facebook-pixel

Utah government in the shadows? The Utah Transparency Project shines the light for you.

New group continues effort to keep the state’s meetings and records open and accessible to the general public.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The sun sets on the Utah Capitol in February 2022.

  | Jan. 12, 2024, 1:07 p.m.
| Updated: Jan. 18, 2024, 5:25 p.m.

You’re the boss, so you better know what’s going on.

With the Utah Legislature gearing up for its annual general session starting Tuesday, the Utah Media Coalition is rolling out a renewed effort to ensure lawmakers and all government officials are letting taxpayers keep up with the process.

The Utah Transparency Project will offer real-time assessments of legislation that could either increase or decrease public access to government records and meetings. If a bill would lead to better public access to government, it will get an “Open Door” rating from the project. If the bill would put inappropriate limits on public access, it would get a “Closed Door” label.

The Utah Transparency Project will use these symbols to rate legislation on its openness to the citizenry.

“Sunshine is the greatest disinfectant. By shining a light on legislative proposals that impact government transparency and accountability, the Utah Media Coalition performs a critical public service,” said Jeffrey Hunt, an attorney who helped craft Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act more than 30 years ago.

Hunt, with the Parr Brown law firm, joins attorney Michael O’Brien, with Parsons Behle, as lobbyists for the Utah Media Coalition and the Utah Transparency Project. They are joined by lobbyists from Foxley & Pignanelli.

The bill ratings will be explained in Utah Transparency Project social media posts at UTTransparency on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Threads. They will also be available at sltrib.com/Utah-Transparency-Project.

The transparency effort is an update of the GRAMA Watch undertaking that began in 2011 after an infamous attempt by legislators to gut Utah’s premier open government law.

The Legislature passed a bill that year that would have kept lawmakers’ emails and other records hidden from taxpayers, but the public backlash was so swift and so bitter that legislators rescinded the bill a month later.

Ever since then, the media coalition has been publishing GRAMA Watch notes on pending legislation. Starting this year, those become Utah Transparency Project notes.

O’Brien, who often represents The Salt Lake Tribune in legal matters, said the notes have a proactive effect on legislators who want to avoid any appearance of government secrecy. “Lawmakers pay attention to these ratings when drafting new bills.”

The Utah Media Coalition is a consortium of news outlets in the state, including newspapers and websites, radio and TV stations and The Associated Press.