A bill draft from Nevada’s attorney general may propose stiffer penalties for public officials who violate the state’s open-meeting law. During a meeting Wednesday, the attorney general’s Open Meeting Law Task Force — of which I am a member — looked at several possible changes to the law, including raising …
Read More »Ethics case turns into open-meeting ruling
By Barry Smith The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld a strict reading of the state’s open-meeting law in a case that began with wildlife traps set by a Nevada state legislator five years ago and transformed into an ethics complaint. It all began when Assemblyman Ira Hansen, a plumber, outdoorsman, …
Read More »Open meeting law violations — the best and worst
by Barry Smith In one case, a city council paused its meeting for a three-minute recess and huddled in private before the mayor announced, “We’ve got this figured out.” In another, the board’s policy on public comments advised its members “not to respond to even the most ridiculous statements.” And …
Read More »Latest NPA testimony on bills
After a couple of busy weeks, let me catch up on bills that were heard in committees of the Nevada Legislature Feb. 16-25. [Here are Week 1 and Week 2 recaps.] AB113 — Changes the provisions for when a juvenile’s court records may be sealed. It doesn’t change the public’s …
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