From the Greenville Daily Reflector (2/16/11): House Republicans overseeing caucus fact-finding meetings on issues that may arise in the Legislature this session have the option to open the gatherings to the public, following a flap over a closed meeting last week on video poker.
The guidance to leaders of eight House Republican Caucus committees released Wednesday by Majority Leader Paul Stam, R-Wake, comes after a meeting on video poker issues attended by lobbyists and others in the Legislative Office Building was closed to the public and media.
The presiding chairman of a committee “shall have the discretion to determine the attendees or participants of the meeting and information concerning time, place and subject matter of the meeting,” the document read.
House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, has said the meetings, distinct from formal legislative committees, were closed to give GOP members and interested parties a more comfortable avenue to ask questions without being under the glare of the media’s lights. No specific legislation is being discussed in the meetings, he said.