Salt Lake Tribune
The National Society of Professional Journalists plans to present Gov. Gary Herbert with a first-ever Black Hole award Wednesday to highlight Utah's new law HB 477, which makes text messages private, increases fees for records requests, as well as creating an unlimited time for government agencies to respond to GRAMA requests.
This week is sunshine week an annual initiative that began in 2002 to promote stronger transparency in government. Nominations for the Black Hole award were collected from all over the country, however
David Cuillier, SPJ's Freedom of Information Committee chief and a journalism professor at the University of Arizona said there was no question the award should go to Gary Herbert as the chief executive of the state of Utah. KSL
"The SPJ Black Hole Award for 2011 goes to the Utah Legislature and Gov. Gary Herbert for plunging their state into an abyss of secrecy through the most regressive piece of freedom of information legislation in recent history.
On Tuesday, March 8, Herbert signed HB477 into law, which will take effect July 1. The legislation makes major changes to the state Government Records Access and Management Act, including: . . . ."
"This isn't about protecting privacy of citizens or saving tax dollars. This is about hiding shady dealings to protect the privacy of officials so they can fool the public without recourse."
Black Hole Award
Society of Professional Journalists
Salt Lake Tribune
Deseret News
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