Editorial: Solidifying a public right

Friday, March 2, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.

It is amazing that a law limiting people's ability to address the government was passed by the Legislature in 2005.

It was, apparently, a legislative oversight. Someone forgot about the First Amendment.

The law, pushed by lobbyist Jim Wadhams, was designed to lessen the number of people who could wage a legal battle on licensing issues, giving only people with a direct financial interest legal standing in a hearing. The law, however, had broader implications and has been used to prevent people from testifying at state hearings.

That was the case last year for the environmental group Great Basin Mine Watch. The Associated Press reported that the group's participation was limited during a state hearing on a permit for a closed mine in Elko County because of the strictures of the law. An Amargosa Valley pistachio farmer said he was "kicked out" of a state hearing on a proposed dairy farm that would border his orchard.

This is simply wrong.

The Assembly is taking up a bill that would remove the parts of the law that have been used to prevent public comment. That bill, Assembly Bill 94, has won approval from the Assembly Government Affairs Committee and waits approval of the full Assembly. Wadhams, according to AP, supports AB94 and said that excluding the public was not his intent.

Unfortunately, intent is often lost in the letter of the law. According to the legislative record, a committee even changed a few words in the bill in hopes of assuring the bill conformed with the state's open meeting law.

This legislative mistake in 2005 shows one thing very clearly: Lawmakers should be sensitive to the public's right to be part of the process and reaffirm it in clear language whenever possible. Passing AB94 would be a sign that lawmakers understand that.