SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes finds himself in a legal battle with local media outlets over his official calendar and whether it should be made public.
Lawyers say the effort to make the calendar available to all is because they believe Utahns have the right to know what Reyes is up doing while serving the state.
"He’s a public official, he's an elected official and he's doing the public's business,” argues attorney David Reymann who is representing the media in its fight for access.
Reyes’ office has fought the release of the calendar for months, arguing it’s not a public record under Utah law.
“This is not sensitive information," explained Reymann. "This is where he was on particular days performing his job, or was he doing his job at all or was he off doing the many things that have been reported that he's been spending his time on while in office?
"The public is entitled to know both of those things.”
Reymann says access to the attorney general's schedule can help the public understand how Reyes spends his time on the clock, and by extension, how he and his office are putting taxpayer dollars to use.
Reyes announced last week that he would not run for reelection next year.
Recent reports by FOX 13 News media partners at the Salt Lake Tribune found Reyes has traveled extensively since his 2020 reelection, with donors supporting more than 30 stints at high end resorts — along with an unpublicized group excursion to Texas to shoot feral hogs from a helicopter.
"There isn't a good reason to hide your schedule and this has come up in other courts and they have largely said the same thing, that where it is a record of your official job duties," said Reymann.
In may, the State Records Committee ruled the calendar was subject to Utah’s open records law and ordered Reyes to release it. But instead of turning the calendar over to the news outlet, Reyes appealed to Utah’s Third District Court.
“Once we finish briefing the motion, the court will set a hearing and the judge will decide, hopefully," Reymann said. "We believe to affirm the State Records Committee's decision and order the records released. If Attorney General Reyes wants to continue fighting this and dragging it out through the litigation process, he can try and appeal that if he doesn't prevail.
"But we're committed to seeing it through to try and keep public officials from doing this.”
In a statement released late Thursday, Reyes' office said "this case is not about AG Sean Reyes’ calendar or activities, but the plain language of Utah law. AG Reyes posts extensive information about his official activities and engagements as Attorney General through the office website and various social media outlets. The Utah Legislature has exempted daily calendars from GRAMA. Because they are not records subject to disclosure at all, they are not “kept secret” from the public. When people disagree with policies clearly written in law, the fix is legislative."
