An open caucus law?
There are 2 comments for this page [ View ]Wednesday, March 26, 2008
We offer three cheers to Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who again urged state lawmakers to stop meeting in closed caucuses to discuss business of the state.
In fact, Shurtleff went a step further, urging lawmakers to change Utah law to forbid closed party caucuses.
"The people's business should be done in public," he told the Associated Press. Shurtleff chose an apt time to take this position. He stated it during National Sunshine Week, held last week as part of an effort to get governments to be more open. The AG's office has published a booklet for the public and government workers that argues the benefits of open government.
We couldn't agree more, and we hope that legislators will pass a law making it a requirement to have open party caucuses. It has always seemed strange to us that in Utah party leaders can have closed caucuses if they are discussing, ahem, "strategy."
This has led to abuses by political leaders. In the past, Utah Senate Republican leaders were prone to deciding legislation in secret. Because their party had such an overwhelming majority, GOP leaders could go into private caucus, hash out details, and then quickly pass legislation without bothering to explain much of it. It wasn't illegal, but it was an abuse of a system that should be as open as possible.
To their credit, this past state legislative session both parties kept their caucuses open. Utah Republicans no doubt felt past heat for being too secretive. It's true that just the perception of closed government can be a hindrance. People need to be assured that their government is willing to let sunshine lighten all appropriate meetings.
We are glad that things are more open, so why not make sure there's always more open government. We urge legislators to make it official and pass a law to require that party caucus meetings are open to the public.
Comments
It must be an election year. Why has it taken eight years for Shurtleff to make this statement? Because the Democrats have been pushing the message and bringing it to light.
Remember, this is the guy who stated that pay day loans are good for poor people.
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Yup. And this is exactly what just happened in the Utah Senate when they slithered in the back door with SB 220 ready for vote. That one, if you recall, stripped purchasers of new Utah homes of any right to sue builders, developers, or realtors for any defects in construction or design.
It's Buyer Beware! Welcome to Utah!