Court hears arguments over open meetings

BOISE – Lawyers for the Idaho Legislature argued Monday that lawmakers have every right to close committee meetings to the public, and that they use discretion and don’t abuse the power.

“The Legislature understands and respects public involvement as shown by the thousands of open standing committee meetings held each year,” Deputy Attorney General Jim Carlson told the Idaho Supreme Court. “This case deals with sensitive subjects” such as litigation and protecting the state’s water supply from terrorists.

The Idaho Press Club, which sued the Legislature for allegedly violating the state constitution by closing seven committee meetings in 2003 and 2004, shot back that committees are the only place in the Legislature where the public can impact legislation by testifying and giving instruction to its elected officials.

Press Club attorney Deb Kristensen said her “greatest fear” is that the court will rule that the state constitution doesn’t provide citizens protection by guaranteeing access to committee meetings. It’s the only real protection Idahoans have to prevent abuse by the government, she said.

“We have to hold our representatives accountable to follow the rule of the law,” Kristensen said after Justice Jim Jones asked if the Legislature could evade the law by appointing subcommittees.

The state founders “didn’t envision Idaho to be a place where the Legislature can be creative and go behind closed doors to discuss our business,” she said. Instead the founders wanted the “electric light of publicity” to be turned on “everything the Legislature has to do in our halls.”

She said the attorney general’s office would still be able to discuss pending litigation and “sensitive issues” with lawmakers, just not at formal committee meetings.

A decision from the high court isn’t expected for several months.

The press club argued that most of the Legislature’s work is done in the Senate’s 10 standing committees and the House’s 14 standing committees. That’s where lawmakers hear from the public, debate bills and decide whether to kill them or pass them along for votes in the full House and Senate. The public needs access to these committees, not only to testify, but to understand the debate and reasoning behind proposed legislation, the press club argued.

In her brief, Kristensen noted that often bills, such as the high-profile gay marriage proposal in 2004, never get out of committee for a vote.

The press club, which represents more than 200 radio, television and newspaper reporters, is asking the state Supreme Court to reverse a District Court ruling. The District Court ruled 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 court recently allowed the Idaho Conservation League, League of Women Voters of Idaho and the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho to file “friend of the court” briefs in support of the press club’s position. These groups stated that the case has important consequences for all Idahoans, not just the media.

The district judge ruled that “business” is conducted only when there is a majority of the House or Senate present.

If that’s the case, Kristensen said last week, the Republican caucus should be open to the public because it consists of a majority of each house.

There is nothing stopping the Legislature from abolishing committees, which lawmakers have used to provide added public access. Carlson said that if the public is upset with the current rules of the Legislature and wants more guaranteed access, citizens can start a movement to amend the state constitution.

Justice Daniel Eismann said that Idahoans have options even if the Legislature abolishes committee meetings or closes them to the public. “Voters are certainly free to vote in other legislators,” he said.