Tuesday Morning HB477 News Roundup

Gov Herbert speeds HB477 toward repeal... then again, maybe not

According to this morning's Standard-Examiner, Gov. Gary Herbert plans to call the legislature into a special session on Friday to repeal HB 477:

• Gov. Herbert calls special session on open records law
  

Whatever happens on Friday depends, of course, on whether the very Machiavellian Senate President Mr. Waddoups manages to organize Senate opposition to block that move, due to (get this) the "cost of holding a special session":

• Senate Republicans may block quick HB477 repeal

And in another interesting twist, the legislative majority announces the members of a working group to consider changes to HB477, which group includes (and no, we are not making this up) Ogden City's own Mark Johnson:

• HB477 Working Group List

(Remember, folks, neoCON Senator Scott Jenkins is Boss Godfrey's cousin - wink, wink.)

Meanwhile, and notwithstanding the Governor's the call for a special session, HB477 opponents continue with their ongoing petition drive, "just in case":

• With repeal imminent, petition drive to stop HB477 carries on

And in an interesting background sidebar, former Former Governor Olene Walker says she was "amazed" by the speed that HB 477 was passed by lawmakers:

• McEntee: Former governor weighs in on Herbert, GRAMA

(Special thanks to our friends at Utah Policy Daily, who helped round up some of the above story links.)

Salt Lake Tribune: House Republicans Say They Will Repeal HB477 - Updated

Of course,the House Majority Leader, Ogden's Very Own Brad "Free Lunch For Me!" Dee, is still defending the bill, and the way it was passed

By Curmudgeon

Trib reporting this afternoon that the Utah Republican Caucus, meeting in yet another secret session, has agreed to repeal HB 477:

• House Republicans say they will repeal HB477

Of course,the House Majority Leader, Ogden's Very Own Brad "Free Lunch For Me!" Dee, is still defending the bill, and the way it was passed. He blames all the complaints on the press:

Dee, R-Ogden, blasted newspaper and television coverage that he said was “extremely biased,” and said changes will be made to state’s records act.... “There must be something done to GRAMA...” Dee told the Trib.

He was a little vague though on why something must be done to GRAMA except to provide a thin and tattered fig leaf of justification to cover the Republican majority's shame at having their raid against accountable, open, transparent government blow up in their faces.

Lockhart and Dee said legislators believe GRAMA... has been used for fishing expeditions, trying to make public intimate details of lawmakers’ private lives in order to humiliate them. “I know of requests for other representatives that concern me a great deal,” Dee said.

So, did Speaker Lockhart [who also blamed everything on press exaggeration] or Free Lunch Dee offer any examples of private correspondence that had been unearthed by GRAMA requests? Ah, no. Not a single example. [Probably because, as both of them know, the GRAMA statute already protects private communications from being made public by GRAMA request.]

Notice how carefully Free Lunch phrased his concern: there have been, he said, "requests" made under GRAMA that concern him greatly. He did not say those requests were successful or that the purely private correspondence he was concerned about was made public.

And as for this from Dee --- Some members in their “other capacities” advise young people who communicate by text messages, he said, and those shouldn’t be made public. --- he's being completely disingenuous. Of course say communications between a legislator who is also, say, a psychologist and the children he counsels should not be made public. What Free Lunch leaves out of his "Chicken Little The Sky Is Falling" whine is the fact that such communications were not made public under the GRAMA statute which protected purely private communications.

But hey, why let honesty get in the way of peddling a belated rationale to explain away, if you can, the disaster the House Majority's HB 477 has turned out to be. Blame it on the press and be dishonest about what the GRAMA law said and did --- Rep. Free Lunch Dee at work.

Update 3/22/11 9:26 p.m.: Trib now reporting Sen. Waddoups says Sen. Republicans will block repeal. Waddoups says no Republican Senator has told him he favors swift repeal:

• Senate Republicans may block quick HB477 repeal

Time to contact your state Senators and let them know Waddoups needs to hear from them that they support swift repeal:

• Utah Senate Roster

HB477 Daily News Roundup - Updated

HB477 support... unraveling faster than a bad wig at a retirement home

In the wake of Saturday's HB477 news, wherein we learned that former House Speaker David Clark and three other Southern Utah [GOP] legislators are "calling on Gov. Gary Herbert and the Legislature to repeal a bill restricting public access to government records," the Standard-Examiner now reports this morning that two Northern Utah GOP legislators are likewise following suit and calling for HB477's repeal:

• Two area lawmakers say HB477 should be repealed

And it looks like Rep. John Dougall, the chief sponsor of HB477, is now doing some serious flip-flopping, claiming he wanted more time to study his own ill-conceived bill:

• Chief sponsor of GRAMA bill says he wanted more time

Our readers should be reminded that Rep. Dougall only lies when his lips are moving.

And here's some interesting data from the latest KSL Poll:

... [T]he respondents seemed preoccupied with GRAMA, with 84 percent saying it was somewhat or very important to them personally. Eighty-three percent said they should have access to elected officials' text messages, which would be protected under the controversial HB477, now set to take effect July 1. In addition, almost 90 percent said the process used to craft the changes to GRAMA was probably or definitely inappropriate.

Read the full KSL story here:

• Public gives Legislature mediocre grade

That's it for now; but we're sure we'll have much more later.

It's obvious that HB477 support is unraveling faster than a bad wig at a retirement home.

Update 3/21/11 11:26 p.m.: This just in from the Associated Press, via the SE Live! Site:

• Repeal and replace HB477

Ambiguous as hell... hard to say what Governor Gary actually intends...

Standard-Examiner: Stephenson to Run for Mayor of Ogden

Wake us up in November when it's all over

Aha! Just as foreshadowed in this November 2010 Standard-Examiner story, Godfrey sock puppet Brandon Stephenson announces his 2011 Ogden Mayoral candidacy, via this morning's blockbuster Michael McFall writeup:

• Stephenson to run for mayor of Ogden

And now that Brandon has thrown his hat into the ring, here's how we at Weber County Forum see the 2011 Mayoral race shaping up:

Wake us up in November when it's all over.

