"Utahns by nature, I think, are a rather trusting people," said Deseret Morning News managing editor Rick Hall. "But maybe because of that we too easily fall into the mistaken security that government is acting in our best interest. Humans by nature are imperfect, fallible — and, unfortunately, corruptible. So, as long as humans govern humans, the work of government must be done under the bright light of public scrutiny."

But is GRAMA prepared to take Utah into the future?

Hunt says GRAMA lacks language to deal with electronic records, which have grown in use since the advent of the Internet.

"This is a law that will have to evolve over time," Stephens said, adding he hopes the Legislature will make changes necessary to deal with public access to government documents online and in electronic form, from video streaming to CDs.

In its recent session, the Legislature passed HB75, creating a joint House and Senate committee that will study making the first changes to GRAMA in more than a decade.

Hunt said many of those lawmakers who passed GRAMA are no longer in office and that many new lawmakers do not see the benefits, or reasons, behind the law.

Yet With growing concerns over identify theft and protection of private information, some lawmakers have indicated that perhaps it is time to change GRAMA's presumption that records are public until proven private to one in which documents are considered private unless proven public by a citizen.

That, says Stephens, is a dangerous move that he would actively oppose. "The presumption of openness is one of the key tenets of GRAMA," he said. "That's the heart of the law."

Since retiring from the Legislature, Stephens said he has made it a point to stay away from the Capitol. However, one of the few things that would bring him back would be an effort by lawmakers to close doors to the public.

"If they tried to change that presumption, then I would have to spend some considerable time lobbying up there against that," he said.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com