Oklahoma Republicans urge more openness in legislative process

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Republicans have renewed their complaints of a lack of openness in the legislative process and appear to have an ally in Democratic Gov. Brad Henry.<br><br>Henry told reporters last

Sunday, April 11th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Republicans have renewed their complaints of a lack of openness in the legislative process and appear to have an ally in Democratic Gov. Brad Henry.

Henry told reporters last week he supports opening up all committees to the public, including joint House-Senate conference panels, with rare exceptions.

He said there may be valid reasons to close some meetings, such as those that involve discussions that could impede law enforcement investigations.

Generally, however, Henry said "a little more sunshine" is good for government.

As to complaints that opening all meetings would present too many obstacles to a smooth legislative process, he said: "My response is to work around them."

Rep. Todd Hiett, R-Kellyville, GOP House leader, said the real problem with conference committee meetings is they are seldom ever held.

In most instances, Hiett said, a few legislators "meet behind closed doors with their friends and decree what is going to happen with a bill and then gather signatures from four or five friends to put that language out on the floor for an up and down vote."

"It's a way to develop Oklahoma policy behind closed doors without input from most legislators and without input from the public," he said.

Democrats reacted to the complaints by saying they had opened the process up a lot in recent years and to follow Hiett's suggestions could create bottlenecks that would prevent doing the people's business in the time allotted by the Constitution.

Senate President Pro Tem Cal Hobson, D-Lexington, said he had not "had one call" echoing Hiett's complaints.

"I don't think the system is broken, but if they have specific complaints, I guess they will let me know," Hobson said.

Hiett said almost all of the controversial issues go to conference, but Hobson said some Republicans appeared to be taken aback when House and Senate Democrats decided to have open hearings on a contentious lawsuit reform package.

Hobson and House Speaker Larry Adair, D-Stilwell, announced last week that a 23-member joint conference committee would hold four public hearings on the issue and witnesses would give testimony under oath.

Rep. Jim Newport, R-Ponca City, said doing that would have "a chilling effect" on witnesses.

Since the state Open Meetings Act exempts the Legislature, lawmakers can hold closed committee meetings, but secret meetings by standing committees is considered extremely rare.

Hobson said he sat down with GOP leaders a couple of years ago "and worked out new, improved rules for handling conference committee reports and I haven't had a complaint since."

He also said it was important to remember that legislation that winds up in a conference committee had been discussed and publicly voted upon at least four times during the session.

Critics say Oklahoma's legislative process has changed over the past couple of decades where nearly everything is sent to conference, instead of being dealt with in regular committees or fashioned into final form and passed or defeated on the floor.

A constitutional amending lopping about a month off the length of the session is partly to blame for the need to send more bills to conference, some legislators say.

Hobson said it would be "physically very difficult" to hold meetings on every bill in conference committees because some legislators are involved in legislation covering multiple topics and could not be at different places at the same time.

Brenda Erickson of the National Council of State Legislatures in Denver said it is not uncommon for legislators across the nation to have the ability to close committee meetings.

Erickson said that in a survey of the nation's 99 legislatures or general assemblies, 46 said they had the ability to close standing committees. She said not all states responded to the survey.

She said 34 of those responding said they did not require notice of conference committee meetings, mainly because of time considerations.

Erickson said the courts have been reluctant to meddle in the way lawmakers conduct their business because of the separation-of-powers doctrine.