{"id":26592,"date":"2011-03-01T08:35:56","date_gmt":"2011-03-01T15:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=26592"},"modified":"2011-03-02T06:16:35","modified_gmt":"2011-03-02T13:16:35","slug":"senators-decry-rule-on-filming-photographing-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/03\/senators-decry-rule-on-filming-photographing-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators decry rule on filming, photographing meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Sens. Peter Wirth (left) and Sander Rue<\/p><\/div>\n

Sens. Peter Wirth<\/a> and Sander Rue<\/a> went on the radio program News New Mexico<\/a> this morning to decry a rule their colleagues passed that allows committee chairs or ranking members to shut down filming and photographing of public meetings.<\/p>\n

Referring to an incident in which I was questioned<\/a> by the chair and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee before I was allowed to photograph last week, Wirth said what is \u201cparticularly challenging\u201d from a First Amendment standpoint is asking a person\u2019s purpose in wanting to film or photograph \u2013 which happened to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it goes too far, and we\u2019re going to have some First Amendment issues,\u201d said Wirth, D-Santa Fe and a lawyer. \u201cI just don\u2019t see how asking individuals what the purpose of their filming is, how that\u2019s going to pass scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n

The N.M. Foundation for Open Government shares Wirth\u2019s concerns<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rue, R-Albuquerque, said making filming or photographing conditional is \u201calmost more concerning to me than closing the whole thing up,\u201d adding that, if it is conditional, \u201cI don\u2019t think you have transparency any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three senators voted against rule<\/h3>\n

Wirth and Rue were two of three members who voted last week against the Senate rule that gives chairs and ranking members the authority to stop a person from filming or photographing. The third was Sen. Mark Boitano<\/a>, R-Albuquerque. Four other members were absent or excused (see how each senator voted here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Senate Rule 4<\/a> was sponsored by President Pro Tempore Tim Jennings<\/a>, D-Roswell. Senate leaders from both parties pushed it in response to concerns about the governor\u2019s webcasting<\/a> of Senate committee meetings.<\/p>\n

The governor had been filming committee meetings using public resources and, on her government website, posting the video along with comments about senators who supported her positions and opposed them. Wirth said many Democrats believed that was \u201cbeing done in a pretty partisan manner,\u201d but he added that people should be able to webcast committee meetings regardless of their motive.<\/p>\n

\u2018I just think it sets a horrific tone\u2019<\/h3>\n

Wirth said the Senate has slowly been moving toward more transparency, noting the webcasting from the Senate floor<\/a>, but said there\u2019s a ways to go.<\/p>\n

Rue said many senators who haven\u2019t served as long as the chamber\u2019s leaders are more open to increased transparency. But most ended up following the Senate leaders on this issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there are a lot of members that just kind of defer to leadership,\u201d Rue said, adding that some feel the committee chairs \u201chave a responsibility to maintain order and decorum,\u201d and, in that context, \u201cshould have that latitude\u201d to control who photographs and films meetings.<\/p>\n

The incident involving me and the Senate Finance Committee isn\u2019t the only time the tension surrounding this new rule has played out. Wirth said he witnessed some individuals wanting to webcast a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting being given \u201ca pretty rigorous questioning before they were allowed to proceed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t think the public is going to put up with this,\u201d Wirth said. \u201c\u2026I just think it sets a horrific tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Update, noon<\/h3>\n

You can listen to the full interview beginning about halfway through this podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: Sens. Peter Wirth and Sander Rue went on the radio this morning to decry a rule their colleagues passed that allows committee chairs or ranking members to shut down filming and photographing of public meetings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[111,107],"class_list":["post-26592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-open-government","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26592\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}