Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, will try a procedural move on Thursday to push through legislation that would open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public.
With the proposal languishing in the Senate Rules Committee, Feldman hopes to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote by bypassing the Rules Committee and hearing the proposal instead in the Senate Public Affairs Committee, which she chairs, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed.
Feldman will make that happen using what is called a “dummy bill” — one that contains no actual legislation but is introduced before the deadline for new bills passes so it can later be replaced with a committee substitute. Feldman’s dummy bill is Senate Bill 737, and it was assigned only to her committee, so if she can convince the committee to accept the substitute bill on Thursday, the legislation will move directly to the Senate floor.
There it would have to be scheduled for a vote by Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen and an opponent of open conference committees.
There are two bills that would open conference committees to the public awaiting but not being scheduled for hearings in the Rules Committee. One is Senate Bill 150, sponsored by Feldman, and the other is House Bill 393, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces.
Cervantes’ bill has passed the House unanimously, so Feldman plans to replace her dummy bill with legislation identical to his instead of her own, which contains some differences. Going with Cervantes’ proposal could ensure that, if the new bill passes the Senate, it will sail through the House. Time is an issue since there are 10 days left in the session.
But the Senate is where the problem is and has been for years. Twice in 2007 — the last time the conference committee proposal came before the Legislature — the Senate shot it down by one vote. Changes in the Senate’s makeup that resulted from last year’s election have many believing the bill will pass this year, if it can get to a Senate floor vote.
Many believe the Feldman and Cervantes bills are stalled in the Rules Committee because opponents don’t want to give the bill that opportunity.
A strong chance of passing Feldman’s committee
The bill has a strong chance of passing Feldman’s committee, if past precedent is an indicator. Four of six veteran members of the nine-member committee voted for opening conference committees in 2007, and at least one of the three freshmen lawmakers on the committee has expressed his support for the proposal.
Conference committees are groups of usually of three House members and three Senate members who are tasked with reconciling differences between versions bills that have passed both chambers. In addition to opening their meetings to the public, the bill would open many other currently closed legislative meetings, including executive sessions of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
Exempted from having to open their meetings under Cervantes’ bill would be investigative or quasi-judicial meetings — such as impeachment proceedings — and political party caucus meetings.
Feldman’s committee meets on Thursday in Room 321 at the Roundhouse. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. but won’t actually start until sometime after the floor session ends.
This article has been updated for clarity.