With a final, overwhelming vote in the House, the Utah Legislature has weighed in on a controversy that’s spiraled into criminal investigations and an ongoing Supreme Court case, and their decision is this — Brigham Young University’s police department can’t keep its records secret.
The bill, SB197, now heads to Gov. Gary Herbert’s desk and if he signs it, BYU police would be subject to Utah’s public records law.
Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, sponsored SB197, which clarifies that a private university's law enforcement agency is considered a governmental entity. This means the police department at BYU, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will soon be bound by Utah public-records laws.