MATRIX reloaded? Utah rethinks issue

"If we're in a position where we need to mine data and find this information and are protecting privacy, MATRIX is a good thing," he said. "If we're in a hindsight of a terrorist activity where we should have known that that person was within our borders and we should have known that that situation could have happened or we could have had that information through law enforcement sources that may have prevented some of this . . . then we're also at a loss."

MATRIX, which is down to five participating states from an original 13, has only a board of directors for oversight. The board includes representatives from participating states.

Clark suggested that law enforcement not be the oversight entity, adding that perhaps the state chief information officer serve in that capacity. The state's chief information officer, Val Oveson, also a member of the commission, suggested the technology commission itself or the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.

As for the government records act, McConkie said it is not keeping up with changes in a tech-field world. Stressing that it was his personal opinion rather than that of the CCJJ or the MATRIX review committee, McConkie said, "I don't think GRAMA (government records act) is adequate for e-mail, let alone these kind of data systems and sharing we've talked about today. . . . It does need to be seriously reviewed in whatever context — the whole picture and whatever Utah decides to do as it participates in information-sharing."

Margaret Plane, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, commended the technology commission for discussing MATRIX issues. "I think it's a vital conversation that I think needs to happen, and I'm glad it's happening now," Plane said. "Had it happened sooner, maybe things would be different."

Plane suggested that the technology commission not only discuss penalties for GRAMA abuse but also for abusing databases.

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