Let the sun shine in
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Sunday, March 11, 2007
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
-- First Amendment
U.S. Constitution
"No law shall be passed to abridge or restrain the freedom of speech or of the press."
-- Article I, Section 15
Utah Constitution
Sunshine purifies. The Founding fathers of this nation knew that. And so did the framers of Utah's Constitution.
Secrecy in government leads to the abuse of power, and that is contradictory to the principles on which this nation was founded: liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and a government by and for the people.
Sunshine Week is being celebrated in Utah and across this nation -- today through Saturday. Its intent is to remind Americans that they are entitled to government information, and that government functions only because they have given their consent.
This is not a universal belief in this nation, or in the Beehive State. Some in government have grown arrogant and dismissive of the people they serve. A majority of those elected to the Legislature pay lip service to democratic principles, yet labor each year to keep information from public view. They prefer to operate, as much a possible, outside the public's view. They regard the media as a nuisance, of course, but also constituents who e-mail and call or write letters.
Trust us, they say, and everything will be fine.
It would be a blessed world, indeed, if we could leave them alone to do their work. But everyone deserves scrutiny in their daily doings, and that is especially true when it comes to taxpayer-funded government. You should expect good governance for your money, and an ability to check up on the activities that government undertakes in your name.
And while government often provides access to information, it also refuses access to information that we should be permitted -- and are, by law -- to see.
An example of this was made clear to see by a Brigham Young University journalism class in January. According to Joel Campbell, a BYU professor, 20 of his students were sent to 22 or Utah's 29 counties to request copies of each county's federally mandated Comprehensive Emergency Response Plan. It is a public document that must be provided to every American who asks for it.
But in the Top of Utah, those students were met with disappointing results.
l In Morgan County, the request was denied. A request was then submitted according to the provisions of the state's Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA). The student is still awaiting a response.
l Davis County, too, denied the request. A GRAMA request was submitted, but Davis officials responded, incorrectly, that the document was "protected."
l Cache County denied access to part of its Comprehensive Emergency Response Plan.
l Box Elder County, too, denied access to part of the plan. A GRAMA request was submitted, and the county responded with a "summarization" of the document.
l In Weber County, a request was made for the Comprehensive Emergency Response Plan, but the answer was that it was unavailable. A GRAMA request was then submitted, but BYU is still awaiting a response.
These governments are supposed to know what's going on -- what's available for public view and what's not. But they don't have a clue.
Compare that to Tooele County, for example, which, according to Campbell, not only provided the information -- on a CD-ROM, no less -- but waived the associated fee for retrieval. Indeed, eight of the 22 counties responded favorably. Unfortunately, no Top of Utah counties were among that group. It's a sad commentary on the emphasis our governments place on public access.
We will return to the subject of open government later this week.
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