Start the day with “Eggs and Issues,” the Montana Chamber of Commerce suggested last week in hosting a breakfast as the legislative session got under way. The Nature Conservancy offered lunch, and this week, abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America plans a bistro reception. Construction contractors, funeral directors, bankers, energy companies, a labor union, livestock groups and children's advocates are among those with events in January alone.
Now, anyone with Internet access can see what's offered. The 2009 lawmaking session, which will last about 3fi months, marks the first time the social calendar is on the Legislature's Web site.
“We want to make sure this (legislative session) is a transparent process,” Bergren said.
Some other states put social calendars on the Web, but the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver is unsure how many.
“One of the concerns people have is who's talking to legislators, who's got their ear,” said Lorne Malkiewich of the Legislative Counsel Bureau in Nevada, where the calendar's been on the Web since 1999.
Openness is enhanced, although “it's not like it's going to be a secret that a bunch of legislators are going to the library-and-archives foyer for a reception,” Malkiewich said. “Those things have been announced.”
According to the electronic calendar for the New Mexico Legislature, the days after it convenes on Jan. 20 include a Conference of Catholic Bishops breakfast, an Automotive Dealers Association dinner and the Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico legislative mixer. The House and Senate basketball game is listed, too.
“Transparency around these events is a good thing because the public can see who's rubbing elbows with who and draw their own conclusions about potential conflicts of interest or things that may be perceived as political favor,” said Mary Boyle, spokeswoman for Common Cause, a nonprofit that promotes openness in government and is based in Washington, D.C.
The public sometimes views lobbyists negatively, but the information they convey may be useful and there's no harm when they provide food, Bergren said.
“I would hope that for the price of a small meal, a legislator isn't going to be swayed,” he said.
Gatherings such as luncheons and receptions sponsored by private entities are social events, not meetings, and therefore are not subject to state requirements for public access, said Gayle Shirley, legislative information officer. Montana Freedom of Information Hotline attorney Mike Meloy finds that a matter of interpretation, depending on the event.
“If one of these gatherings is organized for the purpose of discussion with say, a quorum of the Judiciary Committee present, and for discussing important public business, then the public should have the opportunity to observe those discussions,” he said.
But few events on the social calendar are for discussing important business, added Meloy, a legislator from 1975-79.
Free food and drink from special interests “have been the practice since statehood, probably,” he said. “I think most legislators would tell you, ‘I'll eat their food and drink their scotch, but I'm not beholden in any way to this organization for doing so.' ”
The Montana Chamber of Commerce, which dominated the social calendar during the Legislature's first week by hosting four gatherings, said its legislative events are open to the public. If a meal is offered, people who are not invited guests may dine at their own expense, said Webb Brown, the chamber's president.
“We invite everybody, not just our ‘friends' or the people we consider champions,” Brown said during a break at a salad-and-pork luncheon in a hotel banquet room.
Tables with black and white linens were set for about 135 people. A handful of those who showed up were legislators. Most of the others represented businesses.
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