HB477 News & Opinion Redux

A few more news and editorial items, just to keep our marathon HB477 discussion on track

1) Surprise of surprises, this morning's annual Standard-Examiner legislative report card assigns a well deserved "F" grade to the Utah legislature for "Open Government":

• OUR VIEW: A legislative report card

Hmmm... an "F" grade? Isn't there anything lower than that?

2) Former Ogden City Councilwoman Dorrene Jeske makes a strong public statement regarding the Utah GOP's sudden lurch toward fascist-style government secrecy, with this morning's scathing Letter to the Editor:

• We'll likely be stuck with HB477 as it is now

We'll be keeping a close eye on the attrition of other warhorse Utah Republicans, as they recoil in embarrassment from the shameful actions of the current batch of goose-stepping anti-government transparency drones. Additional sodden question: What happens to the Utah Grand Old Party when they run out of olde-tyme warhorse Republicans like Dorrene?

And here's a pair of stirring SE morning print edition letters, from "stirred up" SE readers and Karl Powell and John Wojciechowski, respectively:

• Back-room political deals guaranteed in Utah
• Every Republican voted for HB477

Now that HB477-topical reader letters are finally starting to trickle in to the SE print edition, we have a strong psychic sense that the SE editorial page will be a very hot venue in the days and weeks to come.

4) Former Utah House Republican member Sheryl Allen has an op-ed piece in today's SL Trib, supporting Rep. Powell's claim that he feared his bills would be killed by the House leadership if he didn't quietly knuckle under and vote for HB 477. Happens all the time, says Allen, and her op-ed piece gives examples:

• Powell’s experience in Legislature not unique

That's it for now, Gentle WCF readers.

Just a few more news and editorial items... to help keep our marathon HB477 discussion on track.

Utah Legislative GOP Begin "Eating Their Own"

They're not half bad eatin' either, provided you add the right "special" sauce

For those who missed the late night reporting in last night's comments section, yesirree, THEY (the Utah legislative GOP) are indeed "eating their own" (they're not half bad eatin' either, provided you add the right "special" sauce). KSL news provided the first rumblings of this scrumptious "non-gourmet menu item" last night...

• Former House Speaker alleges pressure from current leadership on HB477

And the Salt Lake Tribune carries a generously fleshed out full serving this morning (with all the trimmins, YUM)...

• Southern Utah lawmakers call for HB477 repeal

We'll definitely be keeping our eye on what seems to be a fast developing intra-Utah GOP (classic family buffet-style) mini-civil war.

And yes: We definitely crack ourself up.

Shooting Fish in a Barrel: More Developments in the HB477 Brouhaha

We'll leave it to our ever savvy readers to separate the "bull" from the "ticky."

More developments in the HB477 brouhaha. In truth, rounding up news updates for this simmering story is like shooting fish in a barrel:

1) The frenzy to repeal HB477 makes for some strange political bedfellows, as the Salt Lake Tribune reports:

• Opposites attract to repeal government records law

2) Another masterful Standard-Examiner guest commentary from government transparency watchdog, Dr. David Cuillier:

• The darkest abyss in the U.S.

3) And last but not least, our friends at Ogden Valley Forum shine the spotlight on House Legislative District 8 Representative Gage Froerer's "rationale" for supporting HB477 (and "gutting" GRAMA):

• HB477 Update with an "explanation" from Representative Gage Froerer

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones. We'll leave it to our ever savvy readers to separate the "bull" from the "ticky."

Standard-Examiner: Turn Over the Donors List

Weber County Forum: Don't be such a stubborn little &@#%!

Sound editorial advice for Boss Godfrey as we enter the March 13 to March 19 "Sunshine Week". Here's the SE "long version":

• OUR VIEW: Turn over the donors list

Here's our "shortened" WCF version:

Godfrey! Don't be such a stubborn little &@#%!

More HB 477 news...

Keep those cards and letters coming folks and don't forget when it comes time to consider this and other stunts as these folks as they come up for re-election...

By: Ray

KSL story :

• Rep. Wimmer has ‘change of heart' over HB477, calls for repeal

Here's the lede:

March 16th, 2011 @ 10:42pm
By Paul Nelson
SALT LAKE CITY -- A prominent state lawmaker is asking the state legislature to repeal HB477, a recently-passed law that will restrict the public's access to certain types of government information, like voice mails and text messages.

Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, said Wednesday he believes GRAMA laws need to be changed, but he doesn't believe HB477 is the right law for that. He said he looked into what the bill would do to open records laws after he voted for it.

Also, Salt Lake Tribune editorial today headlined:

• Repeal HB 477

Keep those cards and letters coming folks and don't forget when it comes time to consider this and other stunts as these folks as they come up for re-election...

Ogden Approves Amended Anti-discrimination Ordinances

A rare Ogden City Council "Kumbayah Moment," wherein almost everyone seems happy with a "compromised" outcome

Both the Salt Lake Tribune and the Standard are reporting that the Ogden City Council passed amended anti-discrimination ordinances last night, thus avoiding an earlier-threatened Boss Godfrey veto:

• Ogden approves LGBT protections
• Mayor Godfrey: I won't veto amended anti-discrimination ordinance

Since both newspapers are reporting this story as something of a rare Ogden City Council "Kumbayah Moment," wherein almost everyone seems happy with the "compromised" outcome, we'll resist the temptation to go against the flow and hammer the all-too-obvious argument that last night's two amendments leave "holes" in the ordinances gaping enough to drive a whole fleet of Mack Trucks through.

Standard Examiner Guest Commentary: Lawmaker Regrets Vote on HB477

We'll be keeping our fingers crossed that we'll be hearing similar words of contrition from our own heretofore unrepentant Weber County Legislative Delegation very soon

Top-notch Rep. Kraig Powell guest editorial in this morning's Standard-Examiner. Mea Culpa-wise, soul searching Utah Republican apologies seldom (like never) get any better than this:

• Lawmaker regrets vote on HB477

You Go, Rep. Powell, we say! High time your tyrannical GOP colleagues got taken to the woodshed by one of their own.

Notable editorial advisory at the foot of Mr. Powell's rant, hopefully opening the door to other GOP legislative confessions:

The Standard-Examiner will gladly print any apologies from Top of Utah legislators who voted in favor of HB477 if they desire.

