsection 63-2-201 (3)(b).
(19) (a) "Record" means all books, letters, documents, papers, maps, plans, photographs, films, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data, or other documentary materials regardless of physical form or characteristics:
(i) which are prepared, owned, received, or retained by a governmental entity or political subdivision; and
(ii) where all of the information in the original is reproducible by photocopy or other mechanical or electronic means.
(b) "Record" does not mean:
(i) temporary drafts or similar materials prepared for the originator's personal use or prepared by the originator for the personal use of an individual for whom he is working;
(ii) materials that are legally owned by an individual in his private capacity;
(iii) materials to which access is limited by the laws of copyright or patent unless the copyright or patent is owned by a governmental entity or political subdivision;
(iv) proprietary software;
(v) junk mail or commercial publications received by a governmental entity or an official or employee of a governmental entity;
(vi) books and other materials that are cataloged, indexed, or inventoried and contained in the collections of libraries open to the public, regardless of physical form or characteristics of the material;
(vii) daily calendars and other personal notes prepared by the originator for the originator's personal use or for the personal use of an individual for whom he is working;
(viii) computer programs as defined in Subsection (4) that are developed or purchased by or for any governmental entity for its own use; or
(ix) notes or internal memoranda prepared as part of the deliberative process by a member of the judiciary, an administrative law judge, a member of the Board of Pardons and Parole, or a member of any other body charged by law with performing a quasi-judicial function.
(20) "Record series" means a group of records that may be treated as a unit for purposes of designation, description, management, or disposition.
(21) "Records committee" means the State Records Committee created in Section 63-2-501 .
(22) "Records officer" means the individual appointed by the chief administrative officer of each governmental entity, or the political subdivision to work with state archives in the care, maintenance, scheduling, designation, classification, disposal, and preservation of records.
(23) "Schedule," "scheduling," and their derivative forms mean the process of specifying the length of time each record series should be retained by a governmental entity for administrative, legal, fiscal, or historical purposes and when each record series should be transferred to the state archives or destroyed.
(24) "State archives" means the Division of Archives and Records Service created in Section 63-2-901 .
(25) "State archivist" means the director of the state archives.
(26) "Summary data" means statistical records and compilations
that contain data derived from private, controlled, or protected
information but that do not disclose private, controlled,
or protected information.
2002
63-2-104 Administrative Procedures Act not applicable.
Title 63, Chapter 46b, Administrative Procedures Act,
does not apply to this chapter except as provided in Section
63-2-603
.
1992
63-2-105 Confidentiality agreements.
If a governmental entity or political subdivision receives
a request for a record that is subject to a confidentiality
agreement executed before April 1, 1992, the law in effect
at the time the agreement was executed, including late judicial
interpretations of the law, shall govern access to the record,
unless all parties to the confidentiality agreement agree
in writing to be governed by the provisions of this chapter.
1992
63-2-106 Records of security measures.
The records of a governmental entity or political subdivision regarding security measures designed for the protection of persons or property, public or private, are not subject to this chapter. These records include:
(1) security plans;
(2) security codes and combinations, and passwords;
(3) passes and keys;
(4) security procedures; and
(5) building and public works designs, to the extent that
the records or information relate to the ongoing security
measures of a public entity.
2002
63-2-107 Disclosure of records subject to federal law.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsections 63-2-201 (6)(a) and (b), this chapter does not apply to a record containing protected health information as defined in 45 C.F.R., Part 164, Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, if the record is:
(1) controlled or maintained by a governmental entity; and
(2) governed by 45 C.F.R., Parts 160 and 164, Standards
for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information.
2003
