Column: This Side of The Fence; There is still hope for GRAMA
So the Government Records Management Act, or GRAMA, revisions bills have been having some trouble in the Legislature. Apparently, they are lacking the appropriate support.
This may be a continuing dilemma for the few politicians who support the revisions, considering most people don’t like the legislation.
According to poll results published in the Sunday edition of the Deseret News, 74 percent of those surveyed are opposed to the bill, including Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr.
This is good news. Utah has a governor who understands the importance of having our politicians conduct their business in the open. He sits ready, veto stamp in hand, prepared to defend the rights of the people. Kudos to Jon!
As impressed as I was to discover the governor’s position, I was even more thrilled about the public’s view. Overall, the people are looking for an open and transparent government, and some of them are willing to speak up and get it.
Seventy-four percent is good, but I would like to see more of a majority involved in this fight.
It’s troubling that GRAMA is considered something only for the media use. In fact, this misconception is one of the reasons supporters of the bill proposed it in the first place. They said GRAMA was not meant to be mining ground for journalists. They would have to find another way to dig up the dirt.
I love it when politicians complain about this. They say journalists are focused on the negative. They publish bad news and are more concerned with the office gossip if it’s a little dirty than the accomplishments. But their solution to this problem is always “get rid of the journalist.” Perhaps the solutions should be “vacuum up the dirt.”
Journalists, true, are the miners of society. They are the ones with the appointment to find the rotten eggs, air out the dirty laundry, dig up the dirt. This is a big part of their job, and GRAMA is a tool to help journalists complete the task.
Considering these survey results, I would like think the people get it. Yes, journalists are the major players with GRAMA, but they are playing on the side of the people. The information they gather and report is to benefit the greater good, keep people honest and make sure the right things are getting done correctly.
The people get it, but politicians forgot. We are all on the same team.
It hurts me that this concept of loyalty has eluded some of Utah’s finest.
Instead of being concerned with the public’s right to know, there is big debate going on about privacy, who deserves it, who doesn’t and where is the middle ground. Yes, privacy is important, but on public officials, public places and public information, we should never be to quick to draw the drapes.
Mikaylie Kartchner’s column appears in The Statesman every Wednesday. Comments can be sent to mikalyiek@cc.usu.edu.