A new bill that would change the way party caucus meetings are conducted in Utah is facing stark opposition in the House.

The Utah State Rules Committee assigned House Bill 52 to a standing committee last week, opening the new legislation up for legislative and public critique.

Normally, it is against the state's sunshine laws for any decision making meeting to be conducted in private. However, party caucus meetings have been exempt from those state open meeting laws. The new bill would change that.

Rep. Scott Daniels, D-Salt Lake, who formally worked as a 3rd District judge, stressed that such a loophole in the sunshine laws is allowing Utah Republicans to make major decisions without the contributions of elected Democrats.

"It is no secret that Republicans have a strong majority in the Senate and in the House," Daniels said.

Daniels said he fears that the Republicans are keeping their caucus closed to allow them to make legislative decisions while avoiding what he calls the "dissonant opposition" voiced by the House minority.

"We used to talk about strategy in caucus meetings, but we never discussed the merits of the bill," Daniels said. "It is blatantly unethical."

Now that House Bill 52 is out of the rules committee, it has been assigned to the Judicial Committee, a standing committee in the House and the public will have a chance to weigh in on the controversial legislation.

"A standing committee is a public hearing where people can come and voice their opinions," Daniels said. "But even there it will need to gain a majority vote before it will ever reach the floor."

Rep. Calvin Bird, R-Springville is not in agreement with the bill.

"I argue for and believe in open meeting and sunshine laws," he said, "but at the same time I've got to tell you that I'm not ready to say that the caucus meetings should be open."

Earlier in the session legislators heard a long discussion from Jake Garn, former U.S. Senator and space shuttle astronaut, where he explained that nothing would ever be accomplished if lawmakers are not able to go into a closed caucus sometimes.

Daniels explained that it is "not that you're trying to hide anything, but sometimes in order to get people to really say what they feel and not be afraid to be quoted it helps to have a private forum."

Daniels, too, said he understands the importance of having agenda-setting time as a party; however, he also worries that "when elected representatives in the majority meet in large enough groups to form a quorum, they are basically passing legislation."

"The vote will eventually have to be made in public, and everything will have to be disclosed," Jake Garn said at the start of the session.

Garn went on to warn that tampering with a constitutionally protected meeting will not advance the efficiency of the legislative session and is totally counter to good public policy.

"I think it would slow down our process of making laws," Bird said. "Utah is already in the minority of states with a part-time legislature, and if we make it more difficult to get legislation through, I don't know if we could stay a part-time legislature, and I'd hate to see us be a full-time legislature, to be honest."

House Bill 52 was on Thursday's agenda for the Judicial Committee but was rescheduled for Monday morning when it was held for later consideration.