|
NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien and his leadership team have bullied, bribed, slandered and hidden their way thru the legislative session thus far. So it should not be surprising that they added to that last count today by holding committees of conference without the required 24-hour public notice.
House Rule 43 and RSA 91:A both call for such. But the leadership of the NH House and Senate moved forward today despite little to no public notice about legislative meetings that will ultimately shape the future of our state. A meeting about one bill this afternoon still did not have an official posting by the time the committee had wrapped up business for the day.
Committees of conference, of course, are seen by many as inside baseball. But for consumer advocacy groups and any Granite Stater seeking to be involved in setting (and protecting) strong public policy, they are a critical piece of the legislative process.
THE committee of conference - the one to hash out HB 1 and HB 2, New Hampshire's state budget - was among those that convened today even though notification was only given mere hours before it began.
Rep. Ken Weyler opened the hearing with a little speech that nicely summed up the lack of notice:
"We all had many hours of public testimony. We heard many of the travails of the public. We don't need to hear them again."
Weyler also gave direction that the common practice of standing against the wall when seats are all filled would not be allowed, and took a pre-emptive blow against any activity from the crowd:
"Our chief of security is going to make sure we don't have any disturbances and any, anything that's going to interrupt. We also appreciate the state troopers for being here to keep order because we don't have the time for any disturbances or any demonstrations."
Weyler, of course, is the same legislator who presided over a cowboy amendment to the budget bill earlier this spring that would have made workers at-will employees at the close of their contract. When hundreds turned out for the committee vote, Weyler and House Leadership refused to move to a larger room and instead forced people to line the halls and staircases in crowded masses.
It's hard to decide whether its shame or uncaring that most drives Speaker O'Brien and his extreme leadership team to avoid public transparency.
From moving the original House vote on the budget in hopes of circumventing the 5,000 strong public rally to ignoring their own House rules, this session has been an incredible display of secret meetings, misguided policy priorities and questionable ethics.
Ironically, just a day earlier thousands of petitions were delivered to the Speaker's office, calling on him to give at least 48 hours advance notice before the House veto vote on the right to work for less bill. If O'Brien can't manage 24 hours public notice, 48 must seem like an eternity to him. All the same, the petition can be found here.
Granite State Progress got word early in the day that something was amiss and began to print periodic, time-stamped listings from the General Court website as well as actual photos of the "official" board of announcements in the Clerk's office concerning the committees of conference. More information can be found in our press statement, located here.
|
