Signed! HB 477 repealed

We'll have to wait and see if and how the Utah legislature replaces HB477 like some of them have said they will.

Repeal of HB 477 pending

The most recent GRAMA-related bill is HB 1001, which repeals the hastily passed HB 477. The repeal has passed the House and Senate and is just waiting on Gov. Herbert to sign or veto it.

HB 1001 Bill Status

Cougars out of the WNIT

After a rallying first half, the BYU women's basketball team went down hard last night against USC, 62-50. They had a really tough time hitting shots in the second half. It was a huge disappointment to the team but especially to the five graduating seniors who will never play for the Cougars again. I know they took it hard because when he came in for the press conference, coach Judkins apologized for being a little late and said he had been talking to his team and letting his seniors especially know how great they were.

Cougars’ season over with loss to Trojans

Save GRAMA links

"Breaking News: Until HB477 is actually repealed, we are still gathering signatures. We understand that it is the INTENT of the governor and legislature to repeal BUT NOT the senate. All three want to replace HB477. If the legislature passes a "replacement" to HB477 this Friday, they will be doing the exact same all over again. Who has seen this replacement? Where is the debate and input from all the stakeholders? Please continue to help repeal HB477 by signing and volunteering."

From SaveGRAMA.org

Sign the petition to put HB477 on the ballot (call first; see other locations)

Covering football practice

I was super nervous to cover football practice Friday because I know very little about football, but my editor J.J. took time to explain relevant things about football and BYU's team specifically and gave me some ideas on what to write about. He was super helpful and I don't think the end result is half bad: Football team feeling confident at the end of first week of practice

GRAMA update: victory?

Governor Herbert said in a statement this morning he "expect[s], and the people expect, that the Utah State Legislature will repeal and replace HB 477. This will assure that whatever the outcome for Utah’s GRAMA, there will have been an open process for transparent and accountable government."

Gov. Herbert appears to accommodate those who shout the loudest- first, he signs the HB 477 because he believed (he said) GRAMA needed to be modernized to address changes in technology¹ since the '90s when GRAMA was passed. Obviously, it didn't have anything to do with the number of legislators who originally voted for the bill or the speed with which it went through the House and Senate. (note the sarcasm)

Now that many of those same legislators have expressed regret to the media² for voting for the bill, Herbert is suddenly on "the people['s]" side once again. Lawmakers are certainly allowed to change their minds, but Herbert doesn't seem to have any reason for doing so except what the majority opinion seems to be. That's OK if his actions really reflect the wishes of the people- we don't call the government "public servants" for nothing, after all- but hardly anyone I talked to two weeks ago when Herbert signed the bill knew anything about HB 477 or what it meant. The legislature weren't acting in the public interest when they passed HB 477. They were acting in their own.

Even though we elect these people as public officials, that doesn't mean they broadcast everything they're doing. As voting citizens (and especially reporters), we have a responsibility to be proactive and keep up with what's going on. Open government is vital so the public has the power to check up on it.

I don't agree with how Gov. Herbert has handled HB 477 and I don't agree GRAMA needs to be modernized. As Betsy Ross put it, "GRAMA was drafted to be blind to the form of the record. The current statute defines a record to mean: “a book, letter, document, paper, map, plan, photograph, film, card, tape, recording, electronic data, or other documentary material regardless of the physical form or characteristics.”

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1) quotes from KSL: Gov. explains decision to sign controversial HB477 (March 9)

"The easy thing for me would've been to veto it and wash my hands of it," Herbert told KSL Newsradio's Doug Wright. "I'm concerned that we get the right outcome and have a process where everyone can come to the table."

and

"We did a good thing in the early ‘90s for openness and transparency, for access to public records for the public," Herbert said. "Let's see how it squares today with today's modern technology, and let's see if we can maintain that same openness and transparency."

2) quotes from KSL: Gov. explains decision to sign controversial HB477 (March 9)

"I apologize if it went fast," said Senate President Michael Waddoups. "As a result we're making amendments and we're making sure that the public will have chance." (IF it went fast? It passed in less than a day!)

Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, said "It just happened way, way too quickly, and I believe the public was pretty much shut out of the process."

"I think it should have been slower," said Rep. Chris Herrod, R-Provo. "Yes, there was going to be a tremendous amount of pressure on that. There's things I think we needed to change with GRAMA, but I don't think the process was good.

and

Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake: "I didn't vote for (HB477) and I would not have signed it."

quotes from the Daily Herald: Gov. Herbert seeks repeal of HB 477, but also to "replace" it

Last week Rep. Kraig Powell, R-Heber, said he voted in favor of the bill because he felt “black mailed” by House leadership to vote for the bill. Powell admitted no one actually told him to vote in favor of the bill, but said there was an unspoken expectation for Republican House members to support the new law.

and

Reports over the weekend also surfaced stating that former House speaker, Rep. David Clark, R-Santa Clara, had one of his bills held by House leadership because he was not being as supportive to the GRAMA changes being proposed at the time. Now, Clark has joined three other southern Utah lawmakers in issuing a statement calling for repeal of the bill.

Women score 102 against Utah State

102-63. Wow. The Aggies got killed.

