The Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) provides time limits for both responding to requests and appealing denials. These time limits, found in Utah Code sections 63G-2-204 and 401-404, are important because they protect rights and define responsibilities. A requestor is entitled to a response within a reasonable timeframe. If the requestor is not satisfied with the response he or she must appeal …
Adhering to GRAMA Changes
The Utah State Archives’ staff is busy preparing to implement the online training which was mandated in legislative changes to the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) during the 2012 Utah State Legislature General Session and which will become effective on January 1, 2013. The changes to Title 63G, Chapter 2 of GRAMA includes the following: “Each records officer …
Territorial Third District Case File Index Online
The territorial CASE INDEX for the Third District Court is now online. It records the names of plaintiffs and defendants involved in court actions and provides assigned case numbers, facilitating clerical management of and access to the case files. Civil cases span the entire period (1871-1896). Criminal cases were indexed in this series from 1871 to 1882, when a separate …
Enabling Act for State of Utah Now Online
As part of the records of the 1895 Constitutional Convention, a high-resolution digital copy of the Federal Enabling Act that led to Utah becoming a state is now online in the Utah Digital Archives. In July 1894, the U.S. Congress enacted a law to enable the territory of Utah to be admitted into the Union as a state. The act …
Holiday Closure: Pioneer Day
The Research Center for the Utah State Archives and Utah State History will be closed for Pioneer Day, Tuesday, July 24, 2012. It will open again on Wednesday, July 25 at 9 a.m. Pioneer Day commemorates the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers in the Salt Lake valley July 24, 1847.
Navigating the GRAMA Appeals Process
A GRAMA request is a written request for access to government records pursuant to Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act. A governmental entity that receives a request can respond in one of the following ways: 1) provide the requested record, 2) provide a notice of denial that explains why all or part of the record should be withheld, 3) …
Evidence From A Transatlantic Friendship
A Thank-You Gift from France In 1949 a small boxcar arrived in Salt Lake City, a gift from the people of France. Just after the end of World War II a train had traveled across America, collecting donations for war-devastated Europe. Several years later, as a token of appreciation for the American assistance, a collection of boxcars known as the …
Understanding the 2012 GRAMA Updates
Each year, the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) is updated. In Spring, the Division of Archives and Records Service provides a consolidated copy of the GRAMA law on our website. In 2012, fourteen minor changes were made to GRAMA. These changes include amendments to the existing law and two newly enacted sections. Newly Enacted GRAMA Sections 63G-2-108. Certification …
Records Laws Webpage Updates
The dictionary defines ‘laws’ as “a body of rules and principles governing the affairs of a community and enforced by a political authority.” In keeping with that definition, records laws are the body of rules and principles governing records, including all aspects of their creation, identification, use, and maintenance or destruction. Deciding who has access to government records has …
Top Baby Names in Utah 1906 Edition
It’s time to update and compare the most popular baby names, as found in birth certificates that are now public. A few shuffled around, but the #1 are the same as the year before (view 1905 top names) Boys John William James George Joseph Charles Frank Robert Edward Harold Girls Mary Alice Florence Ruth Thelma Helen Edna Dorothy Edith Mildred