What's Going On Back There?
The Texas Senate sometimes uses a parliamentary device known as "Committee of the Whole", where the entire body is considered one large committee. NCSL says since it's a parliamentary thing, every state can use this -- but most all other states use Committee of the Whole while they're still on the floor and in public view.
In Texas, the Senate can meet as Committee of the Whole OUT of public view, back in the proverbial smoke-filled room. For example, The C of the W was used before the entire Senate decided to come back after dinner hours in Februrary to call for TYC to be put under a conservatorship.
An NCSL survey of various legislature's rules shows the Texas Senate is one of only a handful of bodies with the ability to close a floor session to the public.
It seems antithetical to the idea of open government, so I took the question to onetime Texan Charles Davis, Executive Director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.
"It sounds like a cabal," he said. "Clearly it's done for a reason and the reason is to dodge accountability. It may be something that's common in legislatures but that doesnt make it right."
And since open government was the topic of the day, we also took the question to State Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, who successfully passed a measure in the spring session to require recorded votes on final passage of bills. (Now voters have to approve it, in the form of Propsition 11.)
In his response to the question, Branch was careful not to call out any particular members of the Upper Chamber, but did bring up another question -- what's up with the Senate conference calls?
Jake Dyer, FWST: Given your commitment to open government, would you stop the Senate from having committees of the whole?
Branch: It's an interesting question. As an observer, I have a natural reluctance to interfere in how they take care of their business. As an observer, well.. there's reasons for committees of the whole, but I think that we need to be careful that when that procedural device is used, that it's not abused.
So there oughta be a stated purpose for why we're coming together as Committee of the Whole, and that oughta be open and transparent.
And it's my understanding that that chamber uses a lot of conference calls to get a sense of where members are at. And again, there's probably an appropriate use of conference calls or member dialouge, but ultimately, I think you have to say at some point, conduct the people's business in the most transparent fashion possible. And don't abuse devices like committees of the whole to place a veil on what otherwise should be open government business.