One example of GRAMA's importance

This morning, J. Neilson posted the following story on Utah Citizens FOI Network- Save Utah's Right to Know:

"An officer shot and killed Christopher Tucker after a low-speed chase on I-80. Court papers say dashcam videos don't show Tucker speeding or ramming a police car. The lawsuit contends a collision occurred when an officer used a maneuver to stop Tucker's vehicle. It also alleges that Jones has been trained to "twist the records, the facts, and the circumstances to claim immediate peril, fear and harm to justify his unlawful actions and the use of excessive and unjustified deadly force."

~ lucky they got the dash cam. after hb477 is enacted it wont be easy to get dash cams if even possible at all. they will have the right to not release records if they even suspect they may be used in a future lawsuit. too bad for us, eh? the very fact that a policeman is corrupt will be the reason they will legally be able to deny you records.

Wrongful death suit filed in 2009 police shooting - ksl.com www.ksl.com

Join the debate! http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_186024188106753&ap=1

Denver defeated!

Final score: 75-60. Denver put up a good fight, but the Cougars were playing hot!

Cougar women slip past Denver

Women to take on Denver in WNIT

Well... They didn't make it into the NCAA. But the BYU women's basketball team was invited to play in the Women's National Invitation Tournament. Its first-round game is Thursday at the Marriott Center.

FOIA.gov

Check this out: foia.gov

Celebrating Sunshine Week Mar 13-19

www.sunshineweek.org

Defeat! Cougars lose the tournament

With literally one second left on the clock, Utah put up one last shot and knocked BYU out of the tournament, 50-49. We were so close!

Join the debate over HB 477

From one of my Communications professors this morning:

"If you want to keep up with all of the news about the Utah FOI Debacle, you can join the conversation at Save Utah's Right to Know
Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_186024188106753&ap=1

"Hundreds attended a protest and rally last night during the closing
hours of the Legislature. Citizens have also filed a referendum to
override the bill.They have about 40 days to gather 65,000 signatures.

"We appreciate all of the outside attention and support. Any editorials, letters and statements supporting repeal of this law are needed."

GRAMA and HB 477 in The Salt Lake Tribune: Ignorance of open-records law

Betsy Ross, chair of the State Records Committee, explains what exactly GRAMA entails and why legislators' reasons for passing HB 477 are, for lack of a better word, bologna.

One last Deseret Duel

This just in: New Mexico came from behind in the conference last night to take down Wyoming, 67-61. TCU will play UNM Friday afternoon at 3:30 MT for the chance to play in the tournament championship game, which the Lobos have a history of winning.

Utah defeated Air Force, 70-55, and will face BYU tomorrow at 1 p.m. MT.

Meanwhile, the men's basketball team is playing TCU today.

In the Universe: HB 477

Protesters’ rally futile as HB 477 signed
by Jessica F.

Back to basketball

Cougar women prepare for postseason hoops tournament
Cougar basketball teams given loud send-off at event

Bonham and Hall were right about this conference being crazy. "It could be anyone's game," Bonham said. And now look- Air Force Academy just became the first No. 9 seed in MWC tournament history to beat a fourth seed. They persevered in a close game to defeat Colorado State, 66-63!

Keep up to date with the MWC tournament at themwc.com

GRAMA update

KSL.com reports Gov. Herbert signed "the amended version" of House Bill 477, the bill in question. Apparently the only difference is the law won't go into effect until July 1. Herbert said the legislature will continue to debate and adapt the bill, but not everybody's buying the delay as a legitimate explanation for signing it in the first place.

A little more explanation on what HB477 does, again from KSL.com: "In its present form, HB477 largely exempts the Legislature and several forms of electronic communication from GRAMA, increases fees for records requests and removes language favoring openness."

Legislators' argument for passing the bill: GRAMA needed to be modernized "since many private or informal discussions now take place through text messaging."

Note: the 2011 legislative general session ends tomorrow, March 10. The governor will have to call a special session to discuss this.

GRAMA law crippled

GRAMA is the Freedom of Information law specific to Utah, and Governor Herbert just signed a bill that will cripple it! The new law excludes all electronic documents and communications between the public officials we elected into office from being subject to a GRAMA request. The bill whipped through the House and Senate and landed on the governor's desk. The only reason he hesitated to sign it was because journalists everywhere were furious and started an uproar against it. Now, "despite petitions, rallies, letters, phone calls, social media campaigns, media editorials and personal outreach asking him not to do it," Herbert has signed it anyway.

Our public officials were elected by us. We chose them to represent and serve us. How can we keep them honest if we're no longer allowed to see their records? What does our government have to hide?

Final game victorious!

Cougars conquer Cowgirls to claim outright MWC title by Whitney

Final regular season game against Wyoming

Leading the MWC, riding an 11-game win streak, I think the women's basketball team will go far in the NCAA post-season tournament- if they can get past the MWC championships first.

BYU women’s basketball heads to Wyoming

New Mexico went down, all right... Ouch

Final score, 65-49. Good for BYU. Sad for UNM on their senior night.

Women’s basketball sweeps New Mexico

Cougs not satisfied- intend to sweep both games this week

My favorite quote: "New Mexico and Wyoming are going down!"

Women's basketball leads MWC going into last week of games (print title; web title is "Women's basketball to face New Mexico")