With a little bit of luck, and some overdue soul searching on their own part, we'll be keeping our fingers crossed that we'll be hearing similar words of contrition from our own heretofore unrepentant Weber County Legislative Delegation, ( i.e., House Representatives Galvez, Wilcox, Froerer, Peterson and Dee... and Senators Christensen, Jenkins and Reid) very soon.

There's at least some remote possibility of that happening... Right?

More HB477 Blowback

Governor Herbert to receive the highly prestigious SPJ "Black Hole" award

Surprise of surprises, there's more HB477 blowback this morning from all points of the northern Utah editorial and news reporting compass:

The Standard-Examiner editorial board reminds us that it wasn't just the citizens' right to know which was stricken down this week as a result of the passage of HB477. Uppity Utah citizens also got slapped silly by SB165, of course, which pretty much makes mincemeat of the citizens' right to petition their government:

• OUR VIEW: Ethics versus Utah's leaders

And the story's developed somewhat from last night's early reports that Rep. Kraig Powell had been apologizing for his vote in favor of HB477, saying he feared reprisal from Republican leadership in the legislature.

The story's now all over the pages of the Deseret News, KSL, Tribune and Daily Herald. Speaker Becky Lockhart says (of course) there was no pressure on Powell to vote in favor of the measure; and weirdly enough it appears that (in the absence of any pressure whatsoever) Rep. Powell himself is now reportedly backpedaling on his original version of the story too:

• House Speaker Lockhart denies allegation that rep was pressured in HB 477 vote

This morning's Standard-Examiner reports that the Society of Professional Journalists plans to "honor" Gov. Gary Herbert with their highly prestigious "black hole" award:

• SPJ 'honoring' Governor Herbert with Black Hole Award for closing records

Gotta say that one will be one great fit for Herbert's trophy case.

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones.

Who will be the first to chime in with their own 2¢?

Salt Lake Tribune: House GOP Held Most '11 Deliberations in the Dark

Kickstart to an Open Topic Thread ....If "they" close their meetings, what are "they" hiding?

Submitted by: Ray

Salt Lake Tribune article this am:

Reversing a trend estab­lished over the past several years, Utah House Republicans opted to meet almost ex­clusively in closed-door cau­cuses this year, arguing that meeting out of the public eye gave them a chance for more candid discussion...

• House GOP held most '11 deliberations in the dark - By ROBERT GEHRKE

Hmm... these guys just don't get it. As the "closed doors" and boondoggles such as HB 477 happen I hope the voting public gets it and votes for real transparency at the poles.

Who will be the next to comment? Well.....?

Ogden Administration Requests Redo of GRAMA Appeal

Ever-tenacious mayor really doesn’t want to release his Field House donor list.

By Dan Schroeder

Ten days ago I reported that I had won an appeal hearing before the Ogden City Records Review Board, which decided that Mayor Godfrey’s spreadsheet of prospective field house donors is a public record and must be released. The Board then took a week to write up its decision, which I received Wednesday afternoon.

At the same time, however, the city attorney’s office sent me another document: a formal-looking “motion to reconsider,” with 12-page memorandum attached, asking the Board to redo the hearing and reverse its decision. I’m hard-pressed to describe this stunt in neutral terms, but here is a copy of the letter I sent to the Board the next day.

In brief, there are four reasons why the Board should either ignore or reject Ogden’s “motion”:

1. There’s simply no provision for such a “redo” motion in any statute, ordinance, or policy.
2. Ogden defends its ability to make such a motion on the basis of a single sentence, quoted out of context, from a 1997 Utah Supreme Court case that merely said an administrative board had the authority to go back and clarify an earlier decision in light of changed factual circumstances.
3. In this case, however, there are no new facts. The administration simply feels that it can do a better job arguing the case the second time, and has marshaled some new legal arguments in its memorandum. But there’s no reason to give the losing party a “second bite at the apple.”
4. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the 30-day time period during which a party can appeal the Board’s decision to District Court. A second administrative hearing would cause yet another delay and make the judicial appeal deadline ambiguous. But a judicial challenge would be expensive, and the administration may even have to pay my attorney’s fees if it loses.

You can also read about Ogden’s “motion” in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Standard-Examiner.

This incident highlights the difficulty that a citizen faces in trying to get access to public records that the government wants kept secret. Even when the law says a record is public, the government can erect multiple roadblocks in the way of someone who tries to obtain it. First the government can delay its response to a request for several weeks. Next the government can unilaterally declare the record exempt from disclosure. The requester can then appeal, but that introduces another delay. The appeals board is appointed by the government, and the government can spend taxpayer dollars on professional attorneys to research the law and argue its case before the board. Even if the requester wins the appeal, the government can continue to spend taxpayer dollars taking the case to District Court.

And in the present case, the government can try to make up completely new rules in the middle of the process.

Throughout this process, the requester’s only real advantage is the GRAMA law itself, which says that records are public by default, and the burden of proof is on the government to show otherwise. Unfortunately, the newly passed HB477 will (if it takes effect on July 1, as seems likely) put many additional records into GRAMA-exempt categories, and shift the burden of proof onto the requester in close cases. It will also discourage citizens from making GRAMA requests in the first place, by allowing the government to charge practically unlimited fees for fulfilling all but the simplest requests.

Friday Morning HB477 News Roundup

Looks as if the currently raging HB477 controversy ain't goin' away anytime soon

We'll briefly set forth the following list of this morning's HB477-topical stories, which represent, wethinks, a quite thorough survey of new stories appearing in the public press since our last WCF article on this topic:

The controversial HB477, which delivers a GRAMA-gutting blow against Utah citizens' access to most electronic government communications and many other electronic records, may be headed to the ballot as a group of citizens file an initiative petition to force a public vote:

• ABC 4
  
• Deseret News
  
• Fox 13
  
• KSL News
• Standard Examiner
• Tribune

Protestors briefly took over the Capitol building Thursday night as part of a rally against HB477:

• Daily Herald
• Tribune

Joel Campbell, a BYU professor and lobbyist for the Utah Press Association, goes on record with this morning's Standard-Examiner guest editorial, denying that members of the Utah media "were unavailable or unwilling to talk," and spilling the beans that HB477 sponsors closed media opponents entirely out of the discussion, despite numerous earlier attempts to help educate legislators about the existing GRAMA process:

• Media received no prior invitation to talk about House Bill 477

And here's a hard-hitting Tribune editorial you're definitely not gonna wanna miss:

• Editorial: Herbert sells out

Looks as if the currently raging controversy ain't goin' away anytime soon; and something tells us the the legislature's anti-public information kook faction may have a made a major tactical mistake, in going toe-to-toe with the Utah media in this instance.

