HB 325: Government Records Classification Amendments - Utah

Substitute #3 → Enrolled · 6 edits · Mar 24, 2026

MODERATE

This bill updates the Utah Public Records Act to modernize definitions of contact information and clarify what constitutes public versus private records. It explicitly adds business email addresses and phone numbers to public records, while simultaneously protecting personal contact details like home addresses and social security numbers as private. The changes also refine rules regarding voter registration data, medical records, and financial information to better balance transparency with individual privacy.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of public records to include specific business contact details while narrowing the scope of private records to protect sensitive personal identifiers and financial data.

DEFINITION

Added 'business email address' and 'business telephone number' to the official definitions of public records to ensure organizational contact info is accessible.

REQUIREMENT

Expanded the list of public records to explicitly include business email addresses and phone numbers for elected officials and school council members.

Clarified that personal financial information, including payment methods and tax exemption records, remains private to protect taxpayer privacy.

Refined rules for medical records to specify when they are accessible in legal proceedings versus when they remain private.

Updated the effective date of the bill from February 11, 2026, to March 11, 2026.

ELIGIBILITY

Updated private record definitions to specifically protect voter registration details such as driver license numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers.

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Utah's government records classification laws to increase transparency regarding public finances while protecting specific taxpayer privacy. It clarifies that records documenting a government entity's receipt or expenditure of funds are public, including details on payments to vendors and contractors. Simultaneously, it strengthens privacy protections for taxpayers by explicitly classifying records that reveal whether a person receives property tax exemptions or deferrals as private, and it designates initial contact reports revealing a victim's name as private.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of public records to include detailed financial transactions and vendor compensation, while narrowing the scope of public access to specific tax relief records and victim identification data.

REQUIREMENT

Records documenting a governmental entity's receipt or expenditure of funds, including financial accounts, budgets, and compensation paid to vendors, are now explicitly classified as public records.

ELIGIBILITY

The definition of private records was expanded to specifically include any portion of a record that reveals whether a taxpayer receives a property tax exemption, deferral, abatement, or other relief.

Records classified as private now explicitly include any portion of an initial contact report that reveals the name of a victim.

TECHNICAL

The bill includes technical and conforming changes to the statutory text to align with recent legislative amendments.

Substitute #2 → Substitute #3 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the definitions and classification rules for government records in Utah. It clarifies what constitutes an 'initial contact report' for police and other public safety agencies, ensuring specific incident details are treated as public records rather than confidential. Additionally, it strengthens transparency by explicitly classifying records regarding government spending, financial accounts, and vendor compensation as public records, while simultaneously protecting taxpayer privacy by allowing certain property tax exemption details to be classified as private if properly designated.

Scope change

The scope of public records has been expanded to include specific financial and operational documents previously less clearly defined, while the scope of private records has been refined to specifically protect taxpayer tax relief information.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'initial contact report' was restructured to clearly list specific details (like names of victims and nature of injuries) that must be included, ensuring these items are not automatically treated as confidential.

The definition of 'Contractor' was updated to include private, nonprofit organizations that receive funds from a governmental entity, while explicitly stating that a 'private provider' is not a contractor.

REQUIREMENT

Records documenting a governmental entity's receipt or expenditure of funds, including financial accounts, budgets, vouchers, grants, and vendor compensation, are now explicitly classified as public records.

Any portion of a record that reveals whether a taxpayer receives a property tax exemption, deferral, abatement, or relief is now classified as private if properly designated by the governmental entity.

Substitute #1 → Substitute #2 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill substitutes a new version of HB 325 that clarifies definitions for government records, specifically distinguishing between 'contractors' and 'private providers' and redefining 'chronological logs' to include jail bookings. It also updates the Senate sponsor's name and modifies the list of amended code sections to include a new definition section (63G-2-103).

Scope change

The bill's scope is modified by adding a new definitions section (63G-2-103) to the Utah Code, which clarifies terms like 'contractor' and 'chronological logs' to ensure consistent application of record classification rules.

DEFINITION

Added a new definitions section (63G-2-103) to clarify that 'contractors' do not include 'private providers' and defined 'chronological logs' to explicitly include jail bookings.

TECHNICAL

Updated the Senate Sponsor's name from 'LONG TITLE' to 'Keven J. Stratton' and corrected the list of amended Utah Code sections to include 63G-2-103.

Reformatted the bill text to use bullet points and checkmarks for the 'Highlighted Provisions' section for better readability.

Government Records Classification Amendments

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