Archives for November 2005

From The Spokesman-Review

By Betsy Z. Russell
The Spokesman-Review
Nov. 29, 2005

BOISE – A legislative interim committee’s decision to send its members behind closed doors to debate details of new state employee pay legislation prompted protests and a rebuke from the speaker of the Idaho House.

The panel, a joint committee charged with improving Idaho’s compensation policies for state employees, was debating legislation to change the state pay system when Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston, called for a break to go into “caucus,” so the majority Republicans could agree on provisions of the bill behind closed doors. Sen. Bert Marley, D-McCammon, said minority Democrats also wanted to caucus, though Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, noted that Democratic caucuses are open to the public.

Rep. Jana Kemp, R-Boise, objected. “I believe that the issue of employee pay is a non-partisan issue, and as such, I would propose that we conduct all business here in the interim committee,” she declared. But she was outvoted, 11-1.

Kemp then sat silently in her seat in protest as the other lawmakers left for their respective party caucuses. “I did what I could,” she said. “Notice where I’m sitting.”

Several hours later, House Speaker Bruce Newcomb issued a stern statement to the committee saying closed-door caucuses are not appropriate for joint committees, and amount to closed subcommittee meetings.

“I would like to make it clear as speaker of the House, that our policy is that no committee, standing or interim, have a session in which a subcommittee meets behind closed doors,” Newcomb wrote. “…On the House side, our policy is to avoid closed-door meetings of subcommittees and/or regular committees unless it is to gain legal counsel.”

The Legislature is being sued by the Idaho Press Club for holding more than half a dozen closed meetings of official committees in recent years. The case goes before the Idaho Supreme Court for arguments on Jan. 9.

Newcomb concluded his written statement, “When someone in a joint committee wants to have a closed-door meeting to discuss issues before the committee, I would instruct House members not to participate. The word ‘caucus’ is an inappropriate term for a joint committee.”

From The Spokesman-Review

Commission appears to have violated state’s open meetings laws by move

From the Lewiston Tribune

By Jodi Walker
Lewiston Morning Tribune
Nov. 22, 2005

GRANGEVILLE — Two Idaho County commissioners went behind closed doors for a conference call regarding the Forest Service’s roadless plan Monday over the objection of the third.

“It was basically a work session,” said Commissioner Jim Rehder Monday evening.

Executive sessions, or sessions where government bodies are allowed to conduct business without the public or press present, are allowed only for personnel issues or for pending litigation in Idaho.

The conference call was with the Idaho Association of Counties and about a dozen counties affected by the roadless document, according to Chairman Randy Doman.

“I didn’t want to go into executive session,” Doman said.

In a morning discussion of the issue, Doman asked the commission’s legal counsel about an executive session. When Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dennis Albers was leery about the call fitting the definition of an executive session, Doman said he might just recess
the meeting to take the call, along with Rehder.

The two serve on the Idaho County’s roadless committee.

“I would rather have just gone off somewhere and taken the call,” Doman said Monday evening. Since the county is served by three commissioners, two commissioners made a quorum for the closed-door call, a move prohibited by state open meeting laws.

Rehder said Monday night the doors were not closed out of secrecy but so the commissioners could better listen without interruption. When asked if she could stay for the call, Commissioner Alice Mattson was told only those on the committee were invited to participate.

“If I don’t have to be here for roadless, I probably don’t need to be here for the rest of this,” she said angrily waving the day’s agenda.

The roadless plan is a draft of how the state of Idaho and its counties will manage Idaho’s roadless areas. Earlier this year the Bush administration gave state governors with federal roadless areas the ability to petition the secretary of agriculture to change the way the areas are managed.

Public meetings have drawn about 140 people in the last couple of weeks in Idaho and Clearwater counties. The goal of the plan is to include the public in the process. The commissioners closed the door citing a portion of Idaho Code that allows executive session for consideration of “preliminary negotiations involving matters of trade
or commerce in which the governing body is in competition with governing bodies in other states or nations.”

Mattson voted against the executive session but did remain in the room during the phone call. She said she contacted the Idaho Association of Counties during the lunch break and was told the call could be held in public.

Doman said the meeting was legally closed because of the negotiations of how to use federal, state and county money to pay for the roadless comment compilation.

“There were no decisions of the county. We were just listening and giving input,” Doman said.

— Walker may be contacted at c.

From the Associated Press

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) – Open government and reining in fee increases are among the top issues of the University of Idaho’s new student body president, Humberto “Berto” Cerrillo, who won in last week’s election over rival Travis Galloway.

In winning 62 percent of the vote, Cerrillo, a 21-year-old junior majoring in Spanish and international studies, becomes UI’s first student body president from Lewiston in a quarter-century.

Galloway won 38 percent of the vote.

Earlier this year, members of the UI student senate voted down a proposal that would have allowed the panel to meet behind closed doors.

Cerrillo says that was the right move.

“We’re going to be open, we’re going to be honest and we’re not going to be making behind-the-scenes decisions,” said Cerrillo, who had previously served as an ASUI senator and adviser to outgoing student president Autumn Hansen.

Cerrillo also said he hopes to work with administrators at the financially strapped school _ UI was hit by firings earlier this year as it slashed $4.75 million from its budget _ to keep student fees from rising too quickly.

He wants to keep any increase below 7 percent.

“We’re looking for around 5 (percent),” he said.

From the Associated Press