(A hat tip to our friends at Utah Policy Daily, btw, for helping us round up a fair portion of our fairly fancy collection of helpful morning links.)

Standard-Examiner: New Concerns Arise Over Government Records Access Changes

Additional SE revelations concerning wet-behind-the-ears freshman House Rep. Dixon Pitcher's disconcerting initiation into the flim-flam political practices of the most dysfunctional legislative body in the land

In the wake of last night's reader comment, wherein gentle Curmudgeon pointed out that the second vote on HB477 had reduced House support from the original 61 (veto proof) votes to just 42 (non-veto proof) votes on final passage Friday, Standard-Examiner reporter Loretta Park expands on this story angle and delivers a whole flurry of interesting comments by freshman House District 10 Representative Dixon Pitcher, who forthrightly admits that he was initially hoodwinked by an inaccurate information poop sheet, which was apparently distributed on the floor of the House by the GRAMA-gutting bill's supporters and/or sponsors just minutes before the first House vote. Here's one example:

"I voted for it based on incorrect information that was given to (legislators)," he said Wednesday as he pointed to a blue paper that highlighted problems with the current Government Records Access Management Act.

Read the amazing (and vaguely amusing) SE story here, which, among other things, contains additional revelations concerning the wet-behind-the-ears Rep. Pitcher's disconcerting initiation into the flim-flam political practices of the most dysfunctional legislative body in the land:

• New concerns arise over government records access changes

Adding further humorous interest to this story is our arithmetic-challenged Governor Herbert's steadfast contemporaneous statement that a "gubernatiorual veto would have been overriden anyway," even though that statement is demonstrated to be preposterous, by anyone who can do the basic calculations (like the Salt Lake Tribune's Robert Gehrke, for instance):

• Herbert: Veto of records bill wouldn’t have stood

Adding further to the black comedy relief is Senate President Waddoups' surprising apology for ramming this admittedly-flawed bill through both bodies of the Utah legislature without even the slightest hint of public discussion, notwithstanding the fact that he was frankly and even gleefully confessing only days ago that this was exactly his original strategy and intention.

This whole fiasco will definitely be fun to watch, as our Keystone Kops-style legislature struggles to cover their ass, and scrambles to unwind this comedy of errors (and web of outright lies) within the next ninety days.

And speaking of the "comedic" aspects of this story... It "really only hurts when we laugh," of course:

Ha. Ha. Ha. OUCH!

Standard-Examiner: Ogden Mayor Promises to Veto Discrimination Ordinances

Looks like almost a full year of council effort stands to be wasted, just as Godfrey suggests

Not to be overlooked amidst the continuing furor surrounding HB477 is this morning's story from the Standard-Examiner, reporting that"[b]y a 4-3 [non-veto proof] vote, the city council adopted ordinances Tuesday night prohibiting housing and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity":

• Ogden mayor promises to veto discrimination ordinances because of exemptions

To no one's surprise, Boss Godfrey eagerly stands by, veto pen in hand. Of course he never favored this ordinance in the first place, with or without the two "amendments" which the council majority rejected last night.

Looks like almost a full year of council effort stands to be wasted, just as Godfrey suggests, unless the constituents of Godfrey sockpuppets Garner, Stephens and Stephenson can somehow persuade these recalcitrant council members to have a sudden change of "heart."

Governor Herbert Signs HB477

Herbert Quote of the Year: “Our goal (in 'gutting' GRAMA) is open and transparent government"

By: The Lovely Jennifer

He signed it!

• Governor Herbert signs HB 477
• Despite rally, guv signs law shielding records
• Herbert signs GRAMA bill over protesters' call for veto
  

After trying to placate those who expressed concern against this atrocity with false empathy and hope, saying out of interest for the many voters who didn't like it that it needs to wait and bear more scrutiny... he signed it anyway.

Jerk!

Update 5/9/11 7:30 a.m.: Amazingly, and despite the fact that the Governor rolled over and went along with the legislative majority, some pathologically paranoid legislative legislative Republicans still feel like Herbert "threw them under the bus" amid the controversy surrounding the bill:

• Rolly: Signature aside, Republicans say Herbert threw them under bus

As one clever reader quips in the SLTrib article comment section, "What better use for a bus?"

Standard-Examiner: Four Strong Editorial and News Pieces Slamming the Utah Legislature's Arrogant and Slap-dash Passage of HB477

Great to see the Standard aggressively standing up for the people's right to know, No?

Never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by the barrel.

H.L. Mencken
American journalist, essayist and all-round curmudgeon
September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956

Putting to rest at least some of our WCF readers' fears that our home town nespaper might drop the ball, the Standard-Examiner hard copy edition charges outta the gate this morning with four (count 'em 4) strong editorial and news pieces exposing and slamming the Utah legislature's arrogant and slap-dash passage of the GRAMA-Gutting HB477. For our readers' convenience we've gathered them up and will reel off the online versions in no particular order. Here's ample evidence that the Standard can capably serve the community as a genuine old-fashioned crusader/juggernaut newspaper... when it sets its mind upon it:

• OUR VIEW: Herbert must veto HB477
• Rep. Brad Dee values public input, but avoided it to gut GRAMA
• HB477 the opposite of open government
• Governor wants more input, discussion before changing government records act

Hopefully the SE will likewise continue to put the pressure on our anti-citizen legislative majority in the days to come, and keep the corporo-fascist legislative faction sizzling in the withering heat of the public glare.

