Win for open government

Thursday, May 1, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

The Nevada Supreme Court issued an important ruling last week that should serve notice to government officials that the public’s business needs to be done in public.

The court overturned a decision by a Carson City District Court judge who incredibly ruled that the Nevada Tax Commission had the right to meet, deliberate and vote behind closed doors. At issue in the case was a $40 million rebate the commission gave Southern California Edison in 2005 after meeting four times behind closed doors.

In a unanimous decision, the court reiterated its long-held stance that “meetings of public bodies should be open ‘whenever possible’ to comply with the spirit of the open meeting law.”

The Tax Commission, however, has long been in violation of both the spirit and the letter of the law. The law allows the commission to receive confidential taxpayer information in private, but the commission extended that privilege to entire hearings.

The court noted the commission has a history of ignoring the open meeting law and pointed out that the commission had been told several times to deliberate and vote in public, including a month before its secret vote on the Southern California Edison rebate.

Such arrogance is stunning, especially considering the Tax Commission has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money defending its “right” to vote in private.

In a succinct and clear decision, the court once again declared the real issue in such cases is always the public’s right to an open government. The government should always err on the side of openness.