This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Olene Walker, the former Utah governor who holds a doctorate in education, hopes that the House Bill 477 debacle constitutes a lesson learned.
That is, learned by legislators, Gov. Gary Herbert and anyone else involved in creating and signing one of the most devastating things that ever happened to the concept of transparency and accountability in elective government.
The bill's demise (promised, at least) comes nearly as quickly as its birth. After just three days of debate, if you can call it that, the Utah House and Senate passed it earlier this month and Herbert signed it with an implied promise that lawmakers would take another look before its effective date of July 1. Now, the governor says he will call a special session Friday to repeal the bill. It remains to be seen if Senate Republicans will play along.
Walker, who spent eight years in the Utah House, said Monday she "couldn't help but be amazed" at the speed of its passage. "I couldn't figure out the reason. I don't recall a bill going through that fast except when we had to come to a consensus on the budget."
Walker was a representative at a time when Republicans, not just Democrats, generally opened their caucuses to the public and the news media — when leaders would state the issues of the day and the lawmakers would jawbone about each one, out loud and in full view. When the conversation might get heated, or reveal frustration, or, every now and again, add a little enlightenment to those listening.
Of course, lawmakers and leadership have always had one-on-one conversations with one another. That's one part of lawmaking and everyday discourse.
While the open caucus discussions might not presage the final form of a bill, at least interested voters would have some idea about where it was headed and they could make their cases for or against.
In recent years, it's been exactly the opposite for Republicans, at least. Democrats still hold mostly public caucuses.
After HB477 passed, and the uproar began, one legislator said he didn't understand the fuss because the bill had been the subject of conversation for four years. Seriously? Let's have the wheres and the whens, people.
And what about Herbert?
"I was surprised to have him sign it so fast," Walker said. "He's explained it, but in my mind, the only power you have is the power of the veto."
If there's time, and there were four more days in the session, she added, "You can let them know and they can go back. It's pretty risky to sign a bill, saying 'We'll come back and change it in the future.'
"The future may go with you," Walker said, "or go in a different direction."
As it is, Herbert has made a forceful case for repeal and House Republicans — in closed caucus — decided Monday to call for repeal, too.
Of course, House Speaker Becky Lockhart said, "We didn't break any of the rules." That would be according to the Republican caucus rules, of course, not those of Utahns who actually care about how and why laws are made.
As for the private versus public nature of modern communication, Democratic Rep. Joel Briscoe said it best when he held up his Blackberry and said the state had bought it for him and anyone was free to take a look. The point being, take personal calls on your personal phone and anything at all related to your role as a legislator on the cell phone you and I pay for.
One more thing. Whatever else Herbert can wrangle out of the Legislature, he ought to insist on the restoration of the legislative intent in the original GRAMA law, which noted the need for transparency in government, as well as the need to keep truly personal information personal.
Every law has a purpose, and many have a spirit. Let's get that spirit back right now.
Peg McEntee is a news columnist. Reach her at pegmcentee@sltrib.com.