Utah HB 477 is Repealed

Who says government can’t get things done? HB 477 passed both Utah houses within 72 hours of its introduction in early March and Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bill just days later. The action was swift, as was the reaction of Utahans, transparency advocates, and the media.

“Institutions of power have always sought to become entrenched and to weaken oversight from the people,” Bob Edgar, president of Common Cause, said after the bill was signed. “But we will not stand for it, nor will the people of Utah who have made repeal of this bill our Common Cause.”

And stand for it they didn’t. Public pressure forced Gov. Herbert to call a special session on Friday, March 25, where HB 477 was repealed.

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»In a post on our blog, Professor Charles N. Davis wrote, “It’s not the least bit hyperbolic to say that it puts Utah in a class of one, alone in an anti-democratic zone in which the governors enjoy almost carte blanche over what information they deign to share with the rabble.”

»Documents don’t back legislators’ HB477 claims (Lee Davidson, The Salt Lake Tribune, March 28 2011) As Utah lawmakers argued why they needed the now-repealed HB477 to shield more records from public release, leaders repeatedly said their staffers had been swamped by records requests in 2010 and spent more than 400 hours filling them. But an open-records request from The Salt Lake Tribune shows the Legislature can produce no records to substantiate that claim, and attorneys now say it was an estimate. Related records that do exist suggest that the estimate may have been high.

» Opinion: HB 477 could have had many negative consequences (Storee Powell, CacheValleyDaily.com, March 30, 2011) Was HB 477 created to help redraw congressional districts to get rid of Democrats like Jim Matheson of District 2? Some suspect government is always looking for ways to be more secretive. HB 477 certainly would have allowed for that. But is the idea of a conspiracy behind HB 477 too far-fetched? Does it give Legislators too much credit for conceiving such a plan? Connect the dots with a red pen, and it seems more than plausible, but perhaps intentional.

» Lawmakers must bolster public trust (Byron Harward, Daily Herald, March 28, 2011) It is what is done after a mistake is made that really defines the character of a public servant.

» Utah Legislature Repeals HB 477 (Charles N. Davis, TheArtofAccess.com, March 25, 2011) While Senate President Michael Waddoups accused the media of lobbying on the issue and others blamed the press for biased coverage that turned citizens against them, Sen. Steve Urquhart said bluntly: “We messed up. It is nobody’s fault but ours.” Urquhart added, “We can do much better, to where the citizens of this state will be proud of the Legislature.”