There is no defense for secret conference committees

By Dr. James “Jim” Kadlecek

“Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion, debate and publicity” – Lord Acton

Those crazy, silly citizens! What gave them the idea that legislators should let them know how their tax money is being spent or what kind of deals are being made to get laws passed? After all, legislators were elected and should be trusted, right?

Once again, it appears that the New Mexico Legislature will fail to pass meaningful legislation that would require that conference committees be open to the public. Conference committees are those joint House-Senate select groups that iron out differences between legislation passed in both bodies. These are very important sessions, because this is where the final language – and the spending – are set, and thus they represent the ultimate outcome of the legislation before it is sent to the governor for his approval.

Unfortunately, in New Mexico the leadership of the majority party has unwisely chosen to hold these meetings behind closed doors, outside the view of public and press. So we don’t know what deals were made or how compromises were reached. We are prevented from knowing exactly why and how public policy was made. And because we are prevented from knowing, we suspect the worst, and the respect that we should have for our elected officials is diminished.

It should be pointed out that some members of the majority party (Rep. Joseph Cervantes, Sen. Dede Feldman and others) have consistently supported open conference committee sessions, and a number of Republicans oppose opening conference committees, but it is the majority leadership that is calling the shots in New Mexico’s Legislature.

In our neighboring state of Colorado, where I once served as a state senator, the voters approved the “Sunshine Law” some years ago. All legislative committee meetings, including conference committees, are open to the public and press. When I served, the majority party leadership (Republicans) bitched and moaned about the open meetings laws, and used the same flawed arguments that the Democratic leadership is using today in New Mexico. By and large, the Colorado Sunshine Law has worked pretty well to make the legislative process more open.

The fact is that there is no defense of closed meetings of elected officials where public policies or public spending is being determined. Sure, it may be a bit inconvenient for legislators, and they don’t enjoy being scrutinized by the press, but in our system democracy is synonymous with openness. These meetings have to be open, as should all meetings of elected officials, with very few exceptions (lawsuits, personnel matters).

The majority party leadership in New Mexico has in the past killed this legislation for one reason, and one reason only. It dilutes their power. When public decisions about policy and spending are subjected to public scrutiny via open meetings, it is more difficult and less convenient for the leadership to control its members. Secrecy allows them to make their preferred deals, reward their favorite lobbyists, and hide from the public the rationale for their decisions.

We recently saw an example of this when the House speaker exercised his power by seeing to it that legislation involving the financial scandal in some of the state’s regional housing authorities was, in all likelihood, killed. It seems clear that he was using his power to protect a lobbyist friend of his, and possibly to hide a personal conflict of interest. Eventually all this will come to light anyway, but in the meantime, the state’s real need to produce affordable housing is damaged because of the speaker’s abuse of power. And his power is enhanced by the fact that all his colleagues and the lobbyists know that he has the ultimate power – the ability to appoint conference committee members and keep the discussions secret. That is the control mechanism he uses to keep his party members in line.

At this writing, the House has passed two bills which would extend the open meetings law to conference committees, but most observers predict it will die in the Senate, as other versions have this session. Will this ever change? Will political decisions in New Mexico ever be subjected to the “sunshine” of open meetings? The answer, of course, lies with us, the public. If we get angry enough to insist on change, it can happen.

Perhaps it will take a referendum. The media is with us, because its members have a strong self interest in open meetings so they can access information and report it. Or, when enough of the majority party members have the intelligence and gather together the courage to change leadership, it will happen and the power of the few will be checked. It is as Lord Acton wisely observed: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely… there is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.”

Kadlecek has lived in Doña Ana County since 1996, served in the Colorado Legislature, and holds a doctorate in public administration. He’s the author of “Capitol Rape,” a book published by Barbed Wire Publishers of Las Cruces, and is a monthly columnist for Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics.