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."