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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Open meeting law revision passes the House

The House has voted 59-10 in favor of SB 1142, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden's bill to revise the Idaho Open Meeting Law. Rep. Lenore Hardy Barrett, R-Challis, who opposed the bill, told the House, "I think the press needs to be wherever they want to be whenever they want to be, except of course in our caucus," which drew laughter. "If the press wants to come to my local meeting and sit there and write and do what they want to do and if they want to follow me home and check on the color of my pajamas, I'm fine with that." But she said she opposed a clause in the bill allowing boards to make changes in their agendas after meetings start. Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, the bill's House floor sponsor, explained that the current law allows agenda changes "up to and including the hour of the meeting" without any public process. "That's confusing," he said.

The bill allows changes during meetings, but only if a board member states the good-faith reason for the change, makes a motion, and it passes by majority vote.  "What we're doing is adding to the protections by requiring a motion and requiring a good-faith intent," Luker told the House. Bad-faith agenda changes - such as changes to avoid public scrutiny - would be violations of the open meeting law, punishable by fines. The bill earlier passed the Senate on a unanimous vote. It now goes to the governor.



Eye On Boise

News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.