All party caucuses should be open to public, Shurtleff says

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Wednesday that Utah's open meetings law should be changed to stop legislative party caucuses from being held behind closed doors.

The law does not apply to lawmakers who meet with fellow Republicans or Democrats during the legislative session, although in recent years only Senate Republicans routinely close their caucuses to the press and public.

Shurtleff, a Republican like the majority of lawmakers, said he's concerned about giving the ability for the Legislature's dominant party to, in effect, make decisions in private about what legislation should and shouldn't be passed.

"The people's business should be done in public," Shurtleff said, adding he would actively pursue changes in the law to make it clear party members must make such decisions in the open.

But Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said there's a long history of closed party caucuses in Utah and other states, something he does not expect to change anytime soon.

Lawmakers, of course, have the final say.

Valentine suggested Shurtleff open up meetings in his own office.

"It's a bit of a non sequitur where he's calling out one branch of government," the Senate GOP leader said. "It's easy for him to say I have the court shield so I don't have to have anything open."

Under the Utah Open Meetings Act, discussing pending litigation is one reason why meetings may be closed.

Votes are not taken in the Senate GOP caucus meetings, Valentine said. Still, he described the meetings, typically held twice a week during the session, as an opportunity for caucus members to gauge how much support a particular bill might have.

"We air what is going on and we share concerns on particular issues," he said. "You don't have to take votes. You can get a sense of the body pretty fast. Most of what we do in there is sharing information and true feelings without having to look over our shoulders."

Shurtleff's comments came at a press conference called to announce the unveiling of a new publication from his office, "The Open Book, a handbook on open meetings and open records in Utah."

Later Wednesday, Shurtleff participated in a panel discussion on government secrecy sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists and the League of Women Voters. He also received an award for helping to create the state's first shield law for reporters.

The text of the book printed by the Attorney General's Office and other information on open meetings and the Government Records and Management Act (GRAMA) is available online at www.attorneygeneral.utah.gov/GRAMA.html.

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