Regents told to adopt clear policy on meetings

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2005 | 11:01 a.m.

Interim Chancellor Jim Rogers and university system lawyers are asking the Board of Regents to adopt a formal policy stipulating that the regents are "committed to the open and public conduct of business in accordance with the provisions of the Nevada open meeting law."

The policy, which regents are slated to discuss Feb. 4, clarifies several open-meeting law issues that arose from litigation surrounding November 2003 closed personnel sessions that led to the demotions of two Community College of Southern Nevada executives.

System lawyers said they developed the policy in conjunction with the Nevada attorney general's office as part of an August 2004 settlement agreement resolving the case.

District Judge Jackie Glass ruled in June 2004 that the regents violated the open meeting law by deliberating and forming a consensus in the closed sessions.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval agreed to drop further complaints against the regents on the condition that regents drop their appeal of Glass' decision and enact policies to make sure they were in compliance with the open- meeting law.

The proposed policy mandates that anyone who is a subject of a closed session has the right to address the Board of Regents. It also specifies who may be allowed into the closed session and what may be considered.

Specifically, the proposed policy allows regents to go into closed session only to hear information about an employee's character, alleged misconduct, professional competence or physical or mental health. Regents may ask clarification questions, but they may not discuss, deliberate or give any opinion whatsover on the information before them, University and Community College System of Nevada Chief Counsel Daniel Klaich and Chief Assistant Council Brooke Nielsen said.

Most of the controversy surrounding the demotions of CCSN President Ron Remington and lobbyist John Cummings centered around the regents' failure to allow either man to defend himself or to hear the charges and evidence against them concerning alleged end-runs during the 2003 Legislature.

What conversation was allowed during closed sessions was also a point of contention in the attorney general's lawsuit against the regents, as then lead attorney Tom Ray asserted regents had done nothing wrong in discussing the investigation in closed session.

The proposed policy also specifically bans discussing elected officials, including state lawmakers, in closed personnel sessions. Regents had discussed Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, during the November sessions because she was an employee of CCSN, and also briefly discussed former Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-North Las Vegas, because of his alleged role in bartering legislation for favors.

The attorney general's office is asking state lawmakers to clarify many of the same points in the upcoming Legislative session, Neil Rombardo, senior deputy attorney general, said. System lawyers, however, said they agreed to follow the current interpretation of the attorney general in developing the new policy.

Klaich has been in constant communication with Rombardo, the attorney general's point person on the open meeting law, since Klaich assumed leadership of the system's legal division in November, both men said. Both Klaich and Nielsen consult regularly with Rombardo prior to regents meetings and Klaich has even called Rombardo during meetings whenever a question arose that he couldn't immediately answer.

As part of the proposed policy, the attorney general's office will be notified and asked to attend any closed sessions. Rombardo said his office will not send a representative to every closed session, but will discuss possible issues with Klaich beforehand. Rombardo said his office will likely skip closed sessions that are routine evaluations, such as the one scheduled Feb. 4 to review the performance of Suzanne Ernst, chief administrative officer to the regents.

Open communication with the attorney general's office and with the public is a key part of the proposed policy, Rogers said.

"I think what we tried to do (with the policy) is do everything we can to show that we are open and to be open in every sense of the word," said Rogers, who is also asking regents to promote Klaich to vice chancellor of legal affairs, a promotion that comes with a $20,000 a year pay raise.

Several regents said they were still reviewing the proposal Monday, but most said they would approve it.

"I think what's really important is that the board operate under the current interpretations of the attorney general," Regent Jill Derby, vice chairwoman of the board, said. "Where we agree with this or not is really not the issue."

Regents chairman Stavros Anthony said it would be beneficial to the "entire state" to better define some of the specifics of the open meeting law, such as what is allowed in closed session.

Both Remington and Cummings said they believed regents were taking a positive "step forward." Both men settled their cases with the regents out of court, and are teaching in the system.

Giunchigliani said much of the proposed policy was just reiteration of the current law, and that she just hoped regents follow it in the future.

"They are trying to cover their errors in the past, and I applaud them for making the effort," said Giunchigliani, who is proposing legislation to give the open-meeting law more teeth and to assign the attorney general's office to advice the regents fulltime. "But it won't stop the Legislature from making sure the law is clear and properly followed."