This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
There's something energizing about watching a news story from the inside out.
The arguments this past week over HB477, the Utah Legislature's attempt to gut the state's open-records law, has been an fascinating battle between secrecy-obsessed legislators and everybody else (including, but not limited to, the media) — and a reminder of the old maxim (usually attributed to Mark Twain) that one should "never pick a fight with a man who buys his ink by the barrel."
The Salt Lake Tribune, my employer, spearheaded the media's concentration on the bill — with top-of-the-front-page stories on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and this morning, and a rare (and fiery) front-page editorial that said Gov. Gary Herbert would show himself to be "a political hack" if he didn't veto the bill. (The Tribune's George Pyle has compiled more commentary from other media outlets and the public here and here.)
Herbert dodged questions Monday about the bill, but behind the scenes he leveraged the legislature to pull the bill back and amend it — but only to change the date the bill would go into effect. The bill still severely curtails what would be considered a public record, putting most electronic communication out of bounds (and, almost certainly, making text messages the new preferred way for legislators to do their shady dealings).
The only substantial change is that the bill would no longer go into effect the minute Herbert signs it, but would wait until July 1. This supposedly gives all interested parties — namely, the public who seeks open records, and the media that's tasked by the Constitution with keeping lawmakers honest — three months to talk the Legislature into changing the law back.
In revising the new law's start date, legislators revealed how scared they are of the public's response to HB477. The House voted 61-12 to pass HB477 last week, but Monday's vote on the revised version was 42-29. And several of the bill's sponsors have taken their name off of it.
The public has another chance to pressure lawmakers to not just delay the secrecy law but kill it. There's a rally at noon in the Capitol Rotunda. (There's another rally Thursday night at 6 p.m., for those who can't get off work today.)
Legislators are betting that the public's anger will subside, that they can demonize the media, and still get the secrecy they want. Today is a chance to prove them wrong.