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HR003.....................................................by WAYS AND MEANS
OPEN MEETING - HOUSE RULE - Amends House Rule 57 to provide that all
regular meetings of any standing, special or select committee of the House
of Representatives shall be open to the public at all times and to provide
for executive sessions.
04/11 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
Rpt prt - to 2nd rdg
Rls susp - ADOPTED - 56-12-2
AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bastian, Bayer,
Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Black, Block, Bolz, Brackett, Bradford, Cannon,
Chadderdon, Clark, Collins, Crow, Deal, Denney, Edmunson, Ellsworth,
Eskridge, Field(18), Field(23), Garrett, Hart, Harwood, Henderson,
Kemp, Lake, Loertscher, Mathews, McGeachin, McKague, Miller, Moyle,
Nielsen, Nonini, Raybould, Ring, Roberts, Rydalch, Sali, Schaefer,
Shepherd(8), Shirley, Skippen, Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass,
Stevenson, Wills, Wood, Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- Boe, Henbest, Jaquet, LeFavour, Martinez, Pasley-Stuart,
Pence, Ringo, Rusche, Sayler, Shepherd(2), Smith(30)
Absent and excused -- Mitchell, Trail
Floor Sponsor - Mr. Speaker
Title apvd - Filed in Office of the Chief Clerk
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 3
BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
1 A HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 PROVIDING FOR THE AMENDMENT OF RULE 57 OF THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESEN-
3 TATIVES.
4 Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Idaho:
5 WHEREAS, the House of Representatives deems it necessary and desirable to
6 amend Rule 57 of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
7 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the House of Representa-
8 tives, assembled in the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth Idaho Leg-
9 islature, that Rule 57 of the Rules of the House of Representatives shall be
10 amended to read as follows:
11 RULE 57
12 Committee Meetings, Attendance to be Open, Executive Sessions Limited,
13 Disruption of Meetings.--(1) All regular meetings of any standing, special or
14 select committee of the House of Representatives shall be open to the public
15 at all times. Any person may attend any meeting of any standing or select or
16 special committee, but may participate in said committee only with the
17 approval of the committee itself. Such committee may resolve itself into exec-
18 utive session upon the vote of two-thirds of the membership of the committee,
19 at which time persons who are not members of the legislature may be excluded,
20 provided however, that during such executive session, no votes or official
21 action may be taken.
22 (2) Executive sessions of a standing, special or select committee of the
23 House of Representatives shall be limited and undertaken only when necessi-
24 tated by extraordinary circumstances as provided in this rule. Except in an
25 emergency involving security or threats against state citizens, resources or
26 facilities, an executive session may be considered by a committee only after
27 the committee has given public notice at least twenty-four hours in advance of
28 the meeting that the committee will have before it a request to meet in execu-
29 tive session, has listed the person(s) or agency that has requested the execu-
30 tive session, and has described the reason(s) for which an executive session
31 has been requested. Only after the committee chairman has identified the
32 reason(s) for holding the executive session and only upon a two-thirds vote
33 recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the committee, shall a committee be
34 allowed to hold an executive session during any meeting, at which time persons
35 who are not members of the legislature may be excluded. Executive sessions
36 shall be held only when and to the extent necessary to: discuss records that
37 are exempt from public disclosure by statute, court decision or court rule;
38 consider pending litigation, mediation or arbitration; consider personnel
39 decisions involving a legislative employee; conduct a preliminary investiga-
40 tion of an ethics complaint against a member under House Rule 76; consider
41 charges brought against or the discipline or dismissal of a member when public
42 disclosure would harm an innocent third party; discuss the security of or
43 threats against state citizens, resources or facilities; or discuss acquiring
2
1 an interest in real property which is not owned by a public agency. Under no
2 circumstances, however, shall an executive session be authorized or held for
3 the purpose of taking any final action or making any final decision, and dur-
4 ing such executive session, no votes or official action may be taken.
5 (3) Nothing in this rule shall prohibit the removal of any person who
6 willfully disrupts a meeting to the extent that orderly conduct is seriously
7 compromised.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16351
Article III, Section 9 of Idaho's Constitution gives both houses
of the Legislature the power to determine their own rules of
proceeding. This House resolution would establish a House Rule
governing meetings of standing, special or select committees.
The resolution deletes portions of an earlier rule, and is
intended to supersede any other rules or statutes in conflict
concerning those committees.
The resolution would require all members of any standing, special
or select committee of the House to be open to the public at all
times, and describes the conditions under which public testimony
would be allowed. The resolution provides that committees could
meet in executive session only when necessitated by extraordinary
circumstances, and only after the chair has identified the reason
for doing so and after the committee has approved such action by
a two-thirds vote on the record. The resolution also requires
that, except for emergency security matters, a committee must
give at least 24 hours advance notice that it will consider going
into executive session, and list the person(s) or agency
requesting the executive session, and the reason(s) why an
executive session has been requested. The resolution also lists
the narrow, limited matters that might be discussed in executive
session exempt records, pending litigation, employee personnel,
preliminary investigations, discipline matters that could harm an
innocent third party, security issues, or acquiring real property
but the resolution prohibits voting or taking any official
action while in executive session.
FISCAL NOTE
There is no fiscal impact from this resolution.
Contact
Name: Bruce Newcomb, Speaker of the House
Phone: (208) 332-1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE HR 3