PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 20, 2019
Salt Lake City, UT – In response to an article in the Deseret News about yesterday’s Tax Restructuring and Equalization Task Force meeting, in which it was stated that the final tax reform proposal could possibly be crafted in a closed GOP caucus meeting, Lauren Simpson, policy director for Alliance for a Better Utah, issued the following statement:
“The business of the people should only rarely be conducted behind closed doors. Far too often, we have seen GOP lawmakers retreat into their secret caucus meetings only to emerge with the plan they feel best for the state, one of the most infamous instances being when they held a secret vote that killed a plan to expand Medicaid in 2015.
“A lack of transparency in our government institutions exacerbates lack of public trust in government. With important issues that have captivated public interest, like tax reform, legislative leaders should be doing everything they can to increase public involvement. It would be disappointing for us to learn that lawmakers made such a big show of traveling around the state to gather public input only to retreat behind closed doors when the actual decisions are made.”
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Alliance for a Better Utah is a good government advocacy and watchdog organization based in Salt Lake City. The organization works to improve the lives of all Utahns by ensuring balance, transparency, and accountability in Utah politics, policy, and government. More information at www.betterutah.org.
