Bill raising fees on public records passes Utah House

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah House passed a proposal Tuesday to increase fees on requests for public records from so-called vexatious requesters. The Deseret News reports the bill would allow government entities to charge for the first 15 minutes of work done to fulfill the request if the person has filed a separate request in the previous 10 days. Some supporters of the bill have referred to vexatious requesters and one lawmaker referred to a media outlet using that term. They say it would give agencies more time to fulfil requests without limiting the number of requests. Opponents say the bill sends a bad message to the public.