This bill provides a way to find the right balance between the public’s right to know and the personal privacy of both constituents and policymakers, while protecting taxpayer dollars... Our goal is open and transparent government.
That is a qoute from our most exulted govenor, Gov. Gary Herbert, after he signed the bill last night. The bill in question, HB477, which sailed the both chambers in complete secrecy and made public late Friday, is a bill that will restrict the publics access to government records. This is an attempt to the pesky "Liberal mainstream media" from bothering our illustious state legislature with those oh-so annoying questions. As one state senator said, "this bill would merely inconvenience the media and called the anticipated impact of the bill 'hyperbole'."
Even though there was a protest last night to urge the govenor to keep his word and veto bill, he decided against it because it's easier to go ahead and pass the bill now then call a special session in a few months and "have a process where everyone can come to the table."-- the Utah legislative session ends this Friday. So between now and June this bill will be an enforced law that will keep the public from knowing who has been emailing and texting their state representatives.
For more info go to these sites:
http://www.sltrib.com/...
http://www.deseretnews.com/...
This is my first diary, so please forgive mistakes and feel free to add more info in the comment section.