I am deeply concerned with the utter disdain Representative Kraig Powell (R-Heber City, District 54) is showing towards the citizens of Utah. I have already written about his desire to remove people from the voter file – and now I am sickened by his push to make policy making a closed door affair. Yes, Powell’s HB 226, Closed Meeting Amendments, [...]
Archive for the ‘Ethics and Corruption’ Category
Bills to Watch: HB 87, Billboard Revisions, Rep. Melvin Brown
If there is one thing our Utah State Legislature is good at, it is talking out of both sides of its mouth. Take, for example, HB 87, Billboard Revisions, as proposed by Representative Melvin Brown (R-Coalville, District 53). It seems that every year we hear the legislature complain about how there is too much government [...]
Senator Reid stands by GRAMA vote, despite logic
Senator Stewart Reid (R – Ogden, District 18) just doesn’t seem to get it as he continually chooses to stand by his yea vote on HB 477 and his nay vote on HB 1001 to repeal the draconian GRAMA (Government Records Access Management Act) law. In yesterdays Salt Lake Tribune, Reid said 477 should have [...]
Bills to Watch: HB 164 – Campaign Contributions Limits, R. Chavez-Houck
Although I have never actually banged my head against a wall, but I imagine it is how Representative Rebecca Chavez – Houck (D – Salt Lake, District 24) feels when she is trying to push HB 164 – Campaign Contributions Limits through the unimaginable 45 day hell that is the legislative session. The bill most likely has [...]
Bills to Watch: HB 60 – Prohibiting Contributions During Special Session, P. Arent
As unpopular as it may sound, campaign contributions are a sort of necessary evil in our political system – there is simply no realistic way to run a campaign with out some sort of budget, and if contributions were not allowed, only the richest of the rich would be able to simply drop the $5,000-$30,000 [...]
Bills to Watch: HB 31 – Restoration of the Right to Vote and Hold Elective Office, C. Frank
One of the reasons I write the “Bills to Watch” series is that I want to draw attention towards bills that have a lower profile during the session, but still would have a large impact on Utahns. Well, HB 31: Restoration of the Right to Vote and Hold Elective Office is one of those bills. Representative Craig [...]
Bills to Watch: HB 32 – Campaign and Financial Reporting Amendments, K. Grover
You may recall that, earlier this year, the Salt Lake County Democratic Party was quite upset that the Salt Lake County Republican Party did not report their financial transactions to the state. Democrats claimed that funds should be reported in the name of transparency, Republicans countered by saying that the law was ambiguous and that it [...]
Begrudgingly yes on Amendment D – Resolution on Legislative Ethics Commission
When I was a kid, one of the few toys I ever really wanted was a Super Soaker – a real Super Soaker with the backpack that held an obscene amount of water to truly drench anyone who dare challenge me to water fight. Well, I never did get that Super Soaker, I got whatever [...]
Waiting for the Leaking Dam to Burst
Herbert’s Crony Contracts scandal is about to break… It was revealed today that Utah Department of Transportation changed the rules to conveniently allow the firm which contributed the most to Governor Herbert’s election campaign to win the lucrative $1.1 billion I-15 Core project in Utah County. To quote the Tribune: ”(T)he Selection Recommendation Committee, made up of [...]
The Heaping Herbert Contradictions and the Coming Scapegoat
As the campaign contribution controversy for Governor Herbert continues into its third day, more and more interesting contradictions seem to be popping up. Mark Twain said it best: “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” Well, it seems the Herbert administration and campaign staff are having a bit of a lapse [...]