Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

LEGISLATIVE GENERAL COUNSEL                                              H.B. 564
Approved for Filing: R.H. Rees 6
         6 02-15-24 11:19 AM 6
                             PUBLIC RECORDS AMENDMENTS
                                        2024 GENERAL SESSION
                                           STATE OF UTAH
                                      Chief Sponsor: Phil Lyman
                                  Senate Sponsor: ____________
 6
 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill modifies a provision relating to public records.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < modifies a provision allowing an opinion or order made by a governmental entity in
 an administrative, adjudicative, or judicial proceeding to be withheld under certain
 circumstances so that the provision does not apply if the individual subject to the
 proceeding is an elected official.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        None
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        20A-2-101.1, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 223
        53-5-708, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 16
        53-9-115, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2008, Chapter 382
        63G-2-301, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapters 255, 399
                                                                                                   H.B. 564
        63G-2-302, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapters 329, 471
        63G-4-106, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 312
     *HB0564*
       H.B. 564                                                                   02-15-24 11:19 AM
28
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
         Section 1. Section 20A-2-101.1 is amended to read:
         20A-2-101.1. Preregistering to vote.
         (1) An individual may preregister to vote if the individual:
         (a) is 16 or 17 years [of age] old;
         (b) is not eligible to register to vote because the individual does not comply with the
 age requirements described in Subsection 20A-2-101(1)(c);
         (c) is a citizen of the United States;
         (d) has been a resident of Utah for at least 30 days; and
         (e) currently resides within the voting district or precinct in which the individual
 preregisters to vote.
         (2) An individual described in Subsection (1) may not vote in an election and is not
 registered to vote until:
         (a) the individual is otherwise eligible to register to vote because the individual
 complies with the age requirements described in Subsection 20A-2-101(1)(c); and
         (b) the county clerk registers the individual to vote under Subsection (4).
         (3) An individual who preregisters to vote shall:
         (a) complete a voter registration form, including an indication that the individual is
 preregistering to vote; and
         (b) submit the voter registration form to a county clerk in person, by mail, or in any
 other manner authorized by this chapter for the submission of a voter registration form.
         (4) (a) A county clerk shall:
         (i) retain the voter registration form of an individual who meets the qualifications for
 preregistration and who submits a completed voter registration form to the county clerk under
 Subsection (3)(b);
         (ii) register the individual to vote in the next election in which the individual will be
 eligible to vote, before the voter registration deadline established in Section 20A-2-102.5 for
 that election; and
         (iii) send a notice to the individual that:
         (A) informs the individual that the individual's voter registration form has been
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       02-15-24 11:19 AM                                                                        H.B. 564
 accepted as an application for preregistration;
         (B) informs the individual that the individual will be registered to vote in the next
 election in which the individual will be eligible to vote; and
         (C) indicates in which election the individual will be registered to vote.
         (b) An individual who the county clerk registers under Subsection (4)(a)(ii) is
 considered to have applied for voter registration on the earlier of:
         (i) the day of the voter registration deadline immediately preceding the election day on
 which the individual will be at least 18 years [of age] old; or
         (ii) the day on which the individual turns 18 years [of age] old.
         (c) A county clerk shall refer a voter registration form to the county attorney for
 investigation and possible prosecution if the clerk or the clerk's designee believes the
 individual is attempting to preregister to vote in an election in which the individual will not be
 legally entitled to vote.
         (5) (a) The lieutenant governor or a county clerk shall classify the voter registration
 record of an individual who preregisters to vote as a private record until the day on which the
 individual turns 18 years [of age] old.
         (b) On the day on which the individual described in Subsection (5)(a) turns 18 years of
 age, the lieutenant governor or county clerk shall classify the individual's voter registration
 record as a public record in accordance with Subsection [63G-2-301(2)(l)]
 63G-2-301(2)(a)(xii).
         (6) If an individual who is at least 18 years [of age] old erroneously indicates on the
 voter registration form that the individual is preregistering to vote, the county clerk shall
 consider the form as a voter registration form and shall process the form in accordance with
 this chapter.
         Section 2. Section 53-5-708 is amended to read:
         53-5-708. Permit -- Names private.
         (1) (a) The bureau shall maintain a record in its office of any permit issued under this
 part.
