In an e-mail interview yesterday, Sablan, an Open Government Act advocate, said any taxpayer can challenge the validity of “any actions they take in secret,” referring to lawmakers.
She said barring the public from conference committee meetings is a violation of the Open Government Act and the open meeting rules of the Legislature.
In separate interviews, two members of the conference committee said what transpired in the Senate chamber over the last few days were “brainstorming” sessions and not the “usual and announced meetings.”
They said there are members who want to speak candidly about certain sensitive issues.
This is not possible when there are members of the media or the community around, said the lawmakers, who both declined to be identified.
Another lawmaker, who is not part of the conference committee, said there is usually “grandstanding” whenever reporters are around.
During the conference committee yesterday, the Senate conferees told the legislative staff not to lock the Senate chamber’s doors.
But when this reporter walked into the chamber, the House members of the conference committee said the media should not be allowed in the chamber due to the “sensitiveness” of the issues to be discussed.
An argument ensued when the senators insisted that the meeting must be open to the public.
Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, later told this reporter that they just needed a little bit of privacy so they could “brainstorm on the budget.”
She promised that tomorrow’s meeting will be open to the public.
