Thursday, April 14, 2005 | 9:40 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- A bill giving the public access to more government meetings was approved by the Senate Government Affairs Committee Wednesday.
But another bill to give the attorney general the power to subpoena people and records in open meeting cases died in the committee.
Sen. Warren Hardy, R-Las Vegas, said there was "no appetite" to process Senate Bill 6 sought by Attorney General Brian Sandoval to allow his office to use subpoenas to require the attendance and testimony of witnesses.
It was the second setback for Sandoval this week in the committee. The attorney general had advocated for a change to allow fines of $5,000 to be levied on a government body that repeatedly violated the open meeting law.
The committee rejected Senate Bill 416 Monday that would have permitted the fines.
But the committee Wednesday agreed to back Senate Bill 267 that makes changes to the open meeting law.
Meetings to consider the competency, misconduct or character of high ranking public officials would now be open to the public. Sen. Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored SB267 said those officials would include persons appointed by elective bodies such as presidents of the University and Community College System of Nevada and local fire chiefs or city or county managers.
Care said these "high profile" individuals give up some of their rights to privacy.
But the meetings would still be closed to consider the physical or mental health of a public official. And meetings toward the hiring of these individuals would still be closed.
Hardy said he was "not comfortable" with opening up the sessions where the applicants are being quizzed for a job. James Richardson, representing the Faculty Alliance of the universities and community college, said opening these meetings would have a "negative affect on the size and quality of the pool" of applicants.
The state's current law provides for closed sessions to consider the competency, misconduct and character of persons at levels below the high ranking officials. SB267 would allow the person who is the subject of the meeting to request that it be open.
The bill, which is expected to go to the floor of the Senate for a vote next week, provides protection from a defamation suit for a member of a government board or commission for statements made during a public meeting. It also provides a qualified immunity for witnesses who testify at the meetings.
The witness would be open to lawsuits, however, if he or she "knowingly" gave false testimony.
Care also wanted to allow any resident to file suit if he or she believed there was a violation of the open meeting law. "There has got to be a way to get the attention of these public bodies," said Care, a lawyer.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Neil Rombardo, who handles the open meeting issues, said there are numerous frivolous complaints filed. And allowing these lawsuits "would create a flood of litigation."
Raggio said the attorney general and a person denied a right at a public meeting already have a right to sue. He said he did not want to see more litigation.
The Care proposal for anybody to bring suit was deleted from the bill.
Public bodies would still have the right to meet with their lawyers in private over litigation issues.
The committee on Monday approved three other open meeting bills. Senate Bill 83 will require all public bodies to allow a person who is subject of a closed personnel session to appear and offer testimony to rebut the allegations.
Senate Bill 415 says public bodies can hold closed meetings when grading exams. It allows the meeting to be closed if a person appeals his grade. But the public body's meeting must be open when a decision is made on the appeal.
The committee also approved Senate Bill 421 sought by Sandoval to require audio recordings of public meetings.
On the bill by Sandoval seeking subpoena powers, Rombardo told the committee on Monday that sometimes government bodies ignore the request of the attorney general's office that is investigating complaints of violation.
He said there was a government body that has twice refused his request for more information. Rombardo revealed on Wednesday the name was the board of governors of the Halima Academy, a charter school in Sparks.
He said he received a reply from the board on Wednesday that the board of governors does not keep audio recordings of their meetings.
Raggio, a former district attorney, expressed concerns on Monday about the subpoena bill. He said it could be open to abuse and giving that power to the attorney general made him "nervous."
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