OUR VIEW: Keep Utah’s access to records open

In just two days legislators for the state of Utah will decide the fate of Utah’s open records laws, possibly changing the public’s ability to access state records. At first, the ability to access government records might seem to have little importance to students at Utah State University. Certainly going out of our way to view piles of dry material reading material that explain how many votes a state bill passed by or the detailed breakdown of funding for the latest state road repair is not part of our daily routine as students.

But the effects could hit closer to home than you think.

Among some of the changes to Utah’s open records laws, officially called the Government Records Access Management Act, is a change that could restrict the listing of phone numbers for faculty and staff at USU. Only a general number would be listed online.

Another bill would restrict access to any communication between an elected official and any other person. That means the public could be unaware of any illegal actions that could happen within the government.

Bills such as these are violating our rights as citizens of this state to access information that should be open to everyone. But before these decisions are made, each of us can do our part and contact our representatives and let them know how we feel. For more information on these bills that will change Utah’s open records, visit http://www.le.state.ut.us/ and research them yourselves by selecting “government records” under the search by subject option.

We encourage students to get involved and contact state representatives to ensure that Utah maintains its open records policies.