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Utah Works To Repeal Anti-Transparency Law

Posted by samzenpus on from the eyes-wide-open dept.

Foldarn writes "Recently on Slashdot, Utah's Governor was honored with the Blackhole Award. Governor Herbert has now released a statement and a meeting with a concrete date to repeal the opaque law from the books in an effort to stay in offi... err, restore confidence in the public. The law added time for lawmakers to respond to information requests, removed the number of items that can be requested, and increased the prices of those same items. It's currently scheduled to become law this summer."

5 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Let's hope they don't screw it up. by marbike · · Score: 5, Informative

    This bill got passed thanks to some legislative tomfoolery that is apparently quite legal in Utah. The legislative leadership can bypass the normal process for introducing bills if it happens in the last days of legislation. This bill got fast tracked and bypassed normal debate. Once it was passed, the outcry was enough to have the Governor and some others think that it was worth a repeal. The working group to re-write the bill will hopefully not screw it up a second time.

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    it is better to light a flame thrower than curse the darkness. -Terry Pratchett Men at Arms
    1. Re:Let's hope they don't screw it up. by cobrausn · · Score: 5, Informative

      This is such a stupid comparison and I'm tired of hearing it. Illegal immigrants are not 'akin' to the Europeans who migrated to America in nearly any way. Maybe if when they came over they tried to join the Iroquois nation, maybe. But they didn't - they just took what they wanted and killed those who fought back. Not the same thing.

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      How does it feel to be a liar with pants constantly on fire?
    2. Re:Let's hope they don't screw it up. by 517714 · · Score: 5, Informative

      No they were not

      • 1790 Congress passed law requiring two year residency prior to applying for citizenship. Prior to this residency requirements varied by state.
      • 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts required 14 years residency before citizenship
      • 1800 Revised to 5 years residency
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      The US government have made it clear that we have no inalienable rights; any we do not defend vigorously will be taken.
  2. Go figure by Hatta · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A state run by religious conservatives is also highly authoritarian. Who would have thought?

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    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  3. What the real goal is here by Teancum · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The purpose of this special session is to deliberately derail the referendum drive so that the effort to put this onto the ballot in November is completely wiped out. Right now there is an effort to collect about 100,000 signatures state-wide to put this onto the general election ballot this year (which is normally just for municipal elections in Utah) and that effort is gaining steam and public support.

    Very likely, if this stays in the public spotlight, it will mean the end of the elective office careers of many of these state legislators, and they know it. It is also likely that this legislation is going to be repealed through the ballot box, and these guys want to stop that process.

    What they are trying to do here is to repeal the law that has all of these signatures and will be defeated by the voters of this state, and instead introduce a whole new law to take its place... a law that says essentially the very same thing and causes the same problems that is gaining all of the attention. As a new law, they can quash the referendum drive completely.

    A really cute thing about this tactic is that the laws in Utah governing the ability to put up a referendum do not take into account legislation put forward in a special session, so effectively they are vetoing the will of the citizens at the ballot box on this particular issue. If it weren't for the fact that I'm so ticked off at the legislators pulling these tactics and the fact they wrote these exemptions explicitly to keep the public under their heels, I would call this stinking brilliant. Brilliant like a dictator, but none the less brilliant. The Supreme Soviet was never this good at ignoring public opinion.