Lawmaker Wants Current Public Meetings Private

A state senator is working to change the way new laws and ordinances are crafted in Arizona . Right now the meetings of elected bodies must be open.  But state Sen. Sylvia Allen’s bill would require public meetings only when a governing body is set to take action. 

Allen said her views on the law were substantially changed in the two years she spent on the Navajo County Board, where she was unable to get together with other members to discuss issues.

“When you're in the process of working out solutions and problems, there has to be some discussion take place. And there has to be some interchange of ideas,” Allen said.

She said the public will not be shut out because it can attend meetings where the vote actually takes place. 

But Dan Barr of the First Amendment Coalition says it’s important the public get to see the interchange of ideas, not just the final vote. 

Allen said the legislation has nothing to do with last week’s decision by House Republicans to allow closed caucuses.