2006 Legislation
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HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 3 – House Rule 57, amended

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 3

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Bill Status



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

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              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 / Fiscal Impact



                       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