Brigham Young University filed three separate lawsuits Tuesday challenging a ruling by the State Records Committee that an interview between a BYU police officer and a former leader of the Missionary Training Center accused of sexual assaulting a woman in the 1980s should be made public. Lawyers for the private Provo university, which is owned by The […]
Tag: Utah
Judge to decide whether Brigham Young University’s police department must comply with Utah open records laws
The law enforcement arm of the private university, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has contended that it doesn't have to comply with state records laws, and the Utah Records Committee has agreed.
But The Salt Lake Tribune is scheduled to argue in court Monday that because the state granted the department full policing powers — the same as any other public law enforcement agency in Utah — it should be open to public scrutiny.
[…]
Utah: Fired Harrisville officer took plea bargain in student sexual exploitation case, documents show
Brett Ryon Hadley, 39, was terminated in December 2015 from the Harrisville Police Department after an investigation into allegations of sexual improprieties dating back to his time as a school resource officer employed by the Pleasant View Police Department and assigned to Weber High School.
Key details of the case were learned only this week after six months of conflict over public access to an Ogden Police Department investigative report.
[…]
Utah: Salt Lake Tribune partially wins appeal over records sought in its BYU assault investigation
The Salt Lake Tribune won, in part, an appeal to the State Records Committee on Thursday, requiring the Provo and Orem police departments to provide a report showing any instances of Brigham Young University officers accessing the two agencies' records through a shared countywide database.
[…]
Utah bill striking two-week wait on vote counts already on governor’s desk
Utahns will likely no longer have to wait two weeks to find out election results in tight races.
HB21, a bill requiring clerks to update vote counts between Election Day and the official canvass, has already sailed through both the House and the Senate with overwhelming approval.
[…]
Read More… from Utah bill striking two-week wait on vote counts already on governor’s desk
Utah bill advances to help fee waivers for open records requests
Obtaining fee waivers for open records requests may be more likely under a bill that the Utah House passed Thursday.
Representatives approved HB63 on a 68-2 vote and sent it to the Senate.
Its sponsor, House Democratic Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said Utah's open-records laws now allow and encourage state and local agencies to waive fees for requests if they determine them to be in the public interest. Continue…
[…]
Read More… from Utah bill advances to help fee waivers for open records requests
Utah police camera bills differ on what to make public
Civil liberties advocates say one of two proposals to regulate police body cameras in Utah this year would give law enforcement too much leeway and would exempt videos of fatal shootings from open records laws.
The proposal, from Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, makes body camera footage a private government record if it shows "images of nudity, death or gruesome events," or was recorded while an officer is serving a search warrant or needed permission to enter a private location.
[…]
Read More… from Utah police camera bills differ on what to make public
Utah lawmakers debate need for transparency into how tax funding is used by charter-school-hired companies
Moroni Alvarez attended traditional public school until fifth grade, when a move placed his family near Freedom Preparatory Academy in Provo.
Now seven years later, the high school senior said he appreciates the emphasis on technology, leadership and service at his charter school. But he also acknowledged there are some drawbacks that stem from the school's comparably small student body. "In my class the ratio of boys to girls is like four-to-one," he said. "No. Five-to-one."
[…]
Poll: Utahns want legislative debate out in the open
Want to know how your legislator voted on Utah Access Plus, the proposal to expand health care to about 125,000 of Utah's poorest residents? Don't bother searching.
There was never an official recorded vote on the plan. In fact, the votes that doomed the health care bill were all taken in secret — with Republican House members voting in a closed-door meeting and GOP senators casting private votes after confidential discussions.
[…]
Read More… from Poll: Utahns want legislative debate out in the open
Most on-campus bodies don’t comply with open meeting law
In order to be transparent, many on-campus groups are required to comply with the Open and Public Meetings Act, a Utah law that consists of seven key provisions. Five of these groups affect the majority of campus — students and faculty.
While these bodies are required to receive annual training on the act in order to ensure compliance, none of the groups are completely compliant with the provisions. Continue…
[…]
Read More… from Most on-campus bodies don’t comply with open meeting law