         (b) Notwithstanding the requirements of Subsection [63G-2-301(2)(b)]
 63G-2-301(2)(a)(ii), the names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and Social
 Security numbers of persons receiving permits are protected records under Subsection
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        H.B. 564                                                                  02-15-24 11:19 AM
 63G-2-305(11).
        (c) Notwithstanding Section 63G-2-206, a person may not share any of the information
 listed in Subsection (1)(b) with any office, department, division, or other agency of the federal
 government unless:
        (i) the disclosure is necessary to conduct a criminal background check on the
 individual who is the subject of the information;
        (ii) the disclosure of information is made pursuant to a court order directly associated
 with an active investigation or prosecution of the individual who is the subject of the
 information;
        (iii) the disclosure is made to a criminal justice agency in a criminal investigation or
 prosecution;
        (iv) the disclosure is made by a law enforcement agency within the state to another law
 enforcement agency in the state or in another state in connection with an investigation,
 including a preliminary investigation, or a prosecution of the individual who is the subject of
 the information;
        (v) the disclosure is made by a law enforcement agency within the state to an employee
 of a federal law enforcement agency in the course of a combined law enforcement effort
 involving the law enforcement agency within the state and the federal law enforcement agency;
 or
        (vi) the disclosure is made in response to a routine request that a federal law
 enforcement officer makes to obtain information on an individual whom the federal law
 enforcement officer detains, including for a traffic stop, or questions because of the individual's
 suspected violation of state law.
        (d) A person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor if the person knowingly:
        (i) discloses information listed in Subsection (1)(b) in violation of the provisions under
 Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, applicable to
 protected records; or
        (ii) shares information in violation of Subsection (1)(c).
        (e) (i) As used in this Subsection (1)(e), "governmental agency" means:
        (A) the state or any department, division, agency, or other instrumentality of the state;
 or
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        02-15-24 11:19 AM                                                                        H.B. 564
         (B) a political subdivision of the state, including a county, city, town, school district,
 special district, and special service district.
         (ii) A governmental agency may not compel or attempt to compel an individual who
 has been issued a concealed firearm permit to divulge whether the individual:
         (A) has been issued a concealed firearm permit; or
         (B) is carrying a concealed firearm.
         (iii) Subsection (1)(e)(ii) does not apply to a law enforcement officer.
         (2) The bureau shall immediately file a copy of each permit it issues under this part.
         Section 3. Section 53-9-115 is amended to read:
         53-9-115. Business name and address -- Posting of license -- Advertising.
         (1) (a) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, a licensee may conduct an investigative
 business under a name other than the licensee's by:
         (i) complying with the requirements of Title 42, Chapter 2, Conducting Business Under
 Assumed Name; and
         (ii) providing a copy of the filed certificate to the commissioner.
         (b) Failure to comply with Subsection (1)(a) shall result in the suspension of the
 license.
         (2) Each licensee shall have at least one physical location from which the normal
 business of the agency is conducted. The address of this location shall be on file with the
 commissioner at all times and is not a public record pursuant to Subsection
 [63G-2-301(2)(b)(ii)] 63G-2-301(2)(a)(ii)(B).
         (3) The license certificate issued by the commissioner shall be posted in a conspicuous
 place in the principal office of the licensee.
         (4) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, a licensee may solicit business through
 any accepted form of advertising.
         (a) Any advertisement shall contain the licensee's name and license number as it
 appears on the license certificate.
         (b) A licensee may not use false, deceptive, or misleading advertising.
         Section 4. Section 63G-2-301 is amended to read:
         63G-2-301. Public records.
         (1) As used in this section:
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        H.B. 564                                                                  02-15-24 11:19 AM
        (a) "Business address" means a single address of a governmental agency designated for
 the public to contact an employee or officer of the governmental agency.
        (b) "Business email address" means a single email address of a governmental agency
 designated for the public to contact an employee or officer of the governmental agency.
        (c) "Business telephone number" means a single telephone number of a governmental
 agency designated for the public to contact an employee or officer of the governmental agency.
        (d) "Correctional facility" means the same as that term is defined in Section
 77-16b-102.