Read up, folks. Great to see the Standard firing on all cylinders and aggressively standing up for the people's right to know what's happening in its own government... a government which the now-jilted Utah citizens already pay for with their own hard-earned tax dollars, No?

New Article: Big Anti-HB477 Rally Tomorrow at the Capitol!

We sincerely hope you'll all mark your calenders and plan to attend

Here's an irgent missive we received late this afternoon from our friends at Utahns For Ethical Government. Various anti-HB477 groups will be gathering tomorrow for a noon rally at the State Capitol:

Friends and Supporters,

We urge all of you to attend a RALLY at the CAPITOL tomorrow, Tuesday, March 8th at NOON to oppose the government secrecy embedded in HB 477 (amendments to GRAMA, the Government Records Access and Management Act). A big turnout is needed. (The Tribune announced the rally on p. 1 of today's paper.)

We urge you to send an email message (in your own words) urging the Governor to veto the bill. Go to his comment website at www.utah.gov/governor/contact/

Here is the message we sent:

Dear Governor Herbert:

UEG urges you to veto HB 477, a bill that severely restricts public access to legislative information. For a Legislature that keeps saying that disclosure and transparency are enough to ensure good ethics, HB 477 is the height of hypocrisy.

1) The bill was rushed through in the final days of the Legislature, and it is unlikely that even all legislators know all that's in the bill.
2) The bill reverses the evidence standards and requires members of the public to demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence that the information should be disclosed. Instead, the government should still be required to demonstrate why the information should not be made public.
3) The bill increases the costs of obtaining documents by allowing indirect and administrative costs to be charged to those seeking the documents, further burdening the right to access public information.
4) The bill provides excessive protection to texting and instant messaging even when they contain important legislative information that the public has a right to access.

In short, this bill is a severe restriction on the public's right to know and reduces the concept of freedom of information to a mere shell of its former self. It deserves a quick veto. Utahns for Ethical Government is a nonpartisan coalition of Republicans, Democrats, Independents and unaffiliated voters who are are committed to meaningful legislative ethics reform.

We sincerely hope you'll all mark your calenders and plan to attend:

Be There!!!

Salt Lake Tribune: GRAMA Getting Run Over by Fear of Transparency - Multiple Updates

Criticism of HB477 spreads far beyond Utah over the weekend

Added Bonus: Check out the legislative majority's "pained weekend attempts" to justify, ratiionalize and defend their HB477 tyrannical action

New Update(s): We'll definitely be standing by in rapt fascination, to see what happens next, and will most certainly "be happy to post our continuing anti-tyranny updates to this WCF article until the cows come home"

By: Curmudgeon

The SL Trib has an interesting article up this morning on the reaction around the nation to the Utah Republican Party's rejection of transparency and open government:

• GRAMA getting run over by fear of transparency

Here are just a few of the highlights:

“Let’s be real,” [Chip]Stewart, a media law professor at Texas Christian University, said in a Tweet on Saturday, “what’s happening in Utah is more of a threat to democracy than anything in Wisconsin or under Obama; we must be transparent!”

“Point after point, Utah’s record laws are going to be more backward than a Third World country’s,” David Cuillier, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Arizona, said Sunday. “That’s not hyperbole.”

“It’s gotta be a lobbyist’s fantasy,” said Charles N. Davis, a University of Missouri professor specializing in open-government laws. “ ‘Give me your cell phone number, Mr. Legislator, and we can have a private text conversation 24/7, even if you’re on the floor.’ ”

“To be clear,” the [Student Press] Law Center added, “this bill is about protecting the ability to govern corruptly and about nothing else.”

That's just a sampling. The full article is well worth a read.

Added Bonus Editor's Addendum: And whatever you do, gentle readers, don't miss the legislative majority's pained weekend attempts to justify, rationalize and defend their tyrannical HB477 action via what are rapidly (and sadly) becoming Utah's top two "official government pro-tyranny spin sites":

• Vox Populi - House Bill 477
• The Senate Site - #HB477: Why Revise GRAMA?

Considering the quality and tone of reader comments under each article, we're wondering whether our arrogant Utah GOP legislators may have finally succeeded in "jumping the shark" with the heretofore asleep Utah electorate.

So what say our gentle readers about all this?

Update 3/7/11 1:58 p.m.: Does a sign of the bright heat and light of lumpencitizen-compelled anger at Utah gummint suddenly arise on horizon? Looks like there's some serious neoCON backpedaling going on here. Will the Corporatist GOP Morons in the state legislature come back to reality, in re HB277? Somethin's definitely shakin' at the moment in Utah Gummint. Read this hot-off-the-press SLTrib story to learn all about it:

• Legislature may hold off on records bill

Remember: "Cockroaches don't like the light of day, and will scurry away when you pick up whatever it was they were hiding under." - anon

Don't think for a moment that the frenzied torrent of mail messages and angry Facebook comments isn't helping to make the tyrants in the Utah legislature take at least a little pause in their anti-democratatic obsessions.

We'll definitely be standing by in rapt fascination, to see what happens next.

Update 3/7/11 3:00 p.m.: In an earlier comment, Gentle Reader Blackrulon wondered whether the Standard would continue to beat the drum on the HB 477 issue. Happily, SE Editorial Page Editor Doug Gibson has already answered that question with this brand-new and fierce Political Surf Blog article, published just a few minutes ago:

• Rep. Brad Dee is no fan of sackcloth and ashes

Additionally, we learn from Curmudgeon that the St-Ex also published this exceptionally powerful Charles N. Davis guest op-ed piece within the last hour or so:

• HB477 the opposite of open government

Great to se the SE continuing to mercilessly hammer the Utah legislative tyrants on this. We'll also add that we'll be happy to post continuing anti-tyranny updates to this ever-expanding WCF article until the cows come home.

Update 3/7/11 3:45 p.m.: Hmmm... According to Paul Rolly via Curmudgeon, it appears that the Utah Fascist pro-HB 477 Coalition may be suddenly falling apart:

• Rolly: Lawmakers learn Republicans also want open government

Keep checking back. At the current pace, who knows? We'll probably have another dozen or so great anti-tyranny articles linked within the next coupla minutes.

