Panel advances GRAMA changes to shield victims’ names and clarify financial records

Third Substitute House Bill 325, which updates government-records classifications under GRAMA, was unanimously recommended by the Senate Government Operations Committee.

Representative Shepherd and Christopher Bramwell, director of the Utah Office of Data Privacy, framed the bill as a balance between transparency and privacy. Bramwell described research with Utah Valley University showing wide county variation in how tax-abatement and property-tax records are handled and detailed risks that public disclosure can expose veterans, the blind, elderly and other vulnerable people to scams or crimes.

A notable change in the bill removes victims' names from the statutory definition of an "initial contact report," leaving the records officer to determine whether a victim's name should be released. Bramwell explained this preserves a presumption of public access while providing a clearer basis for officers to withhold sensitive names where privacy outweighs public need.

The bill also narrows which portions of financial records—budgets, vouchers, general ledgers and vendor competition information—must be treated as public and clarifies that some records previously withheld in full can be redacted and released in usable form.

Senator Vickers moved the favorable recommendation; the committee voted 4–0 to advance HB 325.