Senate Republican leaders want to change the Senate’s internal rules to allow official Senate committee meetings to be closed for any reason. They also want to delete a section of the Senate’s internal rules that notes that if there’s a conflict between the rules and state laws or the state Constitution, the rules defer to the law or Constitution.

Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis said he plans to bring the changes to the Judiciary Committee next week. That route means the rule change would need only a simple majority for approval, rather than the usual two-thirds.

The Legislature is now being sued by the Idaho Press Club over holding closed committee meetings, which the club argues violate the Constitution.

Senate Democrats discussed the rule changes at an open caucus meeting today, and said they didn’t like ‘em. But their numbers are a small minority in the Senate.

---

---