Update 3/7/11 6:27 p.m.: This just in from the SLTrib website:

• Legislature recalls bill changing state records law

What a Steaming Crock! Ignore the inaccurate headline. According to the actual Trib story, the legislature isn't really "recalling HB 477," but rather the ever-slimy "Senate President Michael Waddoups" [says] "the move is [merely] to allow lawmakers delay the effective date of HB477 for a few months," so that the ever-honorable state legislature can fix the current half-baked legislation (and so the present public furor will die down, of course).

As old Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested, "The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons."

Standard-Examiner Editorial: OUR VIEW: Big Brother Beckons

Although we continue to question whether Boss Godfrey's Crime fighting efforts have been even marginally commendable, wethinks the Standard otherwise gets it exactly right.

We'll cite this morning's Standard-Examiner editorial as another instance of an editorial board that's "firing on all cylinders." We've all had a grand time poking fun at Boss Godfrey's "Clouseau I" Crime Blimp, but now the SE shifts the focus to the dark and creepy side of Boss Godfrey's most recent crackpot obsession:

• OUR VIEW: Big Brother beckons

Here's the SE's insightful closing and summary paragraph:

This is overkill to the 'nth degree. And it will get worse. It's our experience that government overbearance creeps up on society bit by bit. Worse, we accept it little by little. Where is the evidence that Ogden's current efforts to fight crime, many of which have been commendable, are so unsuccessful that we need constant surveillance?

Although we continue to question whether Boss Godfrey's crime fighting efforts have been even marginally commendable, wethinks the Standard otherwise gets it exactly right.

Standard-Examiner Guest Op-ed: "Why Did He Vote For That?"

Damn good question, Rep. Dee. Damn good question

By: Curmudgeon

For those of us who appreciate a nice piece of creative fiction, there's a wonderful op-ed up this morning in the SE. It's called "Why Did He Vote For That?" and it's by Ogden area state representative Brad "Free Lunch for Me! Dee":

• Why did he vote for that?

In it, Rep. Dee undertakes to convince us that he and his colleagues, the Republican majority that runs the Utah legislature, take their responsibilities v-e-r-y seriously, and that in deciding to vote how they vote, they rely not on lobbyists who've sprung for a hundred means for the boys in Salt Lake during the session, and not on major contributors. No, perish the thought! Rep. Dee insists that he relies more than anything else on what his constituents tell him, collected at pre-session meetings and by his survey of his voters.

He soberly explains how the voters instructed him on the budget, taxes, alcohol reform and immigration. And he ends this way:

We take our charge very seriously to represent you and to reflect the values and beliefs of our communities. Don't be afraid to reach out and let your legislators know how you feel about the issues of the day. We can't represent you if we don't know your views.

Of course, we have to remember that while Rep. Brad "Free Lunch For Me!" Dee was composing his little hymn to his own integrity, he knew [be we did not] that he was planning to vote to gut the GRAMA law, and all but destroy Utah's "sunshine" law for public documents. Odd, but Rep. Dee seems not to have asked his constituents prior to the session or by his survey if they'd like government transparency gutted and more done in secret. Imagine that.

I know why he didn't ask his constituents that. Because when Mr. Dee and his cronies sprang the GRAMA gutting bill on us all, and rammed it to passage in 48 hours flat, a KSL/Deseret News poll indicated that two out of three Utahns did not want that bill passed, and nine out of ten believed restricting government records would hurt the public's ability to monitor the legislative process. But Dee voted for more secrecy in government, for making it nearly impossible for ordinary citizens to get access to the public documents their taxes paid people like Brad "Free Lunch for Me!" to produce.

Rep. Dee's little homily to his own virtue is entitled "Why Did He Vote For That?"

Damn good question, Rep. Dee. Damn good question. Tell us, why don't you, how voters at your town meetings and in your voter survey demanded that you repeal the Sunshine law, that they wanted less government visibility and accountability.

Update 3/6/11 10:52 a.m.: Here's Rep. Dee's contact information for those curious readers who'd like to directly ask him the obvious question:

• Brad L. Dee (R) House Website Profile Page

"Don't be afraid to reach out and let your legislators know how you feel about the issues of the day," Free Lunch says. "We can't represent you if we don't know your views."

Science Saturday: This Week's Science News Roundup

In our EVER-tedious effort to highlight the latest News in Science, here's our latest Science Saturday post

According to the online Journal of Cosmology, Dr. Richard B. Hoover (Ph.D. NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center) has discovered evidence of microfossils similar to Cyanobacteria, in freshly fractured slices of the interior surfaces of the Alais, Ivuna, and Orgueil CI1 carbonaceous meteorites. The implications are that life is everywhere, and that life on Earth may have come from other planets:

• Fossils of Cyanobacteria in CI1 Carbonaceous Meteorites

We'll Chalk this up as another Big Win for science, amidst the lame-brained furor of some political nitwits to take our World Culture back to the pre-Renaissance 13th Century.

On another Science topic, this is fairly tantalizing too:

• March’s issue of Physics World: Meeting the Higgs hunters

Unsure about what the potential discovery of this "Higgs boson particle" really represents for science? Here's a helpful rundown for all you "lay" non-physics-trained readers... from that old standby... Wikipedia:

• Higgs boson

One thing for sure... it ain't just anthropologists who are searching for that elusive "missing link."

Gotta add that we're envious of scientific researchers who get to ply their trade at the most fantastic science lab in human history!

That's it for now, WCF science fans.

In closing, we''ll invite all GOP members of the Utah Legislature to chime in with their own competing crackpot science theories.

Standard-Examiner: Legislators Quickly Pass GRAMA Changes - Updated

Weber County Senators Christensen, Jenkins and Reid to their citizen activist constituents: "Butt outta government and mind your own damned business"

Disheartening news for open government advocates this morning as the Standard-Examiner reports that Utah "Legislators have approved changes to the law covering access to government records in what some call record time."

House Bill 477, sponsored by Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork, and Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, was approved, 21-7, by the Senate following almost an hour of debate Friday.

