Voices: The Utah Legislature won a ‘Black Hole’ award. We saw firsthand how well-deserved it is.

In late March, the Society of Professional Journalists bestowed the Utah Legislature with its notorious Black Hole Award, an annual dishonor that recognizes government institutions for “heinous violations of the public’s right to know.” This year, the award was given in response to two bills that will erode the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), obstructing public access to government records. As volunteer co-chairs of the Utah Sierra Club’s Legislative Committee, which organizes a team of passionate Utahns to engage in the legislative process, we can confidently say that the Legislature’s disdain for transparency and public input goes beyond the content of the legislation — it’s embedded in the legislative process itself.

After spending countless hours reading convoluted bill text, giving public comments in committee hearings, and lobbying legislators, we noticed some alarming trends. In addition to undermining GRAMA, legislators also created significant barriers to voting access and citizen-led ballot initiatives, eliminated political balancing requirements for important boards and commissions, and made it more difficult for community organizations to take legal action.

Many of these bills were introduced in extreme forms, and then, after facing heavy opposition, dialed back just enough so that stakeholders appeared unreasonable if they continued to oppose. In cases like the widely unpopular bill banning collective bargaining for public-sector workers, legislators scrapped amendments and returned to an even harsher version of the bill when unions refused to withdraw their opposition, which has been described as “retaliation.”

While many legislators patted themselves on the back for “listening to their constituents” when they made small amendments, Sen. Daniel Thatcher had a much more critical take: “We will take a controversial issue, a difficult thing, announce that we are going to do something incredibly unpopular and, as we take the bludgeons, as we take the complaints, we make it absolutely clear as a Legislature that we expect them to capitulate,” he said. In reference to stakeholders who removed their opposition after slight changes were made to a bill, he added, “I wish that I thought that meant this was good legislation instead of just the realization that it’s the best deal they’re going to get.”

Throughout the session, legislators also employed tactics to impair public participation and oversight, including limiting public comment for controversial legislation, introducing major substitutions minutes before a hearing without time for public review and providing only 24-hour notice for public meetings.

Time and time again, our volunteers took off work or school to testify at committee hearings, only to be denied the opportunity to speak. Often, legislators asked how many constituents supported a bill and then only allowed an equal number of opponents to speak, even if the room was overflowing with dissenters. Our volunteers also noted multiple occasions where legislators seemingly disengaged entirely during public comment, whether they were busily typing away on their phones, holding side conversations with their colleagues or rolling their eyes at comments they disliked.

In many instances where there were clear inadequacies or even serious flaws in a proposed bill, legislative committee members passed it through anyway so that the sponsor could “work on the bill” before the next vote. The logic seemed to be, “Sure, there are some major problems with this legislation, but we’d rather ignore them for now and hope they get addressed later on.” Spoiler: They often didn’t.

While we did speak to many bills in committee meetings and had some constructive conversations with legislators during our community lobby days, the prevailing trend is clear: Utah’s politicians are working harder to shield themselves from public oversight than they are to serve the public. Whether it’s by limiting constituent comment, unfairly stacking boards and commissions, hampering the ballot initiative process or making it more difficult for Utahns to vote in elections, legislators are shamelessly pushing through their agendas regardless of public opinion.

Our legislators might object to these allegations and claim that, despite all appearances, they actually have our best interests in mind. But even those on the inside have had enough of the gaslighting and overreach. Sen. Thatcher confirmed as much when he left the Republican Party to join the Utah Forward Party, telling the public, “You’re not imagining it, you’re not crazy. We’re not listening to you.”

Frances Benfell is a volunteer and co-chair of the Utah Sierra Club’s Legislative Committee.

Chris Shapard is a volunteer and co-chair of the Utah Sierra Club’s Legislative Committee.

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