State Records Committee Appeal 02-01

BEFORE THE STATE RECORDS COMMITTEE OF THE STATE OF UTAH

BRENT POLL, Petitioner, vs.

SOUTH WEBER CITY, Respondent.

DECISION AND ORDER

Case No. 02-01

By this appeal, Brent Poll seeks access to minutes from a meeting closed pursuant to Utah Code Ann. 52-4-4.

The State Records Committee, having reviewed the materials submitted by the parties, and having heard oral argument and testimony on January 9, 2002, now issues the following Decision and Order.

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR DECISION

1. The Government Records Access and Management Act ("GRAMA") specifies that "all records are public unless otherwise expressly provided by statute." Utah Code Ann. 63-2-201(2). GRAMA also provides that records properly classified as "protected" or otherwise "restricted pursuant to court rule, another state statute, federal statute, or federal regulation . . ." are not public. Utah Code Ann. 63-2-201(3). Respondent denied Mr. Poll the records he seeks on the grounds that said minutes are protected under Utah Code Ann. 52-4-7.5(2)(b)(i) and 63-2-304(7), (8), and (32).

2. Utah Code Ann. 52-4-7.5(2)(b)(i) states that "[t]ape recordings and written minutes of closed meetings are protected records . . . ." See also Utah Code Ann. 63-2-304(32). Said records "may be disclosed pursuant to a court order only as provided in Section 52-4-10." Utah Code Ann. 52-4-7.5(2)(b)(ii) (emphasis added).

3. The Committee finds that the records in question are properly classified as protected. Furthermore, after consideration and weighing of the various interests and public policies pertinent to the classification and disclosure or non-disclosure, the Committee finds that the public interests favoring access are not outweighed by the interests favoring restriction of access. See Utah Code Ann. 63-2-403(11)(b) and 63-2-202(9)(b).

ORDER

THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED THAT the appeal of Mr. Poll is denied. Respondent's determination regarding the classification of these records as protected is affirmed.

RIGHT TO APPEAL

Either party may appeal this Decision and Order to the District Court. The petition for review must be filed no later than thirty (30) days after the date of this order. The petition for judicial review must be a complaint. The complaint and the appeals process are governed by the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure and Utah Code Ann. 63-2-404. The court is required to make its decision de novo. In order to protect its rights on appeal, a party may wish to seek advice from an attorney.

Entered this 14th day of January, 2002.

BY THE STATE RECORDS COMMITTEE

Cherie Willis, Chairperson

State Records Committee