Opinion ID: 2567457
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: overview of grama

Text: ¶ 13 The Legislature enacted GRAMA to advance the cause of governmental transparency and accountability. When it explained why GRAMA was necessary, the Legislature expressed the view that both the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the public's business and the right of individual privacy concerning personal information acquired by governmental entities were entitled to constitutional protection. Utah Code Ann. § 63-2-102(1) (2004). Although both of these interests deserve constitutional dignity, they do not enjoy an altogether harmonious relationship. The provisions of GRAMA provide a rational framework for mediating the conflicts between these interests. ¶ 14 In addition to citing constitutional reasons for enacting GRAMA, the Legislature noted that the public policy of this state required that access to certain forms of information be restricted. Id. § 63-2-102(2)-(3). The Legislature's commitment to governmental transparency is reflected in GRAMA's declaration that [a] record is public unless otherwise expressly provided by statute. Id. § 63-2-201(2). Moreover, although GRAMA contains a lengthy roster of records that are presumptively public, id. § 63-2-301(1)-(3) (Supp.2007), the statute cautions that this list is not exhaustive and should not be used to limit access to records, id. § 63-2-301(4). ¶ 15 GRAMA strives to accomplish its legislative goals by creating a government records classification system. The most general classification segregates public from nonpublic records. GRAMA then creates three categories of nonpublic records: private, id. § 63-2-302 (2004); controlled, id. § 63-2-303; and protected, id. § 63-2-304. Only the private and protected categories of nonpublic records concern us here. ¶ 16 To assist a governmental entity with the task of classifying its records, GRAMA details attributes unique to each of the three nonpublic categories. While GRAMA identifies in detail many types of information and assigns classifications to them, GRAMA's taxonomy is not exhaustive. For example, investigative reports of sexual harassment complaints are not classified. See id. §§ 63-2-302 through  304. GRAMA anticipates that its inventory of records does not classify every governmental record and sets out procedures for classifying records that have escaped statutory classification. These classification procedures focus on properly identifying and balancing interests associated with a record. For example, if a record fits into more than one category, GRAMA authorizes a governmental entity to select one by considering the nature of the interests intended to be protected and the specificity of the competing provisions. Id. § 63-2-305(1). To facilitate classification, GRAMA permits a governmental entity to divide a record into its public and nonpublic parts by redacting nonpublic content. Id. § 63-2-307. Moreover, to ease the burden of record classification, GRAMA does not impose upon a governmental entity a duty to classify a record unless access to the record is requested, id. § 63-2-306(2), but it may reclassify or redesignate its records at any time, id. § 63-2-306(3).