| Show State Solons Didn't Believe Relieve In Public Having Information Killed Bill That Would Have Made It Possible For The Public To Know How And Why Commissioners Spend Public Funds 1 Salt Lake City March 15 15 Sen Sen Senate ate bill 90 80 originally drafted to require county commissioners to publish monthly reports of their proceedings for the information of the public but amen amended ed in the senate out of all aU semblance to its original self expired in the house late Sunday the victim of a per- per lobby that pursued It overa over a thorny path throughout the session ses ses- sion in the waning hours of the twenty second session a tired and peevish house harkened hardened to the echo of or the county commissioner lobby and struck the enacting clause Although amended to only re require require require re- re I quire that the commissioners supply sup sup- supply pI ply copies of the mints of their meetings to papers In their counties counties coun coun- ties Ues without expense to the county county coun- coun j coun-j ty for publication a majority of the house decided the public publio could consult consult con con- I sult suit the records of the commissions if they wanted to lt know w what these I bodies were doing with public funds fund Representative Victor C C. C Pett of Juab county one of the counties alleged to have participated in the drive to kill kUl the tho measure moved to strike the enacting clause A bare majority sustained him and the measure had the questionable distinction dis da- dis- dis Unction of being beine the last lost bill bUl acted acted act- act ed upon by the tho lower body and the thelast last one onee to be killed It did not die however without a gallant fight by Representative Moses L L. Holbrook of Davis Davia county countY county coun coun- ty to have it enacted into law lav Mr Holbrook told the house Its purpose pur pur- purpose pose was to promote better govern government ment meat and to give the public accurate accurate ac ac- ac curate Information as to how the county commissioners were conducting con con- ducting public affairs to give rive of official official official of- of information as to how public funds fund were being expended Several representatives Informed the house that their county commissioners commissioners com com- missioners were opposed to the bill bUl Representative Holbrook then disclosed dis dla- dia- dia closed to the house that a number of ot counties In the state had hod contributed eon con tribute funds to an organization that had been active in fighting this bill and there was wu no reason to believe that a large part of these funds had been used wed to finance a lobby that worked unceasingly Inthe in inthe inthe the legislative halls to kill very measure He added that if U tho the bill were law such expenditure of funds would be stopped or at least the public would know how much was WU being beina spent and what for for But the influence of the apparently wa v too strong and the measure went the wa way of other measures de designed ed to promote better better better bet bet- ter government and throw the spotlight spot spot- light of publicity on the doings of public officials |
