/Lawmakers’ ability to govern in private thrust into 2019 governor’s race

Lawmakers’ ability to govern in private thrust into 2019 governor’s race

Hood told the 200 people gathered to hear his campaign’s official kickoff announcement, “We need state government open up.” We need to sweep it clean. In 1983, the Legislature passed the Open Records Act. It exempted itself from the obligation to reveal correspondence with power brokers or special interests. This effectively shielded the Legislature from any public scrutiny. The House and Senate both developed rules to ensure that all legislative records, except those relating to expenses records, are kept secret from the public. “I understand the perspective of the press, but I believe you can have more discussion when you know that you can freely communicate with one another,” Senator Gray Tollison, R.Oxford, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, said to Mississippi Today. “I believe (a change to the law) will have a chilling impact on the legislative process.” The legislative exemption was passed in 1983 when Democrats controlled the Legislature. It has not been challenged in court or by government leaders since that time. In 2009, Senate Pro Tempore Billy Hewes (then the Senate’s top leader and Republican mayor of Gulfport) filed a bill which would have included the Legislature along with the majority of executive branch agencies in the law. This was the closest to legislative reform. The bill was defeated by Phil Bryant, then-Lt. Governor. The Senate was led by Phil Bryant, who also served as the Lieutenant Governor. Hood, the Democratic attorney-general running for governor, mentioned the legislative exemption at most twice during his campaign this year. He has also promised to make the legislative exemption a key part of his gubernatorial bid. Hood stated that we need to know who is lobbying, who is calling, and who is emailing at the Stennis Institute luncheon in February. “Maybe they hide some of their communications but at least we’d be able to know who’s doing special favors for them and who’s scratching the back,” Hood said in February at a luncheon hosted by the Stennis Institute. Hood’s perspective may have been influenced by his frustrations with the law, and likely opponent in the governor’s race later in the year – Lieutenant Gov. Tate Reeves. Hood’s office was denied access in 2018 to correspondence from legislators to investigate whether unduepolitical influence was used to push for a $2 million frontage road to connect Reeves’ suburban gated neighborhood to better highway access. Hood’s office was denied access to correspondence from Hood, which Reeves said they did not find relevant and that nothing had been given to investigators. When asked about the investigation, Reeves’ office repeatedly pointed reporters to a letter that Hood received in 2018. Reeves’ Office did not respond this week to a request for comment on the exemption from the Open Records Act. Hood has also indicated that he would like to know if there are any correspondence related to legislation passed in the Senate last year. This is the correspondence Hood claims Entergy is trying use to end his lawsuit against Entergy, which he says has overcharged customers for electricity. Hood stated in a prepared statement that “investigations aside, Mississippians have the right to know what their elected officials are up to.” It is wrong for the Legislature to conceal behind its own rules, which are designed to keep the public informed about its activities. The lieutenant governor and other legislative leaders should be transparent about how they conduct business. It is unjust to the public they serve and a recipe of trouble” Hood’s confusion aside, Mississippi’s legislative exemption is still part of the national mainstream. In 2016, the Associated Press reached out to all 50 states’ legislative leaders asking for their daily schedules, as well as official emails. These requests were denied in 33 states, including Mississippi. This was due to legislators not being subject to state open records laws. Rep. Jason White (R-West), chairman of the House Rules Committee, stated that legislators should have the ability to communicate with each other and their constituents about legislation, without fear of such correspondence being made public. He told Mississippi Today that he believes legislators should keep their private conversations private. In the past two decades, several non-governmental organizations have challenged the law. Supporters of Initiative 42, a group that seeks to strengthen funding for public education in the state Constitution, requested public records from legislators. They were refused cooperation by the legislative leadership. Reeves and Speaker Philip Gunn were requested to provide correspondence regarding Initiative 42. These leaders are publicly opposed to it. The leaders declined to comply with the request. The Associated Press made a request for cellphone records from then-Lt. Governor in the early 2000s. Amy Tuck, then-Speaker Tim Ford. Tuck declined, citing the legislative exemption from the public records laws. Ford stated that he wasn’t using a cell phone issued by the state and that his private device is not subject to public records laws. To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to the Spring Member Drive today.