Columnist Jeff German: Regents must come out of dark

Wednesday, July 28, 2004 | 10:41 a.m.

There's a reason why we have an open-meeting law in Nevada. Public agencies and boards are supposed to conduct their business in public.

This is not rocket science. It's common sense, what helps us maintain our free society.

Why is that so hard to understand for the Board of Regents, the steward of higher education in this state, and its chief legal counsel, Tom Ray?

Like a broken record, the attorney general's office this week issued yet another opinion accusing the regents of violating the open-meeting law.

The AG wants the board to sign an agreement acknowledging it is a "serial violator" of the law and pledging to never do it again.

The odds of that happening, however, are slim. The board has a history of whining every time it's accused of conducting business behind closed doors. It would rather go to court to protect its ability to keep us in the dark than do the right thing.

"Instead of following the law, we seem to want to run into it head on," says Regent Steve Sisolak, who does not share the arrogant mentality of the majority of his colleagues.

The legal opinion stems from a complaint filed in May by Matt Hufman, the Sun's metro editor, who has more appreciation for the open-meeting law in his little pinky than the 13-member board and its legal adviser combined.

Hufman didn't think it was right for Ray to deny the newspaper a copy of a proposed contract for Interim Chancellor Jim Rogers prior to the May 7 board meeting where the deal was approved.

The attorney general's office found that the Sun was entitled to the document under the law. The newspaper ended up getting a copy of the contract from Regent Mark Alden, an open government advocate.

One reason the Sun's formal request for the contract was denied is Ray had no incentive to authorize it.

The open-meeting law simply has no teeth. The attorney general can issue a complaint for a violation, but he has no authority to hand out any punishment.

For public officials who prefer to do business out of public view, like most of the regents, the law is easy to circumvent.

"They have an attitude that they can do it, so they will do it," Sisolak says.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval, however, is hoping to change that attitude.

He has warned the regents that, if they don't voluntarily comply with the law, he will file a lawsuit forcing them to comply. The suit could seek to void the May 7 vote naming Rogers chancellor.

Sandoval also plans to ask the Legislature next year for the ability to fine public officials who violate the open-meeting law. An official will think twice about keeping the public in the dark if he knows it could hit him hard in his pocketbook.

In the meantime, what are we going to do about those knuckleheads on the Board of Regents?

It is embarrassing to think that higher education in Nevada, our future, is in the hands of this secretive group of incompetents.

The first thing the regents need to do is cut out the whining and promise the attorney general that they will conduct future business in the light of day.

Next they should fire Tom Ray and find a legal adviser who knows how to follow the law.

And when they've figured out that they were elected to represent the public, not themselves, they should sign up for Open-Meeting Law 101 at their nearest institution of higher learning.

I hope Chancellor Rogers, the broadcast mogul, has already made that part of the fall curriculum.