The Georgia House and Senate entered a second day of legislation on Wednesday. Both chambers passed resolutions setting rules for the remainder of the session, but one change has worried First Amendment supporters.
The rules of both chambers contain new provisions that shield communication between legislators and third parties within the framework of legislative privilege.
“I was expecting this would be a member who might have questions – because we can’t all be experts on every issue that comes before us – we rely on others who have expertise to facilitate that communication with us.” help make those determinations would be protected,” said Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, a Dacula Republican.
Lawmakers have already opted out of the Open Records Act, which allows public access to government records. The new rule would also protect members from lawsuits, said Richard T. Griffiths, a spokesman and president emeritus for the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.
“It shields anything that’s potentially controversial or could break the law,” he said. “And that’s a big problem. It’s a big disappointment. They go beyond the Open Records Act’s exemption to the point where they are no longer responsible for what they say, what they hear in Senate hearings. And that is problematic.”
The rule packages, including the amendment, passed both chambers in a majority party line vote.
Senator Colton Moore, a Republican from Trenton, said Democrats are only trying to create problems by opposing the change.
“Don’t we already have legislative immunity during the session?” he asked. “If I’m speeding down Interstate 75 to get here, the executive branch can’t stop me. We should be able to speak freely with third parties about the legislative process. Hopefully we don’t become so divided in our society and in our government that one day I have to worry about a governor sending in an executive or prosecuting me for something I said to a third party.”
Democrats said they fear unintended consequences of the rule, including allowing members of the executive branch to enjoy legislative privilege to communicate with lawmakers.
A separate rule in the House resolution adds hearings in committee to the list of places where cameras are not allowed without the Speaker’s permission. Previous rules banned cameras in the house, galleries and lobbies.
“I have citizens who have come to testify on the committee and they are very passionate about testifying and want a family member to take a video of them testifying,” said Rep. Becky Evans. a Democrat from Atlanta. “I’m very concerned about how this will be handled.”
Burns said members of the public will have access to all of the committee’s hearings through the state’s live tapes or video archives.
“All of our committee meetings are videotaped online and archived so that the member’s family or any other interested citizen at the committee meeting can have access to that testimony,” he said.
Video stream or not, the rule limits the public’s right to know how the government works, Griffiths said.
“The fact is that a government-controlled camera is not the same as a public-controlled camera,” he said. “Government-controlled cameras that record who might be speaking aren’t recording other things that might be of tremendous importance, but not on the camera that’s being used.”