        (2) (a) The following records are public except to the extent they contain information
 expressly permitted to be treated confidentially under the provisions of Subsections
 63G-2-201(3)(b) and (6)(a):
        [(a)] (i) laws;
        [(b)] (ii) the name, gender, gross compensation, job title, job description, business
 address, business email address, business telephone number, number of hours worked per pay
 period, dates of employment, and relevant education, previous employment, and similar job
 qualifications of a current or former employee or officer of the governmental entity, excluding:
        [(i)] (A) undercover law enforcement personnel; and
        [(ii)] (B) investigative personnel if disclosure could reasonably be expected to impair
 the effectiveness of investigations or endanger any individual's safety;
        [(c)] (iii) final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, and orders that
 are made by a governmental entity in an administrative, adjudicative, or judicial proceeding
 except [that if the proceedings were properly closed to the public, the opinion and order may be
 withheld to the extent that they contain information that is private, controlled, or protected] as
 provided in Subsection (2)(b);
        [(d)] (iv) final interpretations of statutes or rules by a governmental entity unless
 classified as protected as provided in Subsection 63G-2-305(17) or (18);
        [(e)] (v) information contained in or compiled from a transcript, minutes, or report of
 the open portions of a meeting of a governmental entity as provided by Title 52, Chapter 4,
 Open and Public Meetings Act, including the records of all votes of each member of the
 governmental entity;
        [(f)] (vi) judicial records unless a court orders the records to be restricted under the
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        02-15-24 11:19 AM                                                                          H.B. 564
 rules of civil or criminal procedure or unless the records are private under this chapter;
         [(g)] (vii) unless otherwise classified as private under Section 63G-2-303, records or
 parts of records filed with or maintained by county recorders, clerks, treasurers, surveyors,
 zoning commissions, the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands, the School and
 Institutional Trust Lands Administration, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, the Division of
 Water Rights, or other governmental entities that give public notice of:
         [(i)] (A) titles or encumbrances to real property;
         [(ii)] (B) restrictions on the use of real property;
         [(iii)] (C) the capacity of persons to take or convey title to real property; or
         [(iv)] (D) tax status for real and personal property;
         [(h)] (viii) records of the Department of Commerce that evidence incorporations,
 mergers, name changes, and uniform commercial code filings;
         [(i)] (ix) data on individuals that would otherwise be private under this chapter if the
 individual who is the subject of the record has given the governmental entity written
 permission to make the records available to the public;
         [(j)] (x) documentation of the compensation that a governmental entity pays to a
 contractor or private provider;
         [(k)] (xi) summary data;
         [(l)] (xii) voter registration records, including an individual's voting history, except for
 a voter registration record or those parts of a voter registration record that are classified as
 private under Subsections 63G-2-302(1)(j) through (m) or withheld under Subsection
 20A-2-104(7);
         [(m)] (xiii) for an elected official, as defined in Section 11-47-102, a telephone
 number, if available, and email address, if available, where that elected official may be reached
 as required in Title 11, Chapter 47, Access to Elected Officials;
         [(n)] (xiv) for a school community council member, a telephone number, if available,
 and email address, if available, where that elected official may be reached directly as required
 in Section 53G-7-1203;
         [(o)] (xv) annual audited financial statements of the Utah Educational Savings Plan
 described in Section 53B-8a-111; and
         [(p)] (xvi) an initiative packet, as defined in Section 20A-7-101, and a referendum
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        H.B. 564                                                                   02-15-24 11:19 AM
 packet, as defined in Section 20A-7-101, after the packet is submitted to a county clerk.
         (b) (i) Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a)(iii), an opinion or order made by a
 governmental entity in an administrative, adjudicative, or judicial proceeding may be withheld
 if:
         (A) the proceeding was properly closed to the public; and
         (B) the opinion or order contains information that is private, controlled, or protected.
         (ii) Subsection (2)(b)(i) does not apply if the individual subject to the proceeding is an
 elected official.
         (3) The following records are normally public, but to the extent that a record is
 expressly exempt from disclosure, access may be restricted under Subsection 63G-2-201(3)(b),
 Section 63G-2-302, 63G-2-304, or 63G-2-305:
         (a) administrative staff manuals, instructions to staff, and statements of policy;
         (b) records documenting a contractor's or private provider's compliance with the terms
 of a contract with a governmental entity;
         (c) records documenting the services provided by a contractor or a private provider to
 the extent the records would be public if prepared by the governmental entity;
         (d) contracts entered into by a governmental entity;
         (e) any account, voucher, or contract that deals with the receipt or expenditure of funds
 by a governmental entity;
         (f) records relating to governme