Read the full SE story here:

• Legislators quickly pass GRAMA changes

The Salt Lake Tribune reports on this legislative travesty too:

• Bill to shield more records from public clears Senate

And don't miss this morning's scathing editorial, wherein the SLTrib editorial board correctly proclaims that "[t]he last line of defense against a brazen assault on the people of Utah and their right to knowledgeably participate in their own government now lies in the office of Gov. Gary Herbert":

• Editorial: Is Herbert for secrecy or accountability?

For some possible insight into Governor Herbert's involvement with this bill (and his possible propensity [even symbolically] to wield his veto pen), Check out Chris Vanocur's 3/3/11 ABC 4 text/video report:

• ABC 4 confronts Governor Herbert about plans to keep state records hidden from public

And for those readers who are curious about how our local Weber County Senate delegation voted on this legislative step toward Big Government Tyranny, we've checked yesterday's Senate vote tally, and GOP Corporatist Sockpuppets Senators Christensen, Jenkins and Reid (surprise of surprises) voted as a block for the GRAMA-gutting HB477, sending this crystal-clear message to their citizen activist constituents:

"Butt outta government and mind your own damned business."

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones.

For archival consistency, we'll accordingly propose that you confine your comments on HB477 to this thread; and to kickstart the discussion we've moved several earlier relevant reader comments to the lower (current) comments section.

Update 3/5/11 8:49 a.m.: Beneath this morning's above-linked SE article we find this helpful reader comment and link:

"Make sure you all ask the Governor to VETO this bill":

• Comments: E-mail the Governor

A quick email to the Governor can't hurt; might help, or so it seems to us.

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Utah Attorney General's Office: "We're Cutting the Godfrey Machine Another "Get Outta Jail Pass."

Two breaking afternoon stories from the Northern Utah media, just when we believed the stench of Utah politics couldn't get any worse

In the wake of this morning's HB477 story, and just when we didn't believe the stench of Utah politics could get any worse, we stumble upon these two breaking afternoon stories from Salt Lake Weekly, and the Standard-Examiner, respectively:

• Envision Ogden scandal ends without prosecution
• No charges against Envision Ogden

Let's all face the facts, Gentle Readers. The Utah Attorney General's Office isn't an official prosecutorial body, but is rather an unofficial servant of the forces of political crime and corruption in our state. In spite of the overwhelming and damning evidence of Envision Ogden high crimes and misdemeanors, the Utah A.G.'s office has inexplicably (but predictably) cut the Godfrey political machine another "get outta jail pass."

The floor's now open for any WCF readers who'd like to blow off a little steam.

Standard-Examiner Editorial: OUR VIEW: Another Attempt to Gut GRAMA - Updated

For those citizen activists among us who'd like to contact your State Senators to put the last-minute brakes on this ill-conceived GRAMA-gutting legislation, we've helpfully provided the pertinent State Senate contact links

Fine editorial in this morning's Standard-Examiner, lambasting our "Republican-dominated Utah Legislature" for its latest heavy-handed effort to "restrict freedom of speech and transparency in government."

As a flurry of Utah Media sources reported yesterday, (See, e.g., (Deseret News, ABC 4, Tribune, Daily Herald, Fox 13, Standard Examiner), Utah neoCON Rep. John Dougall's GRAMA-gutting House Bill 477 sailed through the House yesterday with a 61-12 vote; and this morning our home town newspaper lets our secrecy-loving Utah legislature have it with both barrels:

• OUR VIEW: Another attempt to gut GRAMA

This morning's editorial also make at least a decent effort to publicly identify a few of the "Top of Utah" legislators who voted to hide electronic communications behind a veil of secrecy, and to increase the cost to citizens who seek document production through GRAMA procedure. Unfortunately the Standard's list is incomplete. And it's in that connection we're pleased provide the full list of House members who voted for the latest GRAMA-gutting measure, straight from the Utah Legislative website:

• VOTE TABULATION - HB477 - Government Records Amendments

And yes, gentle readers... the entire Weber County House Delegation voted in favor of HB 477. Remember... all of these House Reps will be telling you they're bulldogs for government transparency and enemies of big secretive government as they campaign in the upcoming 2012 elections:

• Brad J. Galvez (R) - House District 6
• Ryan D. Wilcox (R) - House District 7
• Gage Froerer (R) - House District 8
• Jeremy A. Peterson (R) - House District 9
• Dixon M. Pitcher (R) - House District 10
• Brad L. Dee (R) - House District 11
• Richard A. Greenwood (R) - House District 12

In posting these names and contact information individually, we believe we need to give "credit" where it's due, (if you know what we mean, and we think you do.)

Who knows? Maybe some of you will decide to send them an email... you know... to let them know how proud you are of them?

Update 3/4/10 10:27 a.m.: Per his comment in the lower comment section, Dan S. provides a few other news items pertaining to this story:

• KSL (text and video)
• Salt Lake Tribune article
• Tribune editorial

As an added bonus we'll particularly highlight the above-linked KSL video, which we know our WCF readers (and multitudes of Dan Schroeder fans) will simply not want to miss:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

And for those citizen activists among us who'd like to contact your State Senators to put the last-minute brakes on this ill-conceived GRAMA-gutting legislation, here are the pertinent State Senate contact links, along with some excellent and additrional "talking points," submitted by one of our concerned and well-informed Gentle Readers:

• Utah State Senate Roster
• Senator HB477 Talking Points
  

Don't let your cat get your tongues, O Gentle Ones.

Records Review Board Orders Release of Field House Prospective Donor List - Updated 2X

An unexpected victory for open government

By Dan Schroeder

The Ogden City Records Review Board ruled yesterday that the city must release one of the records it had attempted to withhold from my November 2010 request. According to the city’s description, this record is a “draft spreadsheet of potential Field House donors prepared by Mayor Godfrey for personal use.”

Under Utah’s Government Records Access Management Act (GRAMA), all government records must be released to the public on request unless they fall under a specific exemption. About a hundred such exemptions are listed in the statute.

In this case, the city initially withheld the record under the exemption for “drafts, unless otherwise classified as public” (Utah Code 63G-2-305(22)). However, I immediately wrote to the city explaining that this particular “draft” was classified as public under Utah Code 63G-2-301(3)(k), which says that a record loses its “draft” status when the government relies upon it in carrying out action or policy. Other documents showed that Mayor Godfrey had already contacted several potential donors regarding the field house, and that he had publicly expressed his intention to obtain the specific sum of $10 million from these donors.

