A change of legislative rules in 2001 opened up the conferences on general bills. In 2004, conferences for budget and bond bills were required to be open for the first time.
Still, the money conferences are not easy to find or to attend. Most of the budget conferences this year were conducted in the office of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jack Gordon, D-Okolona, where small groups of lawmakers huddled around a table and munched tiny peanut butter cups while they doled out billions of taxpayer dollars. When other lawmakers, staff members, news reporters and lobbyists crowded into the office, a mere 20 people became an elbow-to-elbow crowd.
Franks, an attorney who has been in the Legislature since 1996, said that as chairman of the Conservation and Water Resources Committee, he announced his committee meetings on the House floor so anybody could be able to attend, if they wanted.
“I think things should be done on the top of the table in the cold, gray light of day and not under the table,” Franks said at MPA. “And it bothers me how the appropriations process is working in our state right now. I think it is wrong to allow the committee chairmen or a few people to get together and hash out the budget. It should be open to the public, and every member that’s on those conference committees should have an opportunity to be there and discuss the pros and cons of what’s going on.”
We really need someone in office who will open up government for all the people and not just the "tiny peanut butter cup" muching few. :)
The AP Article in the Leader Call
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