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To access links, see Steven Clift's blog: http://dowire.org/notes/?p=261 Post: Should elected officials be able to use e-mail privately on public matters? Some Texas local officials claim free speech trumps Open Meetings Act I'd be interested your comments about open meeting laws and the Internet. I am aware of a case where local elected officials were told they could not participate in -public- online forums due to open meeting laws by overly (IMHO) cautious city attorneys. If it is public, what is the problem? With this Dallas case, the whole idea that elected officials could use what is in practice "private" e-mail to pre-negotiate matters supported by their free speech rights is quite troubling. I have solution - all e-mail to and from local elected officials generated in the course of their public duties and legally "public" must automatically be disclosed and available online. So there we would have all the free speech desired, just a public version of it. Corvallis, Oregon does something like this and hey there Swedish friends, please explain in the blog comments how your public registers of e-mail work or other initiatives that might be out there. Steven Clift http://dowire.org A clip from Officials: Free speech trumps Open Meetings Act - Dallas Morning News : Officials: Free speech trumps Open Meetings Act U.S. judge hears suit sparked by council members' e-mail 06:35 AM CDT on Friday, July 28, 2006 Associated Press PECOS, Texas � Two West Texas city council members who claim that the Texas Open Meetings Act stifles free speech put forth their case in federal court for overturning the nearly 40-year-old law. U.S. District Judge Robert Junell heard arguments Wednesday in the case challenging the law, which was enacted in 1967 and prohibits elected officials from discussing public business in private. Plaintiffs Avinash Rangra, a member of the Alpine City Council, and Anna Monclova, a former council member, sued last fall. They contend that the law is vague and confusing and violates their rights to free speech. The suit was filed against the state, Attorney General Greg Abbott and Brewster County District Attorney Frank Brown. Judge Junell gave the parties until late September to file additional pleadings. "The essence of the First Amendment is at issue here," said plaintiff's lawyer Dick DeGuerin. "We choose our representatives in a democratic fashion to speak for us. Any impingement on that free speech has to be extremely limited." The defendants urged Judge Junell not to impose a federal ruling on a state policy decision. Deputy Attorney General Jim Todd said prosecutions of elected officials for open-meetings violations are rare, fewer than a dozen a year. The case stems from an October 2004 e-mail message sent by Katie Elms-Lawrence, then an Apline City Council member, to three other council members about hiring a water engineer for the city. Mr. Rangra responded to the e-mail with a suggestion of his own. Mr. Brown charged Ms. Elms-Lawrence and Mr. Rangra with violating the Open Meetings Act because they used the Internet to discuss city business outside an open meeting, and both were indicted. Although the charges were dismissed in 2005, Mr. Rangra and Ms. Monclova filed suit in federal court challenging the law's constitutionality. ... *** Democracies Online Newswire - http://DoWire.Org *** To comment/for links: http://dowire.org/notes/?p=261 To network: http://groups.dowire.org Submit posts: http://dowire.org/submit Member profile for Steven: http://groups.dowire.org/main/contacts/stevenclift ----------------------------------------- Group home for Newswire - Steven Clift's blog posts by e-mail: http://groups.dowire.org/main/groups/newswire Replies go to members of Newswire - Steven Clift's blog posts by e-mail with all posts on this topic here: http://groups.dowire.org/topic/123357 For digest version or to leave Newswire - Steven Clift's blog posts by e-mail, email [email protected] with "digest on" or "unsubscribe" in the *subject*. Newswire - Steven Clift's blog posts by e-mail is hosted by Democracies Online - http://dowire.org.