When the city failed to respond to my informal letter, I filed a formal appeal of the city’s decision to withhold the record. Appeals are heard by the city’s Records Review Board, a volunteer committee of three appointed by the mayor with approval of the city council. Our hearing was scheduled for last Friday, and continued yesterday when the Board made its decision.

During the hearing, Assistant City Attorney Mara Brown conceded that the record had lost its “draft” status. Meanwhile, however, Brown had found another GRAMA exemption to try to apply to this record. Utah Code 63G-2-305(6) protects records whose disclosure “would impair government procurement proceedings....” The plain intention of this exemption is to protect the integrity of a competitive bidding process, for instance, by preventing one bidder from obtaining a copy of a competitor’s sealed bid. Ms. Brown, however, tried to stretch this provision to include “procurement” of grants and donations, arguing that releasing prospective donors’ names “would jeopardize the city’s position with these donors.”

In response, I pointed out that “procurement”, in Utah law, means obtaining goods or services—not soliciting donations. A separate GRAMA provision, 63G-2-305(37), allows donors’ names to be kept secret under certain conditions, but only by government entities that are “primarily engaged in educational, charitable, or artistic endeavors”—not by cities. Furthermore, the city had provided no evidence that any of these prospective donors even wished to remain anonymous.

Although I was confident that the law was on my side, I still expected to lose the appeal. Ms. Brown is much better at oral arguments than I am, and inevitably came across as more authoritative. Furthermore, the Board consists of three government insiders: Robert DeBoer is a former WSU administrator who served for 12 years on the Ogden City Council; Janene Eller-Smith is a long-time city employee who now works in the city council office; and Eugene Hart is Business Administrator for the Ogden School District. I had appeared before this Board twice in 2007 and lost both times, leading to the Sierra Club’s still-pending lawsuit over an assortment of records pertaining to the gondola proposal.

In a further twist, a dispute arose when the Board decided to close the meeting to the public during its deliberations. The Utah Open and Public Meetings Act contains no explicit provision allowing a meeting to be closed for such a purpose, but some activist judges on the Utah Supreme Court have apparently ruled in favor of closed meetings in similar circumstances. I intend to research this point further, but it’s now moot in this instance.

When they invited us back in following their deliberations, both Eller-Smith and Hart made statements favoring disclosure of the disputed record. A motion to that effect was then approved unanimously, and the meeting came to a close. The city can still appeal this decision to the 2nd District Court, and has 30 days to decide whether to do so.

If the prospective donor list is soon released, the public should get a much better picture of how Mayor Godfrey proposes to raise $10 million in private donations for the field house. That information, in turn, should give the public entities—the city council, county, and school boards—a much better idea of whether this proposal is at all realistic.

Update 3/3/11 3:58 p.m.: Per Dan S... here's Cathy McKitrick's writeup from the Salt Lake Tribune:

• Panel: Release list of Ogden’s potential Field House donors

Nothing on this story yet from the Std-Ex.

Update 3/4/11 7:00 a.m.: Per the ever-sharp-eyed Curmudgeon, we're informed that the SE has its story on the review board's decision up on its website now:

• Board: List of potential field house donors should be released

Salt Lake Tribune: Shifting the Burden - Updated

Three Weber County Senators, Christensen, Jenkins and Reid are prominent among this cold-hearted group, which failed to "accept the heavy lifting of budget-balancing themselves, rather than tak[ing] the easy way out by dumping it onto a great many families who cannot fight back."

Top-notch editorial in this morning's Salt Lake Tribune, lamenting Monday's "thumbs-up" State Senate vote on Sen. J. Start Adams' meat-headed Senate Bill 270, which "shift[s] the [food tax] burden from [the Senate's] own overloaded brains to the overburdened shoulders of Utah’s poor and working classes." Here's the full editorial for those who'd like to read up:

• Shifting the burden

Being the curious type, we Googled. And for our equally curious WCF readers, here's the list of State Senators who voted "aye" on the bill and failed to "accept the heavy lifting of budget-balancing themselves, rather than tak[ing] the easy way out by dumping it onto a great many families who cannot fight back."

Take careful and indelible note, Gentle Readers. Three Weber County Senators, Christensen, Jenkins and Reid are prominent among this cold-hearted and short-sighted group.

"Perhaps more political leadership will be found in the House... or the governor’s office," as the SLTrib editorial board gently suggests.

Update 3/3/11 6:17 a.m.: The Salt lake Tribune now reports that "[o]pponents of doubling the sales tax on food won a surprising victory Wednesday, persuading a committee to kill — by one vote — the House version of the proposal." "But more battles loom" with Sen. Adams' aforementioned SB270, which still needs to have a stake driven through its heart, as the House enters the last 7 days of the 2011 legislative session:

• Food tax hike suffers surprising loss

Tuesday Afternoon News Roundup

Hog-tied with personal business, your blogmeister neglected to post a new WCF article this morning. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Shame, shame, shame. etc. To salvage this situation, here's our however-belated Tuesday Afternoon News Roundup. (Better late than never, we guess):

1) Looks like at least one Utah nutcase legislator is ready to push through legislation requiring "mind reading" (From the "deceased founding fathers," no less):

• A statutory seance

Gotta hand it to the SLTrib Editorial Board for putting it all "in perspective."

2) And for those who've been left out, please be sure to navigate to this Std-Ex Story, wherein SE Readers are going hog-wild, so far with upwards of 156 reader comments posts!

• External security cameras coming to 'real time crime center'

It's gotta be a new record for the SE message boards. Suffice it to say that enraged Emerald City Citizens refuse to be be left out of the "blimp" discussion.

3) And in this remarkable piece, the Gray Lady herself (The New York Times) engages in a little navel-gazing:

• Fewer vs. Less

Nobody's perfect, Right?

That's it for now from your Blogmeister. If you can't get into a discussion of the above-suggested topics, please consider this an Open Topic Thread.