On the Agenda: You Won't See It
We've wondered out loud about the Texas Senate's longstanding practice of closed-door "committee of the whole" meetings... now the House General Investigating Committee, looking into the swirling ghost worker scandal, is not going to be seen or heard by the public.
The committee - comprised of R's and D's loyal to House Speaker Tom Craddick - is set to meet today. But the the meeting is likely going into executive session, excluding not just you and me, but even other House members who aren't on the committee. That's not cool, if you ask Democratic leaders of the House who aren't friendly to the speaker.
"Secret meetings blind the public to the workings of their government. We object in the strongest possible terms to sinister "star chamber" proceedings that deny public access," State Representatives Craig Eiland, Jim Dunnam and Pete Gallego Garnet Coleman wrote in a letter to fellow members.
When asked by The Quorum Report, the Chairman of the committee, State Rep Larry Phillips, said this:
"This is not a secret meeting. It happens every day in governmental agencies, from city councils to school boards. It is not uncommon in every governmental agency for these type of issues. In this situation, this is an opportunity to go into executive session. This is appropriate for an investigating committee."
The meeting is set for 10:00am, in Reagan 110, if you want to try and see the part that is public.
nitpicky note - I think Coleman signed that letter, not Gallego. Gallego used to be chair of the GI committee, Dunnam, Eiland and Coleman were the members called out in the stories.
How do you think they can run this corrupt state without all the secret meetings?
The powerful feel we are just sources of revenue.