A District Court judge ruled Friday that members of the Ada County Commission violated the Idaho Open Meeting Law when they gathered behind closed doors last June 15 to discuss a proposed new housing development.
From the Associated Press
Look it up, read it, and then read it again. The Idaho Constitution demands that our elected leaders operate in broad daylight, with open doors, and in a public venue.
Editorial from The Times-News
In handing down the disappointing decree, Eismann, Copple and Schroeder resembled the biblical Pharisees who were mesmerized by the letter of the law but failed to understand its intent. That the Idaho Constitution intended that the business of the Idaho Senate and the Idaho House “be transacted openly and not in secret session” is without dispute…
Editorial from The Spokesman-Review
The court ruled 3-2 that the Idaho Constitution does not require legislators to keep committee meetings open. That decision essentially defends the status quo — House and Senate operating rules that allow a committee to close any meeting, for any reason, on a two-thirds vote.
Editorial from The Idaho Statesman
This April, join hundreds of people who will share critical information trends occurring across the country-from local communities to the halls of the White House. First Amendment lawyers, journalists, state coalitions, and citizen advocates will come together for an unprecedented 2006 Freedom of Information Summit at the downtown Indianapolis Radisson.
The Idaho Legislature followed a national trend toward increasing secrecy of government records over the past five years, passing twice as many laws restricting release of information as measures that increased access to documents, according to an Associated Press analysis.
From the Associated Press