[Vision2020] Court Backs Closed Meetings

[lfalen]

It looks like there may be some movement in the Legislature toward having committee meetings open except in rare case. If this does not happen a constitutional amendment by way of an initiative may be the remady of last reesorts.

Roger
-----Original message-----
From: "Tom Hansen" thansen at moscow.com
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 07:18:33 -0800
To: "Moscow Vision 2020" vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Court Backs Closed Meetings

> >From today's (March 21, 2006) Spokesman Review -
> 
> I don't care what excuse the Idaho courts apply,
> 
> Closed-door legislature is NOT democracy.
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Court backs closed meetings 
> Ruling rejects arguments from Idaho media
> 
> Erica Curless 
> Staff writer
> March 21, 2006
> 
> The Idaho Constitution allows the Legislature to close committee meetings to
> the public, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled Monday, rejecting arguments by the
> media that lawmakers should conduct business in the open.
> 
> The 3-2 decision is a blow to the Idaho Press Club, which sued the
> Legislature for closing seven committee meetings in 2003 and 2004. The press
> club, which was joined by the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho, Idaho
> Conservation League and Idaho League of Women Voters, argued that the
> Legislature violated the state constitution and that founders intended the
> meetings to remain open because that's where the majority of legislative
> work is done. Committees also are the only place where the public can affect
> legislation by testifying and giving instruction to elected officials. 
> 
> The high court upheld a Fourth District Court ruling that legislative
> committees - such as the House and Senate resources, tax and local
> government committees - don't do the business of the Legislature, so the
> constitution does not require them to keep their meetings open to the
> public. The decision determines that "business" is conducted only when there
> is a majority of the House or Senate present.
> 
> The news comes as the 2006 legislative session is approaching its end, but
> Majority Leader Sen. Bart Davis said there perhaps is time to clarify when
> it's appropriate for committees to close meetings. 
> 
> Currently both the House and Senate can close committee meetings for any
> reason. 
> 
> Davis believes, as he said most lawmakers do, that there is rarely a need to
> close a committee meeting to the public but that the Legislature should have
> the ability to do so in some specific instances such as when discussing
> terrorism or state security. 
> 
> It's those parameters that Davis needs to work out with the Democrats and
> the public, including the press club, which represents more than 200 radio,
> television and newspaper journalists. 
> 
> If it's not done by the end of the session, which might adjourn next week,
> Davis fears it will become a controversial campaign issue because every
> legislator is up for re-election. Yet if the rules aren't amended this
> session, Davis said lawmakers will take up the issue when the 2007
> Legislature convenes in January.
> 
> Senate Minority Leader Clint Stennett of Ketchum is disappointed with the
> decision and said there are fundamental differences between the Democrats
> and the Republicans and he doesn't see where amending the House and Senate
> rules will make much difference.
> 
> "They'll show it to us and ask us what we think," Stennett said about
> proposed rule changes. "But you're either for open meetings or you're not."
> 
> Press Club President Betsy Z. Russell, a Spokesman-Review reporter, said
> even though the club lost its lawsuit, it still put focus on the need to
> conduct legislative business in the open.
> 
> She pointed out that the dissenting opinion, by Justices Jim Jones and Roger
> Burdick, states that the constitution always requires openness. She added
> lawmakers haven't closed a single committee meeting since the lawsuit was
> filed.
> 
> "If this case prompts the Legislature to look at how it operates and become
> open to the citizens, then it was well worth it," she said.
> 
> The majority opinion, written by Justice Daniel Eismann, acknowledges the
> policy arguments made by the press club and the three other groups to why
> legislative committee meetings should always be open. Eismann said the court
> can't use policy arguments to give the constitution meaning but that the
> Legislature can use these reasons when deciding whether to permit its
> committee meetings to be closed.
> 
> That policy may also support a constitutional amendment to specifically
> define when and if legislators should close committee meetings, he wrote.
> 
> It takes a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate followed by a vote
> of the people to pass a constitutional amendment. Russell said it's unlikely
> the Legislature would vote to put restrictions on itself. Instead the press
> club is ready to start working with leadership on a more restrictive rule
> for when the public can be barred from committee meetings.
> 
> Former Republican Rep. Gary Ingram wrote the Open Meeting Law and fears that
> with this decision lawmakers may try to repeal the sections of the law. 
> 
> "It seems to me the Legislature that we currently have is too willing to
> look for ways to get around open meetings law rather than be guardians about
> it," said Ingram, who lives in Coeur d'Alene.
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
> 
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
> 
> *******************************************************
> 
> And why shouldn't the rich pay taxes?
> 
> "The people that write laws are greedy.  They need money to buy votes.  What
> better way to get it than to extract it, by force of law, from the
> relatively few who can afford the nicer things in life.  If you can buy
> something nice then you can pay more taxes so that politicians can give
> something to the 'poor' and take a cut for themselves."
>  
> - Varnel W. (March 20, 2006)
> 
> *******************************************************
> 
> 
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