All meetings of Legislature should be
open to public
Guest opinion by Sen. Clint Stennett
and Rep. Wendy Jaquet
Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, is the
Senate Minority Leader, and Rep. Wendy Jaquet,
D-Ketchum, is the House Minority Leader.
At the Legislative Council meeting held in
Boise on Oct. 29, the council members discussed the existing conflict between
Section 67-2346 of the Idaho Code, which provides that all meetings of any
standing, special or select committee of either house of the Idaho Legislature
shall be open to the public at all times, and the Joint Rules of the Senate and
the House of Representatives, which provide that any such committee may, upon a
two-thirds vote of the committee, go into executive session.
The Democrats in the Legislature
repeatedly have taken the position that Idaho Code Section 67-2346 requires that
all meetings of standing, special or select committees of either house of the
Legislature must be open to the public. The Republicans have taken the position
that the Joint Rules, which conflict with the statute, are controlling and, in
effect, overrule the open meeting requirement of I. C. Sec. 67-2346.
The issue in resolving this inherent
conflict between the state statute and the Joint Rules results from provisions
in the Idaho Constitution. Article III, Sec. 12 of the Idaho Constitution
provides as follows: "Secret Sessions prohibited. The business of each house,
and of the committee of the whole shall be transacted openly and not in secret
session."
The attorney general of the State of Idaho
has ruled that this constitutional prohibition does not apply to legislative
committee meetings. Article III, Sec. 9 of the Idaho Constitution provides as
follows: "Each house when assembled shall . . . determine its own rules of
proceeding . . ."
The attorney general has issued his
opinion that the constitutional right of a state Legislature to control its own
proceedings cannot be withdrawn or restricted by statute. As a result, the
attorney general has concluded that the existing joint rules supercede the
conflicting statute, Idaho Code Sec. 67-2346.
Following a lengthy discussion, a motion
was passed unanimously authorizing the Legislative Services Office to draft a
proposed set of joint rules for consideration by both houses of the Idaho
Legislature. The proposed rules shall incorporate the open meeting requirements
of Idaho Code Section 67-2346, confirm that the formation of public policy is
public business and shall not be conducted in secret, and provide for the
limited and extraordinary circumstances under which a legislative committee will
be authorized to go into executive session. This was not a motion to approve the
proposed rule, but rather, a motion to authorize the drafting of a proposed rule
for consideration by the Legislative Council and then by both houses of the
Legislature. The council members agreed they should recommend a repeal of that
section of the Open Meeting Law, I.C. §67-2346, only if this newly drafted Joint
Rule of the House and Senate is adopted by both houses of the Legislature.
The Democratic members of the council made
their position perfectly clear: in order to gain their approval of any proposed
Joint Rule, it must be clearly stated that the interest of the public is
paramount, that the public’s business should be conducted in open, public
meetings, that only under specific, extraordinary circumstances will it be
permissible for a legislative committee to meet in executive session, that by
adoption of the Rule, the Legislature is not encouraging the use of executive
sessions, and that the Rule must provide that no votes or official action may be
taken during any authorized executive session.
The Democratic caucus position has been
consistent. We maintain that openness in government is critical to a democratic
society. The Idaho Constitution mandates that all business of each house shall
be transacted openly and not in secret session. It doesn't get any clearer than
that.