FAQ

What is GRAMA:

The Government Records Access and Management Act (“GRAMA”), Utah Code Section 63G-2-101, is Utah’s open records law and the state equivalent of the federal Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). Through GRAMA, the public may request access to certain records maintained by the City or the St. George Police Department

What is a public record:

As defined in Utah Code Ann. § 63G-2-103, public record means a record that is not private, controlled, or protected and is prepared, owned, received or retained by the governmental entity. Records requested must be able to be reproduced from the original record.

What are private, controlled and protected records:

A private record generally relates to an individual's private interests and disclosure of such to the public would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. A record is considered "controlled" if it contains medical, psychiatric or psychological data about an individual. Protected records include, but are not limited to, open and ongoing investigations.

 

Who can initiate a GRAMA request:

Individuals have the right to submit a public records request, but the disclosure of information is governed by various statutes that are specific to each type of record. In cases where you are the subject of the record, such as an arrestee, victim or legal guardian, you may have access to information that is not accessible to the general public.

What is the time limit for a response to a GRAMA request:

A governmental entity has ten (10) business days after receiving a written request to provide the record, deny the request, or notify the requester that it cannot immediately provide a response due to extraordinary circumstances. Extraordinary circumstances may require more processing time.

Fees and fee waivers for requests:

Under GRAMA, the Government Agency can “charge a reasonable fee” to cover its actual cost of providing a record. Such costs include, but are not limited to, (1) the cost of staff time for compiling the records to meet an individual’s request, (2) cost of staff time for search and retrieval, (3) cost of production of the record. Hourly fees may vary depending on the type of report you are requesting.

You may request a fee waiver, see below.

Police Records fees

Fees for Police Records: A governmental entity may charge a reasonable fee to cover the governmental entity's actual cost of providing a record. The first 15 minutes of research and response by the agency are provided to the requestor without charge, with limitations.

Per 63G-2-203, this may include the direct administrative costs and staff time for search and retrieval.

Hourly rates:

Written reports and accidents $18.82

Body cam $18.82

Dispatch audio $47.43

Color copies: $.50 per page B/W per side: $0.25 - 8.5x11 CD or Flash Drive for photos, audio, video $5.00 each

GRAMA encourages waiving the fee in some instances such as:

  • The request benefits the public rather than a specific individual. (Subsection (4))
  • The person who requests a record to “obtain information for a story or report for publication or broadcast to the general public” is presumed to be acting to benefit the public. (Subsection 63G-2-204(4))
  • The subject of the record—or the guardian or legal representative—and for impecunious individuals [meaning impoverished] whose legal rights are directly implicated by the information in the requested records. (Subsection (4))

Please be as specific as possible when requesting a fee waiver

Step by step instructions for attaching documentation to your request:

https://www.nextrequest.civicplus.help/hc/en-us/articles/12331824538775-Upload-a-Document-to-Your